Hartland Statue Help!!!
 

Hey guys,
I've always loved the Hartlands but don't know much about them. I've been offered a dozen of them but I know they were remade at least once. How do you tell if they are original? Here are pics of a few. Thanks in advance!

Originals
 

Those certainly appear to be the real deal 100% original issue.

They look like the real deal to me too

I'm no expert, though I do own a complete set of the originals. They have Hartland Plastics, Inc stamped on the back, belt or arm. I believe the anniversary edition ones are stamped "anniversary", although I've never seen one.

Yes, the new Hartlands have 25th anniversary on the back near the belt.

Thanks, guys!

Anniversary edition on right, original on left

Hartlands
 

As others have said. All shown are original. Congrats!

The 25th's were made using original statues to make molds for the 25th set. A small circle was punched out on the back just below the belt and a plug with 25 was inserted before the mold was made. Thus the 25th's are actually a little bit smaller than the originals since they came from the originals.

I have quite a few of the original statues used to make the molds. They are not in the best of shape now after the fact, but historically significant in my eyes.

Fred

Were the original jerseys initially just as white as the 25ths? In other words, is the yellowing just a function of time?

While originals were issued "white" I don't think they were ever as white as the 25th's. A different plastic was used for the 25th's years later.

That being said you can find originals in lots of shades from white, off white, cream, yellow etc. And yes the yellowing is a function of time, though it has been reported that the originals at times were made with reground plastic, meaning they took old plastic "melted it down" and poured it into the molds.

Supposedly the reground plastic yellowed more than the "virgin plastic" that was used on others.

Hope this helps

Fred

I've heard that story as well (re-ground plastic).

I have also heard that exposure to direct light can cause the "yellowing". Not sure if one is true, more so than the other. Perhaps both factors contribute to the yellowing.

Another personal observation that may or may not be true...

The lower production statues (Groat, Colavito, Killebrew, Maris) seem to have held their whiteness a bit better than the more mass-produced ones (Ruth, Spahn, Mathews, Berra, etc.). So perhaps the re-ground plastic was more widely used in the statues that were most widely produced.

Interesting info about the yellowing and thanks for the replies. Personally, I kind of like and prefer the look of a slightly yellowed or toned original Hartlands. While there's a lot to be said for items such as these looking like they just came out of the box, I like the vintage look for these great tributes to the greats of the day.