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Author Topic: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?  (Read 2948 times)

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Offline Zest

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Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« on: March 13, 2013, 12:27:40 PM »
Okay, so there's a little story behind her. :blush:
I saw her on eBay and I was pretty much blindsighted by "oooh unique! rarity's head! ALICORN!!" and made a very impulsive bid on her at the last possible minute, thinking I'd be sniped at the last minute.

Well, the would-be sniper was about 12ยข off on their bid and I ended up with her instead, much to my "aUGH I SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT" guilt-trip a few moments later. :blush:

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Well, about two weeks later her she is at home with me and I have to say she's growing on me fast. However while I'm aware of prototype/"mismatch" ponies, I know very little about them.

First thing I want to know, was this pretty lady worth it? And aside from the eBay seller, where the heck did she come from?

My first worry was that "well, what's stopping someone from just taking a Rarity and Blossomforth and swapping their heads?" but her head seems to be pretty snuggly fit on, more snug than the Rarity I was comparing her with not playing why would I play with her what i'm an adult, and obviously more snug than one of my Pinkie Pie's whose head I had popped off with the intent of customizing (and later going "nope I am so not going to destroy her neck for the sake of that damn plug!"). Sooo I'm hoping that rules out that horrible possibility. :worry:
(Also noticed her left eye is slightly, but pretty noticeably, mis-stamped, but that seems like a fairly typical occurrence for some G4s.)

Also a name, a name would be nice; I've been half-heartedly calling her Blossomity. :P
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Offline Archer

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2013, 12:32:36 PM »
She looks like she's from Taobao. If you're interested in ponies like here, there's quite a few up on there. A lot of ponies have been showing up on there with mismatched heads in the hopes they'll sell :) Even plushes and blind bags lol. I have one similar, an alicorn rarity with rarity's mane and tail, only she doesn't have any symbol :)

Out of interest how much did you pay for her?

Offline Dludnerad

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2013, 12:51:00 PM »
She's pretty! haven't seen that variation before.
I love the test shots and the prototype ponies. Factory errors are fun :)
There's a Rainbow Dash with no wings!
Sometimes they are used as free samples and made from leftover parts. (at least, that's what I've heard)

I've bought a bunch of the mismatches and I like them all.
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I see it... Can you see it too...? :shocked:

Offline Galactica

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2013, 01:04:29 PM »
Definitely a mismatch!  I love the mis-matches-  some of them are color tests, and some of them are the results of factory workers popping the wrong heads on the wrong bodies-   

They all seem to come from Taobao (chinese craigslist/ebay type thing) - where people in China sell off lots of factory rejects, prototypes, first shots  (things that are typically thrown away)

THere are some on this thread:
http://mlparena.com/mlp/index.php/topic,325440.0.html

They are pretty cheap on Taobao when you find them-  but you have to pay an agent to get the pony for you, prepay for it, ship it from China to the agent, then from the agent to you... it's a bit of a tangled mess and many would rather just skip right to ebay, where a lot of the Chinese sellers of such things seem to be migrating to anyway...

Ebay prices are quite a bit more-  I would have to check the completed auctions again, but I do see the mis-matches going for $16- $20something frequently...

Offline Suineder

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2013, 01:07:33 PM »
She's certainly pretty. Perhaps you could call her Rare Blossom? She's probably unique, after all.

Offline Zest

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2013, 01:36:14 PM »
Awesome! :D Does anyone have any tips/known Taobao shops that sell these and like ladies? I've used Taobao before but mostly for BJD stuff, so I have no clue where to start when looking for ponies.

She's pretty! haven't seen that variation before.
I love the test shots and the prototype ponies. Factory errors are fun :)
There's a Rainbow Dash with no wings!
Sometimes they are used as free samples and made from leftover parts. (at least, that's what I've heard)

I've bought a bunch of the mismatches and I like them all.

I remember that Rainbow Dash! :P I have no idea what stopped me from getting her, she was only like $12 or $20 USD and now all I can find are ones going for $80+ :shocked:


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Out of interest how much did you pay for her?

Eh, probably a bit too much, around $30 - 35 not including shipping? :blush: Her price was in GBP so part of the reason I was going "D'OH WHY DID I DO THAT" was because I'd entered about $5 to $10 more than I intended too.... ^^;;; (as Ditzy Doo pats me on a back for a derp well done)
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Offline SeashellnBubbles

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2013, 01:48:36 PM »
I wouldn't beat myself up over buying her! I think she's syunning and even if she doesn't appreciate in value or whatever, you have a pony that was sort of made just for you. The rest of us are stuck with what Walmart and TRU thrust at us! Lol
Just think of her as a custom....as a custom, I think you paid an excellent price for her!

Offline LadyDi

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2013, 01:56:45 PM »
I totally love her! And totally understand the feeling too!  I bid on a Rarity/DJ PON mix and then wondered the same as you.  And so far I'm the winner :-/ But it's kinda cool nonetheless.  Enjoy your alicorn! :)

Offline achab1984

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2013, 02:52:08 PM »
She is very pretty, congrats on her :)

Offline Rhubarbpie

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #9 on: March 13, 2013, 04:21:57 PM »
Heh I have this one too!! I bought mine off someone here on the Arena.  Then a few months later, I saw her counterpart, Blossomforths head on Rarity's body on ebay!!  I just HAD to have her!!

