900 Series Large Cowboy & Cowgirl Sets
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Text & Photographs Copyright Mike Jackson 1998-2008
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 900 Series Champ Cowboys:
There seems to be quite a variety in this set. I never had this size figure when I was a kid, so I have never chased them down with the same passion as the 800 series. From what I can tell at this time, the solid black Champ style cowboys were the first riders Hartland created. The Cowgirls were apparently created after them.
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 The figures had one basic mold, however the earlier large riders had a cigarette in the left hand. There are a couple of different hats, some of which are painted white, as opposed to the natural white plastic. All cowboys carried two pistols which were larger than the 800 series sets. It is usually best to place the cowboy on the saddle and then slide both pieces onto the horse. |
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| The photo above shows a set as it was coming out of the box for the first time. The generic cardboard boxes were usually marked on the end with a code. This one would have been 901-W indicating it was a large style cowboy on a white horse. The hat and parts were sealed in a clear cellophane package. Most sets had a small brochure as shown in the photo below. |
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| For some reason finding "gem mint" 900 series Cowboys has been much easier to find than the smaller 800 series sets. This set came to me unopened, and the photo session above was the first time this set had see light. Notice how bright and white the mane and tail is. The small square in the lower left corner is an early brochure. This was probably a 1954 set. |
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Original parts were sealed in clear cellophane packages. This one contains a Large Champ hat (with deep crease) and two large silver pistols. There were two different hat molds in the 901 Cowboy mold.
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| There are three different color schemes for the Cowboy outfit. Near the top of the page, I showed the all Black figure, and in the boxed sets above you can see the Blue/Brown figure and the Red/White figure. The large Black figure seems to have always had a cigarette, while the other two figures seem about equally split on the ones having, or not having, a cigarette. From this group of five possible figures, you can multiply out all kinds of configurations possible based on several different horses and numerous saddle colors.
Since I don't personally own all the different horses and all the different figures and saddles, the best I can do here is to show the most common configurations. However, if you click here, you can view roughly eight different configurations of Large Champ horse and rider sets owned by Sande Schneider. She has been actively collecting the 900 series sets (and individual horses) for a long time.
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Large Cowboy Combinations
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#901 All Black Cowboy:
This is probably the very first Hartland horse and rider set, followed by the smaller 801 All Black Cowboy set. Some of the 901 figures were molded in black plastic, and then details painted over the top, and others were molded in white and then painted. Either way, the white on the holsters were painted white—and not white plastic. He was probably always paired with the large Champ style horse with the black martingatle and bridle. I've never hear a name for this set. |
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#901 Western Champ and His Master:
This one of the more common versions. It might be marked 901-P or 901-Pal on the ends of the boxes. The bridle, martingale and saddle were brown over a beautiful Palomino color. The knees of the figure are often worn and rubbed, and the brown chaps have a tendency to turn to a more "greenish" color. |
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#901 Blue/Brown Cowboy on Brown Pinto Horse:
Photos coming |
#901 Red and White Cowboy on an Ebony Horse:
Photos Coming |
#901 Red and White Cowboy on an Black and White Pinto Horse:
Photos Coming |
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Large Lone Ranger Sets
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Sometime around the middle of 1954, Hartland modified the color scheme of their large Champ style rider to represent a Lone Ranger. They did the same thing with the smaller 800 series Champ style cowboy. Some of those are even dated with a rubber stamp in 1954. I've never seen a Hartland brochure or document showing this set. The larger 900 series Horse and Riders seem to have been phased out of the line-up fairly quickly and this set may not have made it past early 1955.
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Lone Ranger with white scarf on Silver with black martingale:
While this set is actually quite hard to find, the set shown on the left is probably the most common version. The white horse has black tack and the saddle has the small dots around the edges. The pistlols used with the Lone Ranger sets were the same as on the other sets. |
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Lone Ranger with red scarf:
Currently, I know of only two of this figure. When I purchased the set, it was combined with a saddle having the braids or dashes, and on a horse with black tack, as shown on the left. The seller told me it came from an estate sale, and was the only set in the estate, so I have to assume it was the saddle that Hartland put with this figure. The set shown on the right is exactly the same, except for the black saddle with small dots. As a general rule, most cowboys were shipped with the dot styles saddles and most cowgirls were shipped with the dash style saddles. |
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Front view and Close-Up of 901 LR with Red Scarf:
The paint job on this set appears to be original to me, and knowing that at least one other similar piece exists, I do think it was painted that way at the factory. Knowing the Lone Ranger wore a red scarf, this special paint would not be out of the question. There are two styles of Large Champ hats. The hat with the deep crease was one that came to me with this figure. |
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Large Champ 900 Series Pistol:
This pistol is quite a bit larger than the 800 Series pistols. They would have been some of the first that Hartland sculptors would have made followed shortly by the smaller 800 series Champ pistols. They are fairly hard to find.
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| Large Champ Hat with deep crease: Both style hats were in the 901 Cowboy mold. |
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| Large Champ Hat with pear shaped crown: I can't say that any specific color scheme had a specific version of the hat. More than likely, it was purely the luck of the draw on this hat. |
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Related Large Cowboy Information
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This photo was used in the brochures for a couple of years, however, the set seems to be offered as a smaller version. There is no mention in the brochures of the availablity of the larger sets. The caption identifies this set as "Western Champ and His Master", indicating the horse is called Western Champ. To view additional historical information on the Champs, click here!
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901 Large Champ Figure Mold:
This mold contains the two parts to the figure, two guns, a saddle and TWO different style hats! Interestingly, the saddle included in this mold is the one with dots. The saddle included with the Cowgirl mold has the dashes.
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| #902 Large Cowgirl Sets |
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#902 Jade Green Cowgirl on Palomino Horse:
Photos coming
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#902 Jade Green Cowgirl on Brown Pinto Horse:
Photos coming
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#902 Red and White Cowgirl on Ebony Horse:
Photos coming
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#902 Red and White Cowgirl on Black and White Pinto Horse:
Photos coming
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#902 Red and White Cowgirl on White Horse:
Photos coming
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902 Large Cowgirl Figure Mold:
This mold shows the larger Cowgirl, with two hats and two guns. On close inspection, the saddle has the large laces or "dashes" around the edges. Between these two photos, it is apparent which saddle was designed for the Cowboys and the Cowgirls.
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Large Champ 900 Series Pistol:
This pistol is quite a bit larger than the 800 Series pistols. They would have been some of the first that Hartland sculptors would have made followed shortly by the smaller 800 series Champ pistols. They are fairly hard to find.
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900 Champ Horses:
For a period prior to introducing their Cowboys and Cowgirls, Hartland sold the 900 series horse with only a saddle. There were two different molds used, and some hat holes in the back of the horse to accept a post in the bottom of the saddle. The saddle had a short seat, unsuitable for a rider.
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The horse shown above is a 900-P set. The same horse mold and saddle mold were used in the late '40s on the Mastercrafter Clocks. No evidence has surfaced indicating Hartland sold the horse during the period from about 1950 to early 1953. A January 1953 add appeared in Horse Lovers Magazine with basically the same horse as shown above. This one has a glossy finish, while early versions had a matte finish.
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Click here, you can view roughly eight different configurations of Large Champ horse and rider sets along with eight horse and saddle sets owned by Sande Schneider.
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As I get time and more pieces to photograph, I will be adding them to the Just Horses page. |
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This page last modified Friday, October 19, 2007
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