A Changing Perspective

Well, you never know what you will find out when you talk to other model horse aficionados. After writing my post about the deteriorating Western Horse in my collection, Collector Sande Schneider and I had quite the e-conversaion!

With her permission, I share a part of that - she, too, has a Western Horse like mine. Hers is on a lamp while mine is free standing. Even more interesting, she knows of the existence of two others, both of which, like ours, are chalky palominos with black hooves and the high grommet snap saddle from the earliest days of production.

I'm sharing this photo with you of my WH on a lamp base that has the blistering and crumbling problem.  This is what it looked like when I first brought it home last summer. 

That white dust like substance surrounding the rear hooves is powder from the chalky plastic rubbing against itself that happened when I moved the legs into alignment again. 

This close up ↑ was done outside in natural lighting.  The other two photos were shot indoors in our rec room. 

Chunks of plastic from the one leg have since fallen away from the rest of the horse.  As I mentioned previously Zap-A-Gap glue would not adhere to those chunks so I could reassemble the leg.  I should probably try some Gorilla Glue but haven't done that yet. (Meanwhile the lamp continues to remain on that table in our rec room.)

The black hooves on that horse presumably date it to the very early 1950s, probably no later than 1952.  That style of scrolled metal lampbase was the type used by Marks Lamp Company of Chicago.

I also have this WH on a Marks Lamp Co base and it shows no sign of stress to its legs (yet).  But I believe it to be a later production item because it has gray hooves not black ones.  I also have a palomino Western Pony on a Marks Lamp Co metal base that has no visible problems with its legs.

So now we have two of these deteriorating horses, but unlike shrinkies and oozes, they are "dry" deteriorating - there is no oozing or wetness, and a white powder is shed as it falls apart.

There are two more of these like ours - black footed palomino Western Horses from the very early 1950s who are falling apart. Sande put me in touch with the owner of one of them, and I discovered a surprise. I am waiting for permission to post some of her pictures of her piece. 

Her photos only add to the mystery of what is happening to these model horses. And at this point, I am wondering if this is a new (to collectors) form of plastic break down.