The Rubber Tree

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The Rubber Tree seeks to provide a reference source for the various latex model horse brands, past and present.

Beginning with Julip in the late 1940s, latex became part of the foundation of the model horse hobby. The medium flourished in the 60s and 70s, before being overtaken by plastic brands. In the 2000s, latex began a slow renaissance, with three active brands as of 2020 - two new brands, plus Julip who has continued to chug steadily along.

Latex models, especially the older brands, can be more difficult to identify than their plastic cousins for several reasons. First, latex models were intended as interactive toys and to take advantage of the flexibility of latex, the models were created with wired limbs, and sometimes even necks; this causes our major landmark - leg placement - to be a rather uncertain feature. Also, latex degrades over time, sometimes disastrously, causing shrinkage, drooping of heads, necks, or bellies, bloating, warping, and even oozing. These distortions can alter the height as well as the overall shape of the model, often drastically The age of the plaster mold used to create each model can have an affect on the piece produced, making some models smaller than its siblings and blurring details. Repairs can also change the shape, position, size, and colour of a model.

All of this needs to be taken into account when attempting an ID. I've done my best to provide information as accurately as possible, but in many cases there are very few pictures available to work with, and very little information provided by the companies. Measurements given are gathered from the advertisements we have on hand and from collectors, these can vary from model to model due to the factors listed above, and are intended more as a rough guide than a gold standard.

As many of these models are expensive, rare, or both, I personally own very few and so depend on photo donations from the hobby at large. If you have pictures you would like to contribute, please email me at Julipfan@labratango.com.

A big, big thank you to everyone who has generously contributed information and pictures to the site!

The Rubber Tree is not in any way associated with the brands listed on this site and any opinions expressed are those of the author.

Images on this site are for reference only. Claiming ownership of these images in any context is a violation of copyright; when used on sales sites such as eBay, Etsy, Facebook, etc. it is a misrepresentation of the item and against the sites' TOS. Unauthorised use of this site's images will be reported.