These are liver chestnuts with flaxen (almost white) manes
and tails, which was a popular ensemble for the early GCs.
It seems to me that Marchon preferred flaxen to regular chestnuts,
as even the original chestnut family was flaxen, and so was the
later family with Big Red, Copper Penny and Rusty. Since 1996, it
has fortunately been given a rest.
The Stallion is "Snow Mane," the debut horse for
this Barb Stallion mold. It is similar to another new pose this
year, the Walking Stallion, as both of these have their faces
warped in a similar way, with the muzzles unusually wide, almost
as though the nostrils had been pulled to either side. But there
the likeness ends, because the Barb Stallion is not warped as
severely, and is an attractive sculpture otherwise. His quarters
are as symmetrical as you could want, and the pose is elegant,
suggestive of dressage. The Barb's face is an issue, though, as
its muzzle is extremely sinewy (I've heard it called "emaciated")
and the eyes are lopsided. And another worry with him is that
he can be a bit tippy with his hind hooves so far forward, but
this is due to the stance itself, not a mold inequity. (Just don't
trim his tail, or he may become a perpetual fall-over.) Snow Mane
is commonly found secondhand, but the mare and foal, "Playful
Lass" and "Playmate," are generally no-shows. Playful
Lass was released in two poses, both the Classic Mare and this
year's new Trotting Mare, and the Classic version is quite pretty.
Playmate,
the foal, is a cute one with his two hind socks. He seems to have
more black shading on him than either parent does.
(Left) and (Center) Beautiful photos of the
two different
poses "Playful Lass" was released in. The Classic seems
to be the rarer one. (Right)American Saddlebred Stallion,
"Snow Mane," a horse I had for a while but sold.
With the shading on this model, the veiny face is noticeable.
This is even a softened photo; his face is more gaunt in real
life. His raised right foreleg is shaped a little oddly, too.
It seems somewhat too angular.
Photo Credits: Big thanks go to Neena for the
great photos of these two uncommon mares!
Palomino
Horses
Both genders in this couple have Gold or yellow names, and both
got to try out new poses. The Mare, "Golden Glory," tried out
the new Trotting Mare, and the stallion, "Sundancer," got
to debut a mold that would become an instant favorite with
collectors. This is the Showhorse Stallion, a stoic, proud
stance with remarkable balance, perhaps because it is the only
Grand Champion pose that is nearly left/right symmetrical. With
its stolid face and dignified carriage, it personifies the nobility
of the horse. So it looks quite glaring beside the new Trotting
Mare, a bowlegged mold with enormous hooves and the dopiest of
faces. It is nowhere near as refined as the two previous mare
molds, the Classic and Arabian, and it would seem obvious that
it was created by an entirely different sculptor or perhaps the
same sculptor while intoxicated or otherwise impaired. (But
right about the time we were thinking a mare's hooves could not
get any larger, the Prancing Mare showed up in '97, beating out
this one.) I call it the Clunky Mare for its giant feet, but
its face is an eyesore as well, being unnaturally smooth and
uncarved, with a rounded lump for a muzzle, and no suggestion of
cheekbone.
But these are still very pretty palominos, the
first mare and stallion set of them to appear since the very
beginning of the Grand Champion saga in 1988. Even in the big
bunch of 94-95s, there was not a palomino couple to be found!
(Just the horse and rider bachelors, Gold Dust and Goldenbolt.)
And even though the Trotting Mare is an unflattering mold, it was
far from the worst that 1996 had to offer, and it is such an
old pose now that it has grown on people.
(Even I'll buy one.)
A family set of Akhal Teke horses showed up very close in time
to these
palominos, and they are similar to these but for the additional or
missing white
marking here or there.
(Left) Palomino mare "Golden Glory," with the
facial markings that distinguish her from Aladdin's Lass, the family
Akhal Teke mare.
(Right) Beautiful palomino Stallion,
"Sundancer."
Quarter Horses
Now these are some beauties! To date, Stallion
"Midnight Magic" is the only Cantering Stallion molded
in black, and he wears it well. And let's get real here: There
are not enough black Grand Champions! They are sadly neglected
and I wonder why, especially when Empire is comfortable with
churning out multitudes of chestnuts, bays and palominos.
(Especially palominos - there are several that look near identical
in color.) Now I agree that the Classic Stallion and Classic
Mare have been overdone in black, as there are four and
three of them, respectively, but why are there almost none
in other molds? Wouldn't we all love a Cantering Mare in black?
Or a Rearing or Barb Stallion?
Well, Midnight Magic is a gorgeous boy representing a dying
(?) coat color (There were no blacks at all for several years
after
this, except for a Friesian Parade mare in 2000.) and I'm sure
he's on many want lists. The mare, "Lady Blackstar," is
about the same ticket as "Velvet Twilight" from
the 95s, but she is really, really pretty in real life!
It would have been nice to see Blackstar molded
in the Arabian Mare, but she is still unique because it's not easy to find
another '88 Classic Mare in Black. Velvet Twilight tends to show up
in the ugly remold, and the mare from the Original Black Family (From
the first set of Grand Champions) is extremely difficult to find.
This means that Blackstar will be a fine standout in any collection,
as
this mold looks especially refined and
elegant in black. The legs seem longer, the features more delicate,
and she is so photogenic!
This couple should be famous among collectors for
being the very last black stallion/mare couple to date
, and they are
probably the best of the blacks, too.
