This post explores two TSII prism tape parade sets, the Rainbow Comet and the Fountain Art Deco, both made in the 1990s. I've always wanted to digitize and publish my Silver Parade set Scrapbooks, but I thought that would happen after my next book! Hah!! It's happening now, willy nilly whether I was ready or not,... at least for these two. They are currently awaiting their fate in Christie Partee's FB auctions of the Smaug's Hoarde of Colette Robertson. This really should be 2 posts, so prepare for overload!
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| TSII #402, Rainbow Comet |
The Fountain Art Deco, TSII #325, was built in 1991. As you may imagine, it is in need of updating (only 33 years old!), so the second half of this post will mainly be concerned with the creation of this amazing little saddle, showing its design and birth. There are a couple of shots showing its condition today. The Rainbow Comet, TSII #402, built in 1997, is famous for being on the back cover of my book (Guide to Making Model Horse Tack). It was judged fit to go as is, (I want to say, judged fit for consumption!), and thus is not in my hands. I have, of course, archival photos of its creation too. I found another of Colette herself! I am hoping to start cleaning and restoring #325 in November.
The Rainbow Comet was completed May 28, 1997 as an order from Elizabeth Bouras. By then the inimitable trio of Liz, Paula & Judy had ordered several silver parade sets from me and they had experience with what colors the prism tape came in and what I could do with it.
Rainbow Comet came immediately after #401, Koi & Water Lilies (finished April 23 1997) and actually before #400 Rainbow Brilliance, which was not completed until October 1 of that year. These three form a core of greatness amoung all the prism tape silver saddles I've ever made.
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| TSII #402, Rainbow Comet |
Liz mailed me this amazing photo of the Rainbow on a Zara (I think). The sticker says 'pic received 0003.24 from Liz Bouras.' That's March 24, 2000.
How many folk do you know who would show performance with a china!? And yet everything is so clean and smooth. The serape (drape) shows its glowing holographic colors against the black of space, seemingly floating amongst the sharp strong rays, almost spikes, of solid silver. I have always loved rays, fans and spokes; this set used them to perfection.
Rainbow Brilliance is my own set, the prism tape saddle whose number I'd saved for myself. If the numbers had been assigned strictly according to sequence of making, Number 400 should have been 403; that was where it fell, when I could carve out time between orders. (I did this with #250 too, blush. Number 300 went to a championship saddle for ACMHA [Atlantic Coast Model Horse Association], which I later bought back.) I guess I have a drop of numerology blood...
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| TSII #400, Rainbow Brilliance |
Rainbow Brilliance was based on Purple Brilliance, itself based on an earlier black-and-silver use of that design (Northern Brilliance, #375). Oh land I can remember this photo: It was the first (and last!) 35mm photograph I paid to have digitized. Kinko's in 1997... history,...
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| TSII #395, Purple Brilliance |
Rainbow Brilliance benefited mightily from Rainbow Comet, which I think is the greatest and most beautiful of all the prism tape sets made for a customer. In the whole sweep of their reign, from the earliest Wizard's Vale (TSII #243, in 1989) to the last one, Gaylene Kirkpatrick's Weather (#429) in 2003, I find the most impressive, amazing and glorious to be the cluster of #400, 401 and 402, in that year of 1997. Oh I so do need to write another book on just the TSII Silver Parade saddles -- and the prism tape sets within them, a subset of 45 in over a hundred -- which just blows the lid off any ideas of predictability or boringness... !! If I say so, they are a fabulous sequence of artistic development, design and beauty over a lifetime.
For more on these saddles see my website: Timaru Star II Silver Parade sets, Page Two
and Timaru Star II Silver Parade Sets.
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The Fountain Art Deco, the only prism tape set I ever made for a Classic scale horse, was ordered by Judy Renee Pope in 1991. My Red Scrapbook for Parade saddles contains many pages for this exquisite silver saddle. Although it wasn't the first fancy customer-designed order I'd taken, it had the greatest amount of reference associated with it so far. (This record has not been equaled to this day, although the Star Wars set came close.) I chose to put it all in the Scrapbook: four pages worth, plus my own Design Sheet and photos. We even have the original letter, something no other saddle in my Scrapbook has.
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| Dark Harbor at MAR, before I got him |
He has an original sculpture by Froelich for a head. Wishful thinking, backed by timing logic, claims that the Morganglanz's head went on to become the Beowolf of Arns Rossi.
