Today we'll look at more early Clydesdales, the bay with red and white bobs. I have two of these in my collection, just as I have two with the gold bobs.
Both are quite yellowed, and neither are carpet herd members.
The one on the left (Red Bob 1) was found at an antique shop in 2007 and is a semi-gloss. The other (Red Bob 2), who is matte, has been in my collection much longer - from before the time I really began keeping good records. I've probably had him twenty-five years or so.
Red Bob 1 has pinked hooves;
as does Red Bob 2.
There is no USA mark on Red Bob 1,
but Red Bob 2 has it. That dates him to at as early as 1970 according to Nancy Young's book, Breyer Molds and Models, 1950-1997 (p. 337).
The bottom of Red Bob 1's hooves have some faint markings and raised roughness from the drainboard in the factory.
The hoof bottoms of Red Bob 2 are smooth and have two small indentations on the hind hooves, presumably by something during the molding process.
The mane and tail ribbons have a little attempt at detail on both (this is Red Bob 1)
but it's still a little sloppy (although it's better than the tail ribbons on Hercules and Mr. Eyewhite were!)
Both have unstenciled bald faces
which neatly places them into the category of version D for this model. (There are five versions; the gold bobbed Clydesdales that I wrote about yesterday were version C.)
It's funny how, the deeper you look, the more you see when it comes to models that look very similar. Who'd have thought that there were five versions of the early bay Clydesdale! But for me, that is part of the fun of collecting.
