Real takara baby guide (How to tell if you have a fakie)

[banditpony]

Hi. 


I thought maybe this would be handy for anyone who might not know about takara babies aka "Kawaii Pony" かわいいポニー　, or fakie baby takaras. It is of course obvious to me which one is real, and which one isn't. But it might not be to other people. So I thought this guide would help out to any confusion... because I have seen confusion, even within the past week. 


My babies aren't quite ready for a real photoshoot yet. I have still have a bit more work of getting some decayed rubberband residue out of their hair (I am slowly getting it out).




Let me know if you have any questions about either real or fakies that might not of been covered. I am more than happy to answer any questions-- or if there are certain pictures you'd like to see.



STEP ONE: Identification.
As far as we know, from inserts, boxes, and the catalogue, the only Takara babies released are Popo and Lily. Popo is the yellow one, pink hair, and arms up. Lily is the pink one, purple hair, and arms down. They are the same colors as Milky and Pinky (the adults).


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STEP TWO: Neck.
I have never seen a baby takara fakie with a U shaped neck joint. Not to say they don't exist, but I have taken the head off of at least 30 fakies. Pop that head off and look how the head is attached to the body. (Fakies have all sorts of different ways from T shape to V shape).


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STEP THREE: Markings.


It should have a clear indication on the bottom (c) TAKARA CO LTD / '85 / JAPAN. And yes, some might have remnants of this, but it must be very clear and readable.


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STEP FOUR: Quality.
Baby fakie takaras do have varying qualities. Some are better than others. Things to look out for are : blurry eyes, poor nose paint, bad dry hair, and how the hair is rooted. REAL baby takaras have finely printed eyes, blush, nice paint job, full thick quality hair, well rooted hair including two straight rows on the tail. I really would look at the rooting, and plugs if your takara is in bad condition.


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But really, there are TONS of fakies out there! And the best thing about them is that they come in so many shapes and sizes abd colors! And to be honest, I don't think they are that rare either. Here is a comparison shot of a real girl with some of her fakie sisters.


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For more comparisons : http://www.flickr.com/photos/52sheep/sets/72157631167832340/

Last updated AUG 20, 2012.

[okapishomapi]

Super interesting - thank you!!

Now I just need to find some in a thrift store or something

[hlbmlp]

wow! so informative! thanks! I was wondering about that. ^__^

[Lilja]

Awesome work! It is so great to finally be able to look at an actual Takara Kawaii Pony.

I like it too that there are such a large variety in the fake ones. It really adds to the fun and intriguing part of Takara collecting!

[pinkkittywinks]

brilliant work

does she have blush?

love pkw xxx

[Chi]

This is great. I hope to have a Takara of my own someday.

[banditpony]

brilliant work

does she have blush?

love pkw xxx

Yes there is blush, in fact I think that's my favorite part.

Awesome work! It is so great to finally be able to look at an actual Takara Kawaii Pony.

I like it too that there are such a large variety in the fake ones. It really adds to the fun and intriguing part of Takara collecting!

:O It really does~

[Silversnow]

I love this thread, thank you very much! x

[hathorcat]

Very interesting!!

Thanks for the run though....

[pinkkittywinks]

thank you for answering my question, that is so cute they have blush. i must say it really adds and she does stand out from the rest of the fakies as different.

the fakies are still such fun though

love pkw xxx

[mercynova]

So awesome! I want one so badly!

[tootie_tails]

I thought maybe this would be handy for anyone who might not know about takara babies aka "Kawaii Pony" かわいいポニー　, or fakie baby takaras. It is of course obvious to me which one is real, and which one isn't. But it might not be to other people. So I thought this guide would help out to any confusion... because I have seen confusion, even within the past week. 

My babies aren't quite ready for a real photoshoot yet. I have still have a bit more work of getting some decayed rubberband residue out of their hair (I am slowly getting it out).

Let me know if you have any questions about either real or fakies that might not of been covered. I am more than happy to answer any questions-- or if there are certain pictures you'd like to see.

