Though I've never had a dog of my own, I've always loved German Shepherds. My grandparents had several of them when I was growing up, and they were playful, affectionate, loyal dogs. I loved them dearly. Because of this, I've collected German Shepherd models by several makers---mostly Hagen-Renaker, Hartland, and Breyer. In particular, I'm happy to have a number of vintage variations on Breyer's Rin Tin Tin/German Shepherd mold, but I wish there were more releases to collect. The mold unfortunately had only two though, and the last one was over 50 years ago now.
The story of Breyer's Rin Tin Tin model begins on a battlefield in northeastern France in September of 1918 during World War I. Twenty-five year-old Corporal Lee Duncan, a native of California, had been sent to the town of Flirey to see if the surrounding countryside might be turned into an airfield for his unit. Like so much of that part of France, the area had been destroyed by shelling. While searching a bombed out kennel that had housed German military dogs, Duncan found one living German Shepherd and her newborn litter of five puppies. He gave the mother and three of the puppies to his superiors and friends in the unit, and kept the remaining two pups for himself. The following year, he managed to finagle passage for the dogs aboard his transport ship home.
Duncan named them Rin Tin Tin and Nanette after yarn dolls given as good luck charms to soldiers by French children. Nanette unfortunately developed pneumonia and died (and was subsequently replaced by another puppy with the same name), but Rin Tin Tin made it safely to California with Duncan.
Duncan named them Rin Tin Tin and Nanette after yarn dolls given as good luck charms to soldiers by French children. Nanette unfortunately developed pneumonia and died (and was subsequently replaced by another puppy with the same name), but Rin Tin Tin made it safely to California with Duncan.
Lee Duncan had a hard and lonely childhood, and he got along with animals far better than with people (something I think a lot of us can relate to). He spent several formative years as a child in an orphanage while his mother worked to save up money to be able to retrieve Duncan and his little sister and provide a home for them. They all eventually settled on a remote ranch where Duncan learned he had a knack for training animals, especially dogs.
When Duncan returned to California after the war, he intended to show Rin Tin Tin and eventually sell puppies from breedings with Nanette II. German Shepherds had become wildly popular due to their athleticism and usefulness in the war, and footage of Rin Tin Tin leaping a 12 foot wall at a dog show eventually made it into newsreels. Realizing he had a star in the making, Duncan worked tirelessly to break into the burgeoning movie business with Rin Tin Tin. They eventually scored a part with Warner Brothers, then only a small, struggling studio. But the partnership eventually spawned 23 silent films and made Rin Tin Tin a household name. In his films, Rinty wrestled villains, saved damsels in distress, rescued babies, thwarted bootleggers and claim-jumpers, and outwitted gangsters. Rin Tin Tin was expressive and athletic, and audiences loved him no matter what his role. His popularity made millions for Warner Brothers and was instrumental in turning the studio into the powerhouse it is today.
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| Warner Bros., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
The advent of "talkies" in the late 1920s mostly ended Rin Tin Tin's acting career, but he still remained popular with fans who flocked to see him at vaudeville shows. When Rinty died in 1932 a month shy of his 14th birthday, he was still such a celebrity that newspapers and radio stations around the country shared the sad news in obituaries and special broadcasts. In the years that followed, Duncan tried to recapture the Rin Tin Tin magic with several of the dog's offspring, but they lacked the intelligence and appeal of the original. Rin Tin Tin III did help keep the name alive during WWII when he and Duncan helped promote the war effort, and they had moderate film success after the war. But Duncan and Rinty's heirs return to fame didn't come until 1953 when one of his old Hollywood friends pitched a new television series aimed at children.
Breyer's model was based on this show, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, a Western for children that aired from October 1954 to May 1959. The TV show, despite the name, bore no resemblance to the life of the real dog. According to Wikipedia, the show centered on an orphan boy, "Rusty. and his dog, Rin Tin Tin (Rinty), [who] are the only survivors of an Indian raid on their wagon train. The boy and his dog are adopted by the 101st Cavalry at Fort Apache, Arizona, where Rusty is commissioned as an honorary corporal. Throughout the series, Rusty and Rinty help the cavalry and the nearby people to establish order in the American West." Duncan, who recognized echoes of his own lonely childhood in the premise of the show, enthusiastically supported it, and he trained Rin Tin Tin IV to be the titular star.
Unfortunately, this latest Rin Tin Tin lacked the charisma and talent of the original, and producers chose a dog named Flame Jr, usually referred to as JR, to be the lead acting dog. Rin Tin Tin IV instead received visitors and fans at Duncan's ranch. The name and legend of Rin Tin Tin had come to encompass more than just one dog.
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| Photo via tvguide.com |
The baby boom years after the war meant that the huge new generation of children, the first to have regular television access, were a highly receptive audience for licensed toys, and Westerns were hugely popular at the time. Promoters of the show raved about the "outstanding merchandising plusses for juvenile audiences" [1] and banked on the childrens' parents remembering their own fondness of the original silent films starring Rin Tin Tin.
Though Breyer was slow to cash in on licenses for other Westerns at the time, they did become official licensees for the Rin Tin Tin franchise. This was announced in the December 1955 issue of Toys and Novelties, and production had started earlier that year, meaning toy Rinty's were available for Christmas that year.
