Dale Evans #802

Text & Photographs Copyright Mike Jackson 1998-2009
“Dale Evans, Queen of the West” has quite a few variations. In the early part of 1955, Hartland Plastics introduced their new version of Roy Rogers. They created a mold which closely resembled Roy, along with a new pistol, hat, and saddle. Of course, they needed a new Dale Evans mold, but that would take a little time. For a possibly close to a year, Hartland changed the color scheme on their existing Champ style Cowgirl. The Champ horse was painted to resemble Buttermilk with its light dun color and brown points. The figure was painted olive green with black gloves and boots and she was shipped with a newer style hat. During this same time, Hartland painted a few of the Chief Thunderbird style Chubby horses in the same dun colors and painted a bridle on the otherwise bridle-less horse. Eventually, the new mold was finished and she was put atop the newer Chubby style horse with the molded bridle. In 1958, Hartland gave her a new purple and white color scheme, but that seems to have lasted for a short time. The set stayed in the brochures from 1955 to 1961. In the early 90s, Steven Mfg. reproduced the purple version.
 
Dale Evans figure variations:
This group shows the basic figure molds and color schemes and few variations. The Steven set is basically the same as the one on the right. There is an oddball version of the early style Dale in the Roy Rogers Museum with a red shirt, but I am not aware of any original production pieces being in collector’s hands
 
Dale Evans Hats:
This photo shows the hat on a Purple style Dale, but it is the same for all versions, including the Steven remake. She is the only figure to use the hat. There are no mold numbers inside them.
  

Early Dale Evans on Champ style Buttermilk with brown points
Except for the olive green outfit, dun horse, and the newer style hat, this set is exactly like their earlier Champ style Cowgirls. Early style Champ Cowgirl hats are rare, so it is also possible that Hartland was already shipping this hat with some earlier Cowgirls.

Early Dale on Early Chubby Style Buttermilk with brown points
Hartland had already created #813 Chief Thunderbird who rode a bridle-less Chubby style horse. The previous figure and accessories were moved over to this horse. As they did with some early Wyatt Earp horses, Hartland painted bridles on the early Chubby style horses to serve as Buttermilk.

New Dale Evans on New Chubby Horse with early saddle
There is a possibility that some of the new Dale figures were shipped on some of the earlier Chubby horses, shown above, but this began the sets created specifically as Dale Evans. The early group of this combination were shipped on Champ style saddles.

Dale Evans on New Chubby Horse with newer saddle
This is the most common combination. The Lone Ranger style saddle was molded in brown and included with Dale Evans, completing the transformation from the Champ style sets. Many of these sets began shipping with leatherette reins instead of the earlier beaded chain reins.

Purple Dale Evans with Champ saddle
Until I saw the General Merchandise sheet, shown below, I would have considered this a mismatched set. The saddle shown in the catalog definitely has pointed tapaderos. A couple of collectors told me they have found Purple Dales in this configuration, too.
 
Dale Evans Printed Information
Dale Evans Box:
MThe front and back of Dale’s box is the same as the one used with Roy Rogers. As you can see, the end flaps illustrate the difference in the sets.

Boxes Page
Dale Evans Tag:
This tag is printed in blue ink on off white paper, usually with a navy blue string. I've seen some photographs with lighter blue, but some of that might be color shifting due to scanning or photographing the piece.

Tags Page
Dale Evans Brochure Photos
The photo on the left first appears in 1955. The photo on the right appeared in 1958.
Brochures Pages
While most Dale Evans sets have her in an olive green outfit, she was sold for a short time with a white blouse and purple culottes. This grouping is from a 1958 General Merchandise Catalog describes her as: “(H) Dale Evans and Buttermilk. A Symbol of the modern-day West. Dale Evans, Queen of the West, in purple culottes, and fringed white riding shirt. On her white horse, Buttermilk.” The dealer catalog for 1959 shows her back in green so it appears they made her in purple for only one year...or...they made her as a special run for one or two distributors. This is the only piece of literature I have ever seen showing her in the purple outfit.
 
Chart of Show Years and Info
Figure
Number		 Show Name Star’s Name Figure’s Name Studio Name Show Years Brochure Years
802 DE The Roy
Rogers
Show		 Dale Evans Dale Evans Roy Rogers
Productions		 1951-
1957		 1959-1963
Mold Marks:
Champ Mold: No mold mark
Green & Purple Dale: “Hartland Plastics, Inc.” on the back of the right sleeve
 
Dale Evans Accessories
Dale Evans Pistol
Some of the earliest Champ sets might have shipped with a Champ style silver pistol, but later sets had a regular silver pistol. After about 1959, or so, some probably shipped with brown or black pistols. Weapons Page
Dale Evans Champ Saddle
Many, or most, of the Champ Cowgirls rode saddles with dashes around the edges. The original molds seem to support this theory, too. Most are a dark chocolate brown, however, they vary a little in color. All of them are molded in white plastic, and then painted brown with silver accents.

Saddles Pages
Dale Evans Regular Saddle
This saddle is the same as the normal Lone Ranger saddle, produced about the the same time, however this one is molded in reddish brown plastic. This color often has penetrated the white plastic of the horse and is almost impossible to remove. Josh Randall also shares this saddle.

Saddles Pages
Dale Evans Hat
The Dale hats used on all versions are the same shape, lacking any sort of number or letter.
Hats Pages
 
Steven Mfg. Dale Evans

Steven Mfg. Dale Evans:
This is one of the better Steven sets. They substituted the Hoby Gilman style saddle with the rifle hole for the correct saddle. The set was painted to match the Purple Dale from the original sets. The color of the purple used by Steven seems to be more on the “plum” side of purple .
 
This page last modified Friday, October 19, 2007