The red writing says, "Love this central panel! —the fountain, at least could see it as the main figure on the drape —maybe in various blue prism tape (w/ silver around the [teardrop] edges to hold it down, right?) The stylized leaves and flowers are good too — at least I think they’re leaves … the crescent/semicircle things…"
Judy had a clear idea of what she wanted, but at the same time was turning me loose -- the ultimate compliment. In 1991 I was four years married and living in a rented 2-story house in State College PA. In another 2 years we would buy our own home. The art and skill of the TSII Parade saddle was burgeoning. Here is the second page of design ideas from her.
"Maybe work into design on drape (as framing pieces — leaving out the dancing figure and all … just the [angled steps] side bits …)" Spot on.
"These are neat too, but I’m not sure they go with the rest of the design … maybe decorative doohickies …" Not too many of my customers used the word 'doohickies' with such authority. They ultimately wound up on the chest shield.
Judy went so far as to fill out one of my Parade Design Sheets. This was a rarity.
Along the top of this page, I had stuck some samples of the prism tape. The tiny sentence to the right of them says: "Couldn’t resist keeping the original of this … ! enjoy looking at the colors too much —" This explains why I've got a copy and not the original page. The left paragraph says, "Don’t know if cutting the bottom of the drape like this is feasible, but it’s what I saw, so here ’tis. I sketched out a rough design below based on it, but that can be altered if you need. (could see the water motif carrying into the raindrop—shaped drops…)" It was indeed possible. The right paragraph says, "Some rough breastcollar ideas, to make it tie in w/ the rest of the design … don’t know what to do w/ the center piece — maybe just tool in some of the repeating flower patterns from the fountain screen?"
And down at the bottom: "Drops should be raindrop shaped — somehow I’ve got a feeling they’re too small to come in prism tape. (blue, of course:) but I do have some metallic blue paint that could be used…" No, Judy, they were not too small. In the event, that paint was not needed.
It took three tries to get the serape right, and even then I apparently didn't use that overlapping shield at the bottom.
Amazingly #325 was made in less than a month, 11.18 to 12.04.
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| TSII #325 Fountain Art Deco |
Those were the days of using the [aluminum] silver tape as a border to the prism tape (metallic holographic film under a thin plastic layer).
My Scrapbook has a triptych of photos of #325:
Upon receiving it, the indomitable trio showed it upon a Roan Lady Hagen Renaker, a standing TWH mare in white with light grey shadings. We have the photo. Once again the sticker says "pic received from Liz Bouras 0003.25".
I am almost ready to collect chinas, after this! They have better archival qualities than most tack!! Here are a couple of close-ups of #325 as it is today, after thirty-three years:
Although the prism tape does not seem to have suffered, the silver has. The browband is falling off in pieces, as is the fountain center. The lower corner of the serape, on right, has lifted and peeled bars. Even the tapadero has these lifting edges! Buckles have gone grey, pins are green, the shoulder cap fell off, and that corona blanket cries out to me to be replaced with a far better technology than marking-pen on fleece. >flinch<
Here's my list: New rings and buckles of stainless steel. Clean. New blanket, new cinch. Repair lost and mangled silver (this's what'll take the time). Polish bit. Fix fallen shoulder caps. Try to affix delicate silver tape, either by replacement, gluing, tying down with Mylar or some other way. We have the patterns. We just have to find the time.
There is at least one blog post of mine about repairing a silver bridle: A Silver Bridle Repair. Here's another, more in-depth about restoring TSII silver Parade sets in general: Reflections on Restorations.
The same cleaning and repair applies to the Four-in-hand Hungarian harness. "Probably December." Eerily the same horse appears in my photos of both Rainbow Comet and the Hungarian 4: Xanadu, my Arab Stallion Resin by Bouras. Oh those were the days. The fire and effort that went into that resin run could glow for centuries. If struggle were truly measurable those horses would still be burning, a Kirlian aura swirling around them in the light of dawn. I did my best: Xanadu appears in the Guide. Here is a shot of him in the Hungarian Four, an order placed in 1997 for his exact mold by the Performance Queen Herself: Colette Robertson.
I am continually amazed by the ability Colette had to snatch up the best of the best. She truly homed in on the winners and devoted everything she could to acquiring them, sometimes against the wishes of the current owner.
This portrait was taken by me during North American Nationals in 1997. I teased her with it: "What you're best at! Stuffing guys into bags!" She just grinned.
Miss you, kid.
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