Imitations and knock-offs are not uncommon in the model horse world, especially with pieces produced during the early days of the model horse manufacturers. My newest circus piece, the Enesco Circus Horse on Drum, is very reminiscent of another company's work.
Other Cybis pieces from the era followed the same color scheme. Note that the Enesco piece is dated 1988, while these Cybis pieces were all made prior to that time.
Gambol and Frolic, unicorns that were available 1977 - 1979. Note the sculpted bow on the tail; the Enesco piece has a much cheaper fabric bow of pink ribbon.
Flight and Fancy are pegasi that were first released in 1984. Like the Enesco circus horse, they have sculpted pink roses.
Did Enesco see the success that Cybis and other, better quality, companies were having with this color scheme and follow suit? Changing a few things so that their pieces were less costly to make? (Feather plume, fabric bow, fewer colors.)
A similar color scheme on my Irish Dresden Circus Horse.
Certainly color schemes were used across companies. For example, think of Breyer's charcoal - a black body with a white mane and tail.
A 1960s - 1970s charcoal colored china prancer from a Japanese manufacturer.
A very early 1950s Hagen Renaker Head Down Circus pony.
I may never know if my Enesco circus pony is an imitation of Cybis' pieces or if the company was simply applying a color that was selling well at the time. Still, it's fun to dig around through photos, books, and online sites and see what can be discovered.
My belief is that there is a lot more to the topic of colors that were in vogue at a certain time and why they were so popular. I hope some hobbyists does the research on that some day.
