Mike Jackson’s Hartland Photos:
Matt Dillon & Variations

Text & Photographs Copyright Mike Jackson 1998-2008

Matt Dillon: #822
This is one of the most common horse and rider sets, probably based on the popularity of the show and the number of years it was on the air. Dillon’s buckskin horse was originally colored with a buttery buckskin color, but most of the horses have faded or grayed some over they years. The walking horse with the straight tail is by far the most common. Additionally, a special Semi-Rearing buckskin with the mane up was used on occasions—and we've documented at least one instance where the set came with a mane down Semi-Rearing bucksin (the normal horse used with Maverick). That particular instance had a gold sticker naming the set and CBS.


Matt Dillon on a Walking Buckskin horse with slender tail:
This is the most common variation of this set. This set was introduced in 1958 and sold until 1963. It actually uses the same horse mold as Jeffords and some of the earliest Brave Eagle sets produced the year before, but this one is molded in buckskin colored plastic and the points and bridle are painted black.

Matt Dillon on a Semi-Rearing Mane Up Horse:
This variation might even deserve a 5 Star rating! Only a few of these horses are known to exist right now, but does seem to be a legitimate combination. This horse is similar to the Maverick semi-rearing horse but this one has the full mane up. Other than the horse, the rest of the set is the same as the standard walking style set shown above. If I had to guess, I’d say this set was produced around 1961 when it seemed several of the other sets got semi-rearing horses—possibly to entice previous buyers to re-purchase this new combination of an old statue. A similar set has been documented recently on a mane-down “Maverick” style horse.

Rare Semi-Rearing Mane Up Buckskin Horse combination.

Matt Dillon on a Semi-Rearing Mane Down Horse:
A couple of instances have been reported of collectors getting Dillon on a mane down Semi-Rearing buckskin horse like this one. Recently a collector found on with a gold sticker on the horse’s rump which actually said "Matt Dillon, CBS" on it—much the same as the stickers used on The Rebel. With that evidence, I feel confident enough to call it a viable variation. This horse was the normal horse used with the Maverick rider and is much more common than the mane up version shown above.

Less Rare Semi-Rearing Mane Down Buckskin Horse combination.

Number Show
Name		 Star’s
Name		 Figure’s
Name		 Studio Show
Years		 Brochure
Years
822 Gunsmoke James
Arness		 Matt Dillon CBS 1955-
1975		 1958-1963

Some information in this chart from “Total Television” by Alex McNeil 1996, 4th Edition
Mold Mark
Dillon figure: “©Hartland Plastics, Inc.” on the back of the right side of the vest.
or
Dillon figure: “©Columb Brdcstg Syst. Inc.” on the back of the left arm.
or
Dollon figure: “CBS” on the back of the right side of the vest. (I don’t own one of these)
Matt Dillon was produced at time when Hartland created a special box for their new figures. Later they switched to a more generic Crystal Palace box in which they only had to change the name on the front and flaps of the box. Dillon has a distinctive black and white tag with black string. The brochure photo above was used in the brochures in which he was shown.
Matt Dillon also received his own unique saddle. Even though it resembles the later Lone Ranger saddle, it has the extra molded cinch ring at the back edge of the fender. No other Hartland set used this saddle in any way. This saddle was molded in white plastic and then painted over with black and finally silver conchos.
Dillon’s hat is a white and has an oval crown. It resembles the Dan Troop Gunfighter hat except the Troop hat lacks the thin seam than runs along the outside edge of Dillon’s hat. It has no number or letter in the crown.
Matt’s pistol was probably silver most of the years, but could have been changed over to brown in the later years as shown in the factory sealed bag below. He carried only one pistol.
Factory Sealed Bag of Parts:
This was probably made sometime after the gunfighters were introduced. During the later years, many of the sets were shipped with brown pistols, including Matt Dillon. He has no rifle.