And here they are  :biggrin:

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2011_1030delivery_12_010029 by Rhubarb Pie1, on Flickr

If you like the appearance of them, then there's no problem buying the Taobao factory error ponies.  Yes some unscrupulous sellers will try their hand at making franken-ponies but you can probably tell from the state of their necks.

Offline Dusky

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2013, 08:05:35 PM »

Eh, probably a bit too much, around $30 - 35 not including shipping? :blush: Her price was in GBP so part of the reason I was going "D'OH WHY DID I DO THAT" was because I'd entered about $5 to $10 more than I intended too.... ^^;;; (as Ditzy Doo pats me on a back for a derp well done)

Ohhh no... there's a UK seller who is blatantly head-popping to supplement their actual TaoBao ponies, as proved when ALL of their listings were head swaps with other ponies they had listed! I hope this wasn't the case with you.

Offline rearing_palomino164

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2013, 08:10:12 PM »
I like her :)
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Offline Zest

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2013, 10:03:37 PM »

Eh, probably a bit too much, around $30 - 35 not including shipping? :blush: Her price was in GBP so part of the reason I was going "D'OH WHY DID I DO THAT" was because I'd entered about $5 to $10 more than I intended too.... ^^;;; (as Ditzy Doo pats me on a back for a derp well done)

Ohhh no... there's a UK seller who is blatantly head-popping to supplement their actual TaoBao ponies, as proved when ALL of their listings were head swaps with other ponies they had listed! I hope this wasn't the case with you.

Eeek! I'm pretty sure she's not, though? Her head's more tightly stuck on than a few of my other ponies, whom I know haven't been tampered with. And her neck isn't, uhh, messed-up looking? xD; I mean if it is a head swap, it's very well done, lol.
But for safety's sake, do you have the name of this eBay seller so I can stay away from them if it was a specific person? o:


Heh I have this one too!! I bought mine off someone here on the Arena.  Then a few months later, I saw her counterpart, Blossomforths head on Rarity's body on ebay!!  I just HAD to have her!!

And here they are  :biggrin:

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2011_1030delivery_12_010029 by Rhubarb Pie1, on Flickr

If you like the appearance of them, then there's no problem buying the Taobao factory error ponies.  Yes some unscrupulous sellers will try their hand at making franken-ponies but you can probably tell from the state of their necks.

OMG. She's lovely! (obviously... xD) And I love Blossomforth with Rarity's cutie mark, what a great pair! I almost find it more unique that there's multiple Blossomforth/Rarity alicorns, kind of like I can picture them at the factory like "UGH how did this happen again?!" :P
« Last Edit: March 13, 2013, 10:06:45 PM by Zest »
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Offline BrightIdea

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2013, 11:44:51 PM »
Well, she is cute, but I hate to say that she isn't worth more than $5 in the long run. You just paid someone $30 to remove a pony's head and stick it on another body. Anybody can swap heads. If she had something about her that made her unique, like a unique head with rarity's eyes, or even unique hair, she would be worth a little more.

I think in China, sometimes sellers must get a bucket of heads and a bucket of bodies as spare/unused parts, and then combine them to sell them on Taobao. I don't think the people are necessarily combining them wrong or messing around at the factory, because sticking random heads on random bodies doesn't really seem productive.

It is fun to see the different combos people make, though. I have an alicorn Rarity, too, because they are fun, but I only paid $5, just like for any normal pony.

For the head swap thing, some mismatched ponies do have loose heads, others have perfectly normal feeling necks, while others have bulgy neck joints, while others are stuck so tight, they do not turn. I think it depends on the fit of the little joint in their neck.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2013, 11:55:02 PM by BrightIdea »
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Offline BlueyBirdy

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Re: Any info on this mismatch Alicorn?
« Reply #14 on: March 14, 2013, 06:30:26 AM »
Well, she is cute, but I hate to say that she isn't worth more than $5 in the long run. You just paid someone $30 to remove a pony's head and stick it on another body. Anybody can swap heads. If she had something about her that made her unique, like a unique head with rarity's eyes, or even unique hair, she would be worth a little more.

I think in China, sometimes sellers must get a bucket of heads and a bucket of bodies as spare/unused parts, and then combine them to sell them on Taobao. I don't think the people are necessarily combining them wrong or messing around at the factory, because sticking random heads on random bodies doesn't really seem productive.

It is fun to see the different combos people make, though. I have an alicorn Rarity, too, because they are fun, but I only paid $5, just like for any normal pony.

For the head swap thing, some mismatched ponies do have loose heads, others have perfectly normal feeling necks, while others have bulgy neck joints, while others are stuck so tight, they do not turn. I think it depends on the fit of the little joint in their neck.

^ Basically this. Head swaps, even if they're well made, are still just head swaps and not really anything of note. Anyone can remove a head from a pony and put it on another body. It's a fairly quick process.

I'm honestly annoyed at people on eBay selling these ponies like they're rare, unique prototypes. They're really not and it's deceitful to market them as such. :| A genuine prototype would be like this pony here (my photo):

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Although she looks like Lyra with Sunny Ray's cutie mark she has different coloured eyes too (Lyra's eyes are gold).

It's a case of buyer beware. Head swap ponies are cute but not worth much more than a regular pony.
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