Lido Plastics Sets

Mike Jackson’s Hartland Photos: Non-Hartland Sets and Parts Text & Photographs Copyright Mike Jackson 1998-2009
Lido Plastics Sets:
Lido produced a few figures which resembled both Hartlands and some of the Breyers. You might think they were made by Hartland, especially the Red Cloud Indian Chief, until you examine them closely and realize that the molds are slightly different. I seriously doubt that Hartland would make a slightly different Chubby Horse mold for another company just to sell a few sets to compete against themselves. In one wholesale catalog, both Hartland Chief Thunderbird and Lido Red Clouds were shown. The Hartland piece listed for $3.98 while the Lido set listed for $2.98. These appear to be direct knock-offs from the Hartlands especially the accessories. The plastic seems a little thinner and cheaper to me. The horse’s legs are bulkier and the figure has slight differences, too. Many of the small parts are molded in brown with silver trim. The set on the left above is a recent addition which came in the box shown to its right. It was near mint and appeared to be complete. Both sets shown have woven felt blankets instead of the regular red blanket, but I do think that some of the knock-offs had red blankets, too. Maybe all the Lido Indians had the blankets. The box is numbered 1643.
Mystery Chubby Horse: When I first saw this horse, I thought it was probably a Hartland piece. The paint is marbleized with brown and gray, which I figured was a horse they might have painted for a set such as an O’Rorke Mountie. The mane was the problem. As it turns out, I am fairly certain that this horse is a Lido horse based on the manes on the two Chief Red Clouds that I own now.

Click Here to view a larger photo of the set on the left. The figure in the set on the left was molded in bright red plastic, then the brown paint was added. The weapons were quite bright, too and molded in the colors shown. This set had a bright red knife which appears to be a Breyer knife knock-off.
The Lido Indian accessories are well made and held all the detailing of original Hartland pieces. An identical brown tomahawk was in the hand of a Wells Lamont figure when I purchased him, so I suspect it could be his. The silver and brown colors seen here, are the same as in the warbonnet shown above. Like the lance, it is almost identical to the Hartland pieces except for the brown plastic and silver trim. I’m pretty sure the knife would have been brown with this group, too. Based on the newest Lido set shown above, Lido accessories could also be found in very bright colors.
You can see quite a few color variations of the Lido Chief Red Cloud. Some figures were molded in bright red, some in blue and some in brown. More than likely, a version exists with green pants.

The Royal Mountie set shown above is owned by A.M. Fox and was found in mint condition with all parts.
The Mountie to the left is also made by Lido but this time it looks like they drew heavily from the Breyer verision of the Mountie. In the two detail shots, the Lido figure is on the left and the Breyer figure is on the right. (These photos supplied by Sande Schneider)
This Jane Larriet is owned by A.M. Fox. While this one was found MIB with a white rifle, I am almost certain she could have had different colored rifles.

Lido Plastics, a company making a variety of kid’s toys around the same time as Hartland, produced quite a few different sets as you can see here. Most of the ones I have seen are far inferior to those produced by Hartland or Breyer. The paint is often chipped off the figure as shown above and I hesitate to use any word other than “ugly” on most of them. My first exposure to the Lido sets was very early during my chase to fill my Hartland sets. I was contacted by an antique dealer who said she had a tan version of Annie Oakley. I knew most of them were supposed to be pink but I went ahead and bought the one she had. Needless to say I was dissappointed when I opened the box. The dealer did take the set back but I managed to snap a photo of it first. This one is called Jane Larriet.

The Rodeo Ranger set above is owned by A.M. Fox and shows the MIB set complete with all parts. Lido mixed and matched colored parts on a regular basis. I have never seen a pattern to their combinations.
The Pony Express rider and the Rodeo Ranger are shown here. I have seen that hat before but never really knew where it came from. Mine was green and possibly went with the cowgirl above. Photos on the left were supplied by Sande Schneider.

A grouping of Lido horses in a variety of colors. The saddle, bridle and reins are molded onto the horse. I believe there might be a few more color variations, too.

This set probably fills in a few holes in the collecting mysteries. Another collector sent this photo to me. He says the guns are actually part of the mold and not something that can be removed. It is a very close match to the original Hartland Champ cowboys. The horse is a Lido horse for sure and I am pretty sure the cowboy is a Lido knock-off of a Hartland. The caramel colored hat has shown up a few times and we have always wondered who made it. The set differs from the “Hong Kong Cowboy”, shown below, in several ways—but the most noticeable are the conchos and leather straps on the chaps. If this cowboy has a name, I am not aware of it at this time. This cowboy is so much different than the Lido Cowboy shown above that it does make me a little leary of stating positively that it is made by Lido. The colors are completely different than any Hartland color scheme and the molded in guns make me fairly sure that Hartland did not make it.

More than likely, this figure was made by the same company as the figure above. At first glance, you might think the brown on the chaps have just faded away, but the conchos are black on this one, and silver on the one above. They show up one eBay fairly often. This figure came to me with a hat very much like a Hartland hat. His legs are not spread as far apart as normal Hartland Champ figures. This seems to fit the narrower Lido horses.



This group of four scans came from a merchandise wholesaler catalogue. The Wisconsin Deluxe Company from Milwaukee distributed a large catalogue (around 1955) which included a sizeable grouping of toys, including eight Hartland horse and riders plus Bullet. This is the first time I have had a chance to positively identify these sets with their assigned names. The Champ style figure in the photo above this grouping of four is not shown here. The hat on the Rodeo Ranger does look very much like the hat in that photo which is identical in shape to a Hartland Champ hat. There may still be catalogue photo of that figure show up someday. Notice the price! While Lido sets were only $2 retail, Hartland sets in the same catalog were $3.98. Hartland sets in the catalog include: RR and Dale, LR and Tonto, Chief Thunderbird, O’Rorke, Earp, Lee and Turfking (identified simply as Jockey and Rider).


This photo shows the Lido weapons seen in the catalog photos above. They are made of a more rubbery plastic than the normal hard acetate plastic used on Hartland sets. I would bet there are bright red versions of these pieces, too.


Thanks to Sande, Dennis, Sharron, Bill, Cookie, A. M. Fox and others for help with the Lido Sets!