11" Five-Gaiter, Blue-Black - Only Around 36 Made!

This was a very small limited edition of either 150 or 200 models made for Cascade Models in the spring of 1993.  He is called "blue-black" because he apparently has a basecoat of bright blue on his body (but not on his legs?) which peaks through the black overcoat in places for interesting highlights.  He was produced during the Stevens era of Hartland, and peeling/chipping paint was a problem during that era, so his condition reflects the manufacturing more than his treatment afterward.  He has a scattering of tiny rubs/ paint chips and scratches.  Through most of these, you can see the blue and paint adhered better to each other than to the plastic, as they go straight to white plastic, while in a few others, blue can be seen under the missing black.  To make him even more special than a run of 150-200, though, this particular guy is a sub-run of around 36!  In addition to the blue highlights, he sports a hand-painted stripe with a crooked tip and is hand-signed between his hind legs "B-94-L" and hand-numbered in silver pen.  These models were provided by Cascade Models to Eleanor & Shay Goosens for their model horse show in 1994.  Some were sold then and the remainder were sold at their show in 2000.  He wears the round Hartland mold mark and is made of cellulose acetate.

For display purposes in a conga, he'd rate as Excellent, with very minor paint chipping compared to usual for this time period.  He has a small paint chip on his right neck, a tiny one on his left neck, a tiny one on his right forearm, and pinpoint rubs on his tail tip, right knee and one eartip, plus a tiny rub/drag in his blaze.  He has a weird texture over his back and sides which would make him unsuitable for showing, but fine for conga (or front-facing) display.  It's almost like plastic wrap was stuck all over him and then peeled off, leaving a slightly leathery texture and some shiny spots.  He features subtle blue highlights.  He's a rare beast, hand-numbered #35 of the very small run made for the event.

Size:  11" Series (Hartland designation; not actual height)

Hartland Model #203