Apparently all of the Stablemate injection molds - except that of the G1 Saddlebred which is alone in its own mold - have two cavities. One injection mold for sure contains cavities for two different molds, the Thoroughbred Foals, but certain variations in the copyright stamps and concurrent examples of said stamps has lead Nancy Young and others to the conclusion that the cavities in some of these molds are of the same model mold, producing two of the (mostly) same sculptures at once18.
In her book, Nancy only provides stamp data for a handful of models to demonstrate the overlap. I've provided my observations for all of my models of each mold under discussion; with this larger sample size we can see that some stamp types appear to be more common than their counterparts, but this is not a large enough sample group to determine whether this is a genuine trend or just a luck-of-the-draw coincidence.
There's a few of them, so we'll just work our way alphabetically down the list.
G1 Arabian Mare
Tight Copyright & Floating Copyright Stamps
Nancy refers to the two types of stamps on this mold as having tight and floating copyright symbols19. If you look closely you can see that the copyright symbol on the model to the left is much closer to the M of Molding and 1 of 1975 than the one on the right. Examples of both stamps mentioned by Nancy Young are as follows:
| Tight19 | Floating19 |
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From my own collection:
| Tight | Floating |
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The period beside most of the Tight Copyright runs indicates a particular mold mark which seemed to have developed early in the life of the mold.
Pre-Pimple & Pimple Tight-Copyright Stamps
Mares with the tight stamp developed a sharp little pimple on their bellies fairly early on - Nancy mentions 1989 as earliest model in her collection with this pimple19, but my regular run bay #5014 predates this by at least a year. Like the G1 Morgan Stallion's pimple, it was located under the date - below the gap between the 9 and the 7 in 1975. Unlike him, the Arabian Mare rocked hers until she was discontinued.
I have noticed that the tight-stamped mares have an off-side ear which has a very slight point and curl to it, like a little elf ear. The floating-stamped models' off-side ears are more upright and rounded. This is a very slight difference which can be altered a bit when the seams are cleaned during the production process, but I have been able to sort my mares by stamp type using only the ear to identify them, 20 out of 22 times.
MySt over at My Stablemates has noticed some other mold differences which she lists along with providing excellent pictures of her models and their belly stamps.
G1 Arabian Stallion
Small Date & Large Date Stamps
The two versions of the Arabian Stallion stamp are easiest to identify by looking at the size and placement of the date. The stamp to the left has a smaller date with the 5of 1975 lining up with the G in Molding while the stamp on the right has a larger date and the 5 of 1975 falls in the space between Molding and Co. in the line above. Some early models were produced without stamps, but the mold cavity (or cavities) were corrected shortly after this17. Examples of both stamps mentioned by Nancy Young are as follows:
| Small Date17 | Large Date17 |
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Even with this small sample size you can clearly see the both stamps are in production at the same time. Here are the results of my observations of my own collection:
| Small Date | Large Date |
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I noticed around about 1990 (though this could have occurred even earlier than this date) the models with the large date stamp developed a pimple in the middle of their girth - just back from the forelegs. This pimple (on my models) disappeared again around 1998, though slight scarring can be seen on where the dot used to be. I am not sure if this is standard for the mold or just a variation mine happen to have. If it's standard, it could be the result of the prepping process or a change in the mold cavity itself.
Pimple & Post-Pimple Large-Date Stamps
Unlike the G1 Morgan Stallion, I'm not finding any strong evidence of mold differences beyond a tendency for the large date-stamped models to have tiny twist in the off-foreleg, giving some models a slightly spraddled appearance. Because of the delicacy of this mold's legs, they are easily moved while still warm from the mold, so it can be difficult to determine whether this leg position I've noticed is part of the mold or occurs by accident. It doesn't really matter as the G1 Arabian Stallion has a much more straightforward stamp history than the G1 Morgan Stallion, it would just be nice to have concrete proof of twin molds beyond the stamps.
G1 Morgan Mare
Gap Copyright & Tight Copyright Stamps
The first thing you may notice if you've spent much time staring at the belly of a Morgan Mare is that her copyright symbol appears to have been rotated. The next thing you may notice is how this symbol seem to wander. Some models, like the one above on the left have a copyright symbol which is aligned between the M and the O in Molding, and with a significant gap between it and the date. Also, the B in Breyer on this stamp is found above the L in Molding14.
The stamp on the right has a copyright symbol which is tight up against the date and falls roughly below the o in Molding. This time the B in Breyer is above the gap between the L and the D in Molding14. Nancy's observations are as follows:
| Gap14 | Tight14 |
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Models from my collection fell into the two categories as shown below:
| Gap | Tight |
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I have only been able to find some slight differences between the two molds, but, alas, nothing consistent enough to rule out the usual production irregularities.
One of MySt's 1976-89 black, tight-stamped G1 Morgan Mares has a pimple in the same girth position as the G1 Arabian Stallion. None of my models have this mark, so I'm wondering if it was removed from the mold shortly after it appeared.
G1 Morgan Stallion
The Morgan Stallion and his particular issues are discussed in depth in the first Stamp of Approval post. My head hurts just thinking about it.
G1 Thoroughbred Mare
Small Date (I/1) & Large Date(D1I) Stamps
The Thoroughbred Mare is refreshingly straight-forward after some of her scale-mates. Though a few stamp-less models have been found, it seems that these were likely only from the early days of the run. It's possible only one Thoroughbred Mold cavity was stamp-less20.
The models only sported two stamp versions, the large date (D1I) and the small date or I/1. With the large date the 1 in 1975 lines up under the space between the D and the I in Molding. The 1 in 1975 lines up with the I in Molding on small date models. There's no messing around with pimples or any of that nonsense.
I've even noticed a teeny, tiny mold difference: models with the D1I stamp have a itty, bitty nick on the inner edge of their off-side nostril. MySt mentions another difference she noticed on her G1 Thoroughbred Mare page. Nancy's mold stamp observations are as follows:
| Small Date (I/1)20 | Large Date(D1I)20 |
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Models from my collection fell into the two categories as shown below:
| Small Date (I/1) | Large Date(D1I) |
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Who knew such tiny bellies could be so complicated?
Next: Stamp of Approval IV - Empty Bellies
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