Semi-Rearing Mustang - Nuances

Breyer History Diva wrote a bit about how to tell the age of a buckskin Semi-Rearing Mustang, one of my most favoritemolds.

From Breyer History Diva, June, 2013

I was just thinking about that myself - there's a lot of variation in the Buckskin Mustang, which isn't surprising, since it was made for almost forever (by today's standards!)

I haven't codified all of the nuances, but here are a few:

The easiest way to tell is to check for a USA mark. No USA = prior to 1970. Nubbed/trimmed front hooves are also an indication of age, though I'm not sure when that practice was discontinued.

The very earliest ones have painted eyewhites. Those are pretty hard to come by, though. (And if you find one, snag it!)

Earlier Mustangs tended to have more greyish legs than later ones, contrasted by their black hooves. It wasn't until near the end of the run that the legs were painted true black.

Dorsal stripes are another indicator of age; again, I'm not entirely sure when they stopped putting them on - early 1970s, I believe.

Earlier Mustangs also have either neatly airbrushed or masked manes; again, it's hard to date precisely. My super-early one with eyewhites has a neatly-airbrushed mane, but a mid-1970s one I just picked up recently was masked.