2017 Sneak Peek - Black Beauty

Seeing as we have access to a few special "sneak previews" of 2017 horses, we thought we'd let you guys all in on the secret, too!

To start off, Breyer is releasing a brand new edition of the famous Black Beauty for their 2017 Classics line. This new Black Beauty is on the Sir Buckingham mold, which was originally a porcelain Gallery piece from 2002-2003. (This mold is also called the Classic Stock Horse Gelding.)

This mold sure looks good in black!

Breyer has actually made (as far as I know) a total of six different Black Beauty models. Wow!

The first Black Beauty actually came out in 1979 with a brand new mold specific to him. Given #89, this was actually the first ever model produced in Breyer's New Jersey and was sculpted by Chris Hess.
There were technically three different releases of Black Beauty on this mold (all still with the number #89):

Release #1 - this version had all four stockings. (1979 - 1980)

Release #2 - only one hind stocking. (1981)

Release #3 - the "correct" version with one front stocking. (1982 - 1988)

During the run of this last release, Breyer came out with a Classics set of Black Beauty and all of his friends. This was the first introduction of these four Classics molds (Black Beauty, Duchess, Ginger, and Merrylegs) all of whom were made brand new for the set, numbered #3040.

(L-R) Black Beauty, Ginger, Merrylegs, & Duchess

The original Classics release of Black Beauty.

The next release of Black Beauty was #847 on the Morganglanz mold. This release ran from 1991 to 1995.

Following this release came the QVC Exclusive that made its debut in 2002. #501201 (my personal favorite) is on the Silver mold - a fitting tribute to a horse from classic literature.

A more recent release from the early 2000s (2008-2009) is #1317 on the Foundation Stallion mold.

And the final release (up until the New for 2017 release) is #711988 on the Classics Warmblood Stallion mold. This is the "current" run of Black Beauty, originally making his debut in 2012. 

This version of Black Beauty was also released in gloss as a part of the 2013 Live Show Benefit program. Only 23 were made in this glossy version.

Well, we hope you've enjoyed this little trip back in time. Tune in next week for another 2017 sneak preview, and don't forget to message us if you're interested in ordering any of these newbies for the new year!