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Welcome back, Stone fans! Trotting into the Tribute spotlight this month is Manchester!
Manchester is a Regular Run Trotting Drafter who was available in 2001 only. He’s a highly shaded intricate bay sabino, described in the catalog as “wild bay”. Unlike many of his early regular run cohorts, he was sold exclusively in gloss finish. His mane and tail decorations are a metallic bright blue.
Manchester, shown in the 2001 Retailer catalog
His intricate pattern, first used on the Grullo Sabino Clydesdale (Regular Run 1999-2000) was designed by renowned hobby artist Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig. Sarah’s most well-known work with Stone spans most of their first decade in business, from 1997-2006. She painted many test pieces and appeared frequently in the Artisan Hall program.
In 2001, Sarah was honored with the Milestone Award during the EQUILITH Awards. One of the folks who nominated her included the following quote on their form, featured in the EQUILITH Awards Wrap-up, Fall 2001 edition: “Sarah represents the epitome of model horse art. She strives for perfection and her work in both hand painting and sculpting is unmatched.”
The Trotting Drafter was sculpted by the sculptor whose name is licensed to another manufacturer, and we’re not allowed to say, and released in 1998. It is one of the earlier molds to feature hair swaps as a standard feature before more complex factory customs were common, along with others including the ISH and Pony. The loose mane and tail version of the Trotting Draft was first seen as a test piece in tobiano pinto painted by Micki Miller and auctioned in KY in 2000. This sculptor is the most prolific sculptor in Stone’s history, credited for 42 molds, including several that at this time have only been released in resin/pewter.
This sculptor’s credited molds:
Manchester’s shared pattern was common practice in the early years of Stone. Re-using masks simplified the process during a time when larger editions were common and more efficient methods of mask application hadn’t yet been pioneered. Metal clamp masks held a horse in place while the main body paint was applied, using a “rotisserie” tool to move the model around and paint from all angles. Additional details such as hooves were applied outside of the mask. This method didn’t allow for as much precision as we see today, and masking slip/overspray isn’t uncommon on earlier Stone models - especially those with masks as intricate as Manchester’s. The Stone team chose to include Manchester for Tribute Series to honor these original practices. From the Stone archives, here is a photo of his clamp-style mask!
Manchester’s Tribute models are available on the New Releases page beginning on Friday, March 20th at 2 PM Eastern!