(Left) Oops. Quarter Horse mare
"Lady Blackstar," from her package photo, showing
her white socks on the wrong side. (Center) My mare in real
life - what a beauty !!
(Right) Quarter Horse stallion
"Midnight Magic," my guy in replaced tack, shown
as "Sable Sea."
I think they were intending to do some kind of blended inheritance
thing with the foal, who has four white feet. Perhaps the foal
was supposed to get his right socks from the mare and
his left from the stallion; a last minute change resulted in the
two parents having exactly the same markings, and the foal being
the odd pony out.
Cleveland Bay Horses
This is a plain looking couple, as they and their foal
have no markings. The mare "Princess," is a Classic
mare in dark bay, and looks a lot like "Princess Bay" from 1994.
(I am not even sure they are not the same horse; perhaps Princess
is a little darker brown?) She is actually a very pretty, classy
horse if you can find one in good condition. More outrageous is the stallion,
"Majesty," who debuts very likely the ugliest
Grand Champion pose ever, the Walking Stallion. It has a host
of problems that may not be noticeable until you examine one
firsthand. The muzzle warping is drastic, (Bad! Some bridles
are very tight on it.) giving this horse a giant nose, and his
neck is disproportionately long; it lifts straight up and then
arches over awkwardly. His legs are not too bad except for the
hooves, as each one is a different size and shape. Empire
seemed to be aware of how aesthetically challenged this mold is,
as they never used it again in the standard run horses. Only once
for the Mail Order Andalusian
and twice on some rare Sound Mares. This makes Majesty a
one-of-a-kind abomination, though he is surprisingly common.
(He often shows up secondhand.) So he must have sold well,
and this may be because it can be difficult to examine a mold
while it's still in package. From the right side, his mane
distracts your eye from noticing his irregular neck, and you
have to look at him straight-on to see his warped muzzle. This
is an odd couple, too, as they both have recycled names - There
was a "Majesty" in the 94-95 group as well.
(Left) My mare, Cleveland Bay "Princess."
(Right) Cleveland Bay Stallion,
"Majesty."
Arabian Horses
These are some cute Arabians in the same vein of Foxcroft
and Wild Alice from 94-95. The mare, "Sweet Silver" is
even confused with Wild Alice for having a fleabitten coat and the
same mold. (Actually there are a couple versions of Sweet Silver,
possibly in all three remolds.) These look like very classic
Arabians with their gray shading, silver hair and a fine mist
of dark brown flecks; my only quibble with the mare is that they
should have used the Arabian Mare pose for her. It would have been
perfect!
The stallion, "Sultan Pepper," is a good looking horse, and the debut for the Arabian Stallion mold. People have mixed feelings about this pose due to its squatty neck, stout face, and unusually long hind legs, But there are no symmetry issues with it or actual mold flaws, so the criticism would have to lie with its initial sculptor, who gave it such a stumpy neck and face. (It's not one of my favorites, but I'm comfortable with it. In truth it looks much more like a Quarter Horse than an Arab.) Empire used it sporadically from here on: Not in '97, but in '98 and '99. Not in 2000 or 2001, but Alpha chose it for 2002. It seems to me that a horse has to have serious, uglifying mold problems (like the Walking Stallion) to be eliminated from use. These are both nice looking horses with their silver hair, and flecking is always appreciated in a line that is crowded with plain coats.
(Left) Arabian Mare "Sweet Silver." My mare, who is lovely despite
being the newer molded Classic Mare.
(Right) Arabian Stallion "Sultan Pepper" - My stallion untacked. This couple is identical even down to hoof color, which is a peculiar yellowish.
Plantation Walker Horses
Our last entries for 1996 are the liver chestnut Plantation Walkers. This brings us to another new mold, the Gaited Stallion, debuting on "Copper Traveler III." This mold is very similar to The Trotting mare, as it has the same dopey, unfinished and untextured face. Currently, these are the only GC molds to have this odd, rounded face, and the stallion's is even less detailed than the mare's. It has small, squinty eyes and a moosey muzzle which overhangs somewhat, (and on a horse that is liver brown like Copper Traveler, the effect is definitely "Moose.") It does not have even the suggestion of skull texture around its eye sockets like the Trotting Mare does, but mercifully this stallion has smaller hooves and a fairly normal stance. Its gaskins are asymmetrical, though, the right being slender and the left thick and chunky, and it has strange, bulky pasterns that lump-over into the coronets. Of all the molds in the Grand Champion line, I would say the Gaited Stallion is the only one that truly looks like a cartoon, and somewhat goofy and childish beside the others.
As for Copper Traveler III (You know you're too obsessed with Grand Champions when you actually wonder
if the first two Copper Travelers were moosey-looking also...) he was a remarkably popular horse. There are oodles of him floating around secondhand, which would suggest that people liked him better than his partner mare, "Dixie Lady," who is uncommon. She got the Trotting Mare pose, so they are a matching couple in mold type and color as well. I think their best feature is their shiny, dark auburn hair.
(Left) Plantation Walker Mare "Dixie Lady,"
owned by Whimsy Stables, shown as "Armada." (Right)Plantation Walker Stallion Stallion
"Copper Traveler III" - my stallion in
replaced tack.
Photo Credit: Thanks to Neena for this
picture of her Plantation Walker Mare!
