Rich Toys hobby horse rehab...
I was a toddler in the late 1950s when my parents gifted me with a bouncy horse. I bounced enthusiastically watching Roy Rogers and Dale Evans ride off into the sunset singing Happy Trails.
When I saw other kids' bouncy horses, I was envious though, I really wanted one of those big ones slung in the metal frame.
I learned later that the one I have is unusual, and somewhat rare. While Radio Flyer and Wonder Horses are ubiquitous (I own several sans frames that will become nicely painted model horses), Rich Toys is less common. They did several riding ponies in the 50s (and some later) that had a classic hobby horse vibe, as if they'd been designed in the 19th century. Often they were made to be Trigger or Topper (Hopalong Cassidy's white horse) of TV and film fame.
Mine was an unusual design: not slung on springs inside a frame, rather a plastic body, with a wooden undercarriage consisting of 3 angled boards of solid wood. A spring underneath created bouncing action, and solid wooden wheels allowed the pony to roll or simply bounce in place. It's wooden legs were outflung in that impossible horse pose artists always drew in the 19th century, before Muybridge proved, with photography, how horses actually galloped. The other riding toys had their legs bunched under them in a more realistic gallop.
And very oddly, unlike most riding toys of the cowboy era 50s, this pony had an English saddle.
The plastic cracked in the middle of the saddle, the head came loose, the (I hated those anyway) stupid head handles went missing. One wheel cracked but did not break. The pony sat in a corner for decades, occasionally taped, and finally covered with a "horse blanket" that came with a whippet of the same size.
I finally dug it out last week and fixed it.
I might have resculpted it with epoxy putty or something, but it's winter and I'm not about to have stinky stuff in the house, nor sand things. So...
Gorilla Tape. It worked on the van bumper. I taped the body together, added some layers for permanence, taped the head back on.
Then got to work using up the acrylic craft paint I inherited from Uncle Bob (whose page "Uncle Bob's Toys" can be found here).
When I saw other kids' bouncy horses, I was envious though, I really wanted one of those big ones slung in the metal frame.
I learned later that the one I have is unusual, and somewhat rare. While Radio Flyer and Wonder Horses are ubiquitous (I own several sans frames that will become nicely painted model horses), Rich Toys is less common. They did several riding ponies in the 50s (and some later) that had a classic hobby horse vibe, as if they'd been designed in the 19th century. Often they were made to be Trigger or Topper (Hopalong Cassidy's white horse) of TV and film fame.
Mine was an unusual design: not slung on springs inside a frame, rather a plastic body, with a wooden undercarriage consisting of 3 angled boards of solid wood. A spring underneath created bouncing action, and solid wooden wheels allowed the pony to roll or simply bounce in place. It's wooden legs were outflung in that impossible horse pose artists always drew in the 19th century, before Muybridge proved, with photography, how horses actually galloped. The other riding toys had their legs bunched under them in a more realistic gallop.
And very oddly, unlike most riding toys of the cowboy era 50s, this pony had an English saddle.
The plastic cracked in the middle of the saddle, the head came loose, the (I hated those anyway) stupid head handles went missing. One wheel cracked but did not break. The pony sat in a corner for decades, occasionally taped, and finally covered with a "horse blanket" that came with a whippet of the same size.
I finally dug it out last week and fixed it.
I might have resculpted it with epoxy putty or something, but it's winter and I'm not about to have stinky stuff in the house, nor sand things. So...
Gorilla Tape. It worked on the van bumper. I taped the body together, added some layers for permanence, taped the head back on.
Then got to work using up the acrylic craft paint I inherited from Uncle Bob (whose page "Uncle Bob's Toys" can be found here).
- I'll paint the broken parts to match the original legs, and leave them and the undercarriage and wheels original. I'll add carousel style caparisoning to cover the Gorilla Tape. I'll use felt and craft foam and hot glue.
- Looks stupid. Guess I'll paint the legs too.
- In an attempt to match the original color, which is not even a horse color... white with a black mane and tail does not exist. It could be a very light dapple grey where the points are still dark... I experiment with dappling, dig up tons of research, and can't get the bloody dapples right (and I've had several grey horses!).
- Replace broken spring with bungee. The only one I have available is marked like a corn snek...
- I converse like a mariner, white out the dapples (too dark) and start again...
- 15 tutorials later, I soften the dapples, sort out the smudgey leg color, get the grey on the head pretty right, and order some felt...
- I was going to repaint the bridle on the horse, but now we're in full "do trappings in felt" mode, so I use craft foam and keyrings to make a bridle.
- Now the undercarriage, in that gawdawful 50s institutional green and faded red looks awful. Those are my two least favorite colors in the universe anyway, so screw vintage, we're going for COLOR...
- Find two nice shades of ocean colors in craft paint collection and go crazy.
- Really hoping the felt I just ordered does not clash with the paint...
- Felt arrives from two sources: the online order, and a friend who was going by way of Michaels At The End Of The Universe (we do NOT support Hobby Lobby and their archaic sexism!!!).
- Plan? What plan? There is no plan. I cut and paste (hot glue) and make it up as I go along.
- This pony needs seashells...
- Saddle reconstructed and enhanced with craft foam sheets. Turns out you can paint on it too, good, because I HATE THAT SCROLLING I JUST DID!
- The nice pinkish-mauve seashells look terrible with my color scheme, so I paint them white. I feel guilty for changing the natural beauty of... nah, they look better white...
- That might just do it...
- ...needs a mermaid rider...
