Spike!

[hathorcat]

I need to take a pic of the bottoms of them all to see if there is any difference there. Maybe the lavender version has something different that might make him easier to identify from the original release

I know that Spike can fade, but I am not sure how much he is really prone to fading.

You mean like the coding on the Brandies? That would be super helpful...oddly I cant remember ever tipping mine upside down to check. I know the UK dragons have different codes - so perhaps the 3 Spikes as well?

[ChipsteRJ]

No markings on the bottoms. However I do have 2 of them that do not have holes underneath... the punch did not go all the way through...

[Bag of Magic Food]

http://www.mlparena.com/Forums/viewtopic/p=1067798.html

Here's pics of G3 Spike at least!

I meant no toys...I always think of the toys before I even think of the show I think thats what Bag of Magic Food was asking...I think so anyway

Yeah, I just meant it was odd that they made Spike a main character in two movies and the live show, but then didn't make any other sort of merchandise out of him.

[hathorcat]

http://www.mlparena.com/Forums/viewtopic/p=1067798.html

Here's pics of G3 Spike at least!

I meant no toys...I always think of the toys before I even think of the show I think thats what Bag of Magic Food was asking...I think so anyway

Yeah, I just meant it was odd that they made Spike a main character in two movies and the live show, but then didn't make any other sort of merchandise out of him.

Although previous generations did link up show to toy line the association between characters and what is on shelves has never been as close as we now see with G4. Therefore HB probably didnt see the need or hear the call for "show accurate" characters as much in G3 as they do in G4. That is most apparent through the sheer number of different toy characters we saw in G3 compared to the limited number that features in the shows. And with G4 the sheer lack of characters we see as toys reflected through the continual reproduction of the same handful of characters. Therefore, Spike probably was just not needed/called for in marketing research as a G3 toy so he was never produced.

[Bag of Magic Food]

Sure, I was gonna ask why the executives were okay with giving Spike so much valuable screentime that could be used to promote figures they actually made, but then if "The Princess Promenade" did its job of selling the Breezies and the Petal Parlor (and more princess dress-up!), and "The Runaway Rainbow" did its job of selling... all of Unicornia, then I guess throwing Spike in there at the same time wasn't such a problem.

I suppose the deal was that Spike was originally just an animal friend for one playset, and though the cartoons got a lot of use out of him, the toy designers aren't expecting to suddenly sell a lot of dragon toys when the line's supposed to be all about ponies.  This ties in with my observation that the new Spike and Princess Celestia are basically swapped in terms of merchandise compared to screentime.  Someone who only collects the toys could be forgiven for thinking that Princess Celestia is the seventh main friend in the gang, and Spike is just some remote adviser who pops in for one scene half a dozen times per season.   

[hathorcat]

Lol! Yes thats a great comparison with G4...I mean outside the So Soft, Spike only really appears as a little "extra" along with a couple of story/pony packs. Its all about the ponies I guess!