Thank you for taking the time to make a proper id thread. Now when people ask about takara babies we can just direct them here.
Are you planning to make (or have) a website about takaras as well? 

I have so many questions.. I have a few fakies and always wondered which one of them would be closest to the real thing, as they do vary a lot in size, shape, color and so on.

Do you know if there are any fakies looking exactly like the originals? As in, exactly the same mold, both in shape and size? (just missing the bottom stamp that is)
As I cannot afford a real takara baby that would be the second best thing so to speak. Because once I have a pony body in the right mold, the paint and the hair wouldn't be that hard to replace to make it look more like a real takara baby.

If there are no fakie bodies exactly like the real thing, then I would go for fakies exactly the same shape just scaled down/up a little, I guess...

And if that doesn't exist either, I would try to find whatever shape looked overall closest to the real thing.

I'm thinking the fakies, that are not that hard to find after all, will probably vary more in value in the future. (speaking about non customized ones now)
Currently they are all very popular and when it comes to value those with bright and unusual colors seem to sell the best.
Because the real takara babies are so extremely rare there haven't been a way to determine how 'good' a certain fakie is. But I think that is about to change. The closer to the real thing, the higher the value, in my opinion.

[banditpony]

Good questions Tootie_tails! 


I had plans to make a webpage, but then I didn't think anyone would be interested in it, so I gave up my research. I am hoping at the very least to write a spotlight for them.


Onto your question about which are the closest.



Short answer : eeeeh, none of them. But pictures can help you out for what you are looking for!


Longer answer (but still short) I really want to look at them to try to see how closely they all resemble each other, but I never had the time to. Because now that I think about it, I think the plastics have something to do with it. The real babies are made out of very thin plastic, but it looks and feels really nice. Most of the fakies seem to have drooping heads, you'll see what I mean ... o_O


Another place I want to really examine them is their feet, but that's... too long to explain at the moment.


I have more, that might also vary a bit, but I think these ones cover a lot of it.


Starting off with the biggest monster, and the ones that also knocked off the crib. Palau. Now, I'm only assuming these are Palau because of the crooked double row rooted tails, size, and typical (poor quality) paint job.


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and here are two others, from another angle.


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Ok, moving on. These next two are ones that I consider the ones easiest to find in a better quality. The blue one originally had yellow hair. These are my favorite out of all the fakies. And I think are the best option for customizing, because they are more common, and most of them can keep their heads at the right angle (blue one, not pink).


The interesting thing is, is these are the ones that can have traces of takara on the bottom. In fact, the blue one does. But they are a teeeeeny bit smaller. (the head, the feet..) 


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This one is one that has a hole in the bottom of it, so I consider it to be produced by another company. Who, not sure. Won't ever know. Including her, because she's another variety.




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This one, I like too. she is translucent, but she was better quality. On the smaller side, too.
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And lastly, the lovely pet fakie... which is also referred to the fakie of a fakie...
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[cesprins]

Thank you for the information! It was really helpful

[tootie_tails]

Thanks!! 
 These pictures are really good for comparing.
 I see what you mean with drooping heads. I guess part of the problem may be the lower quality plastic.
 It seems the real babies have rounder faces than the fakies as well. Like the fakies don't have full cheeks.
 
 I know I have at least four fakie babies but could only find one of them atm. She is blue and she has those traces of the takara stamp. Judging by her shape I think she is one of these types (her plastic is matte so I guess probably the first type):
 
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 I'll take a picture of her now and update this post later today.
 
 I noticed this as well in your pictures - the real babies have a bigger portion of their muzzle painted, and their eyes are located further back on their heads. So on a fakie that would need to be repainted in order to make it look more real.
 
 About what height are the real babies?
 
 Is the hair rooted exactly the same way on both of yours, or do the hairlines have different styles?
 
 I noticed my fakie, the only one I have at hand atm, has traces of markings for where the hairlines should go, and it sort of matches how the hair looks on yours but not quite - will try to get a photo of that as well.