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| Toys and Novelties, December 1955 issue |
Breyer's Rin Tin Tin was sold in a colorfully decorated box with a hang tag. Badge shaped and square hang tags have been found. The tag references the "Fighting Blue Devils," the nickname for Rinty's cavalry unit at Fort Apache on the TV series.
Rin Tin Tin was made from 1955 to 1965, and not surprisingly, several variations are known. The most common variations are the "saddle" patterned dogs. They are molded in white or creamy-toned plastic and have a dark saddle down both sides of the barrel and along the topline onto the tail. They usually have a bit of shading around the eyes and on the ridges of the neck ruff. The saddle color ranges from a ruddy brown color to dark chocolate to nearly black. All Rin Tin Tins are glossy or semi-glossy.
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| Creamy and white plastic versions |
Less common are dogs with shading only along the topline but not on the sides of the barrel.
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| Non-saddle and saddle versions |
The etching on this saddle version Rin Tin Tin is after market, but it's fun to see all the same. This dog was someone's souvenir of a trip to New York in 1956 during the height of the TV show's popularity.
The saddle version of Rin Tin Tin is shown in all extant Breyer catalogs until 1963. That catalog featured another more thoroughly painted variation with color on the ears, neck, hind quarters, and upper legs in addition to the usual saddle pattern.
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| Images from the 1958 and 1963 Breyer dealer catalogs |
This pretty variation (pictured on the right in the photo below) is much less common than the earlier saddle version. Like the earlier dogs, they vary a bit in terms of color and how much of the dog is painted. I have seen some that are lighter brown toned or have little color on the ears, neck, or shoulders while still having fully painted barrels, hind quarters, and upper legs.
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| L to R: Non-saddle, saddle, and late run variations |
Dogs that appear to be transitional between the earlier and later styles are also known but hard to find.
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| Photo from Worthpoint |
Nearly all Rin Tin Tins have painted tongues ranging from red to pink. The dog with the unpainted tongue in the photo below may be unfinished or may have just been an oops.
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| L to R: Non-saddle, saddle, fully painted, and 2 more saddle versions |
Rin Tin Tin was last issued in 1965 which coincided with the end of the TV show which had continued to air as reruns from 1959-1964. The mold was released for a second time a few years later, from 1972-1973, as #327 the German Shepherd. Like Rinty, this dog also came painted in various ways. They can be found in shades of matte brown, charcoal, and black.
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| Black and brown variations |
Some are painted almost solidly while others have white on the neck, legs, or belly.
Unlike Rin Tin Tin who only had a painted tongue, the German Shepherds also usually have painted teeth.
The later run Rin Tin Tins are easy to confuse with the German Shepherd because of their more extensive paint job. The German Shepherds are very matte however while Rinty is glossy.
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| L to R: German Shepherds in black and brown and a late issue Rin Tin Tin |
And as mentioned above, the German Shepherds usually have painted teeth while Rin Tin Tin does not.
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| German Shepherd on the left, Rinty on the right |
Since 1973, Breyer has reissued most of their other large dog molds like Lassie, Jolly Cholly, the Boxer, the Saint Bernard, and even the rare Small Poodle (after its rediscovery). The Rin Tin Tin mold however has been noticeably absent for the last 50 years. So too has the Large Poodle, but we do at least know the fate of that mold. According to Breyer historian Nancy Young, the Large Poodle was discontinued in 1973 as a cost cutting measure at the beginning of the oil crisis. The thick legs are solid plastic and a molding flaw on the left side has a tendency to crack. [2] It makes sense therefore why this mold has not resurfaced.
What has become of the Rin Tin Tin mold however is a mystery. Collectors have speculated for a number of years that the mold must be damaged or even lost. I had hoped that if it was still usable or at least could be fixed that it would have been released as a special run at the German-themed 2023 BreyerFest, but alas, no such luck.
Given that Breyer still has the molds for the Small Poodle and the In Between Mare, neither of which were officially released until more than 40 years after their original creation, one would think the Rin Tin Tin mold must still be in their warehouse somewhere, too. Perhaps the damage is just too costly to repair? It's a shame if that's the case because I know many collectors besides myself who would love to have this mold in new colors on their shelves.
Lee Duncan used to say that "there will always be a Rin Tin Tin," and while fans have carried on breeding the Rinty line, the dogs are no longer stars of the silver screen nor even a household name. Except to us Breyer nerds who keep his memory alive in plastic form. I hope you have enjoyed this post, and if you're interested in learning more about the life of Lee Duncan and the meanderings of his dogs and fate, I highly recommend Susan Orlean's book Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. It offers a fascinating glimpse into the horrors of WWI, the early days of Hollywood, and the baby boom years that were so formative for Breyer.
Works Cited:
1) Orlean, Susan. Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2011), 234.
2) Young, Nancy. Breyer Molds and Models: Horses, Riders, and Animals. (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1999), 325.
1) Orlean, Susan. Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2011), 234.
2) Young, Nancy. Breyer Molds and Models: Horses, Riders, and Animals. (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1999), 325.