Which generation of ponies first drew you into collecting them?

[moonflower]

I used to have G1s as a kid. I "grew out of them" and sold them and then started collecting them about 6 years ago.

[Nienna]

G1 for me too! When I finally got an apartment with my boyfriend (instead of student housing) my mom brought over all my old things that had been stored at my parent's house. I was super excited about getting my ponies back and decided to display them. Then I went on the internet, discovered there was a VERY active market for MLP and... the rest is history

[Scraleos]

G2's are the first ever ponies I've ever owned, but I always loved G1's as a child as well, finding them at the market and such. The came when I was about 9-10 when my step-sister was playing with some G3's. I thought I was too old for ponies, but I didn't care. I collected G1's from eBay and G3's from the shops. Then when I got into High School, I was assured that I would get made fun of for liking ponies. So I stopped. Then comes 5-6 years later, when I found someone posting a strange looking pegasus with Pony eyes. I commented saying 'this really reminds me of My Little Pony', and my friend replied, 'it is My Little Pony, it's called Friendship is Magic.' so then I looked it up and found all the aired episodes on YouTube. I enjoyed them so much, it made me get out my old G1's I couldn't bear to part with. Of course Masquerade was still there! And since then, my collection since last year has grown by over 1000%!

[Malicieuse]

G2 here.
I did had G1 ponies when i was very young and i really loved them. However i was too young in those days to actually "collect" them. I don't even remember how i got them.
It was G2 that got me really collecting. One day i got a G2 pony as a gift and that pretty much started everything. : D

[hathorcat]

I am old enough for it to be G1s as well that I had as a little girl. However even a couple of decades later it was G1s that roped me back in again when I had a yearn to find my old toys and, having found them no longer living tucked away in the loft, I headed to ebay just to buy that one pony, Cotton Candy - I was of course only ever going to have just one or two ponies...

[cobalte]

G2s here. I'm too young to have had G1s during my childhood... but I fondly remember G2s. It was a little weird seeing some G3s later on and I thought they were rather chubby, but I liked them too.

[PandaBerryInSpace]

Well... I became a fan of MLP through FiM, but when I started looking at the toys, I immediately liked G1 better. My first real pony was Heart-Throb, so really, it was G1 that got me into collecting.

[JazzMatazz]

g3's got me looking into G1s! I grew up in the era of G2 but I used to think they were odd looking!

[Koudoawaia]

It would have to be G4. I think Rarity is the first pony I got since my childhood in fact after I joined here and being on the board got me into pony collecting.

[Moonracer]

For me it's really a tough question. I had a couple of G1 ponies in my childhood (plus one G2 that my sister got for her birthday), which I decided to keep, because they were dear to me. But after I entered my teenage years I hadn't really thought of collecting them for real.


Though I admit that I had been tempted to do so on more than one occassion. First time was when I saw the G3 figures - I liked them very much, because they're shape reminded me very much of the original ponies I used to grow up with (I don't like G2 as much, because to me they seem just weird and slightly creepy - no offence G2 fans). But I didn't buy any, because for one they were too expensive for me back then, plus I didn't want my parents to make comments about me spending cash on toys.


Second time was when I started collecting Transformers figures. I've been thinking about getting myself some ponies to expand my collection - especially after I dug up my old, childhood herd. But then I decided to hold back yet again.


And third and final time was when I started to watch "Friendship is Magic". My interest in the franchise was rekindled and my nostalgia returned: and thus I began to collect ponies.


So you can see it's really a mix.

[Chi]

My first ponies were g2 because that's what was in stores when I was little. I ended up finding g1s in thrift stores sometimes, but I never even knew they were the same back then because g2 and g1 look so different. I just knew they were horses and I liked 'em! I don't think I have any childhood ponies left, but I do have a lot of my childhood breyer horses. Maybe I'll dig around stuff when I move back home and see if I can at least find one lonely survivor.

[SheRa-dude]

I had a lot of G1 MLP as a kid (I even had Paradise Estate, and yes,... I'm a guy...) So I'll always have a soft spot for the G1's. However, the majority of the G1's "don't do it" for me anymore, 25 years later. I'm still in love with the wingers, I do continue to hunt down truly mint twinkle eyes and ponies in the Fizzy pose, but that's about it.
 
I enjoyed G2, but only for nostalgic reasons. I was tickled about seeing my childhood toy return, but I couldn't embrace them entirely because of their drastic change in look and their expressionless faces.
 
I love looking at pics of the G3s!! They're sooo close to G1, so they kinda get to me, but not enough for me to collect them. I am hunting down *some* G3's because they get to me in some obscure and uncontrollable way. Wondermint and Periwinkle, for example, have that bizarre effect on me  that other G3's don't have. The only thing I miss with G3's, is the gentle puppy-dog eyes from G1. If all G3's had this, I'd be all over this gen. Sadly enough, most of them just look too perfect 'n happy for me.
 
G3.5.. Not even going there....
 
G4's....  I love 'em, to bits!!!! They are so far gone from my childhood G1's but still... It's the near anime style that gets to me. The only thing I'm extremely annoyed about, is the ABSOLUTE LACK of different poses. It's what might make me turn away from these little critters in the end... Interest for the same-old-same-old can only be held for so long.
 
I'd love to hear from people with my ideas on the different gens.

[Jadis4742]

I had G1s as a child, but it was a combination of Friendship Is Magic, ambien, and eBay that got me into collecting. I collect G1s, G2s, G3s, and G4s, but it's been a year and my focus is slowly narrowing to just G1s...nirvanas in particular.

[Evening_Moonstone]

My sister and I had MLP when we were kids.  I don't remember which ones we had for sure, but I had Seashell, Moonstone, and Baby Cotton Candy.  She had Parasol and Baby Moondancer.  We each had one of the big plush ponies too, and I know we had more than that.
But we didn't stay into ponies too long, I don't think (but I do remember enjoying the cartoon show and all). We wound up donating the ponies at one point, and a while later, I missed them.

I didn't get back into ponies until G4, though.  My best friend (another G1 kid) was telling me about how great the new show was, and I got hooked.
I didn't plan to collect, though.  I only had Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash for months, until my husband told me "we're getting all of these, because otherwise you'll regret not having them".  So we have all the mane 6, the princesses, the CMCs, and a few random ponies I just liked the colors of.  And a handful of blindbags.  And a Twilight Sparkle army...

[ladysidal]

The G1's will always be my favorite =)