If Hasbro would bring back all G1 Ponies...

[Leave a Whisper]

Yeah and just think, international exclusives and htf mail order only ponies that are easily available and affordable.

[LadyMoondancer]

I honestly don't care about retro ponies having an effect on collection value.  I paid $200 each for Nightlight, Raindrop, German Skydancer, and German Starshine when they first "debuted" on the internet and over $50 for UK ponies who now sell for $10.  I bought a mint Ice Crystal, who turned out to be not-so-mint once he started developing pony cancer.  I don't regret buying any of them, que sera sera.  I'd rather see lots of people enjoying owning (for example) a repro NBBE Baby Lofty than sit around thinking "PHEW, thank goodness this pony I purchased will never devalue!"  These are plastic toys, not savings bonds.

[hathorcat]

I think thats a really interesting question! While it would change collecting you would still have "first edition" releases in many ways so there would probably still be a desire for original released ponies over newer ones.

While it would devalue my (and many) collections, I do think its a nice idea to make some ponies more accesible to everyone

[amberthest]

It would depend on the pony.  If it was the Brothers then I'd buy them up in a heartbeat to use as custom bait (and I don't have Tex yet, so he would go into my collection).  And maybe the So-softs.  But for the most part, I would rather see new characters in the G1 style than a re-issue of, say, Firefly or Medley.  If they released the country specific variants (like all the different South American Bow Ties) in the US then I'd probably pick up a bunch of those, too, because I really like some of the color combinations other countries used that didn't get used on the US releases.

I think as long as the feet were stamped with the current year then it wouldn't really devalue the original collections.  It would also make finding an 80s G1 at the thrift store a bit more thrilling.

I agree that the date stamp on the hoof would make sure that older collections don't decrease in value, and it would make them even more fun to find!
Not sure how I feel about re-releasing old ponies; I think part of the fun of My Little Pony collecting is that there are different generations and I'm sure it will continue that way. There will continue to be new designs, and throw backs, and I don't think we need to bring back all of the old ones.
I don't collect g1s just because they look and feel nice, I collect them because somebody in the 80s/90s used to play with them and love them and they get another life in my collection, and I will make sure they stay nice for the next kid or collector to get them.

[hathorcat]

It would depend on the pony.  If it was the Brothers then I'd buy them up in a heartbeat to use as custom bait (and I don't have Tex yet, so he would go into my collection).  And maybe the So-softs.  But for the most part, I would rather see new characters in the G1 style than a re-issue of, say, Firefly or Medley.  If they released the country specific variants (like all the different South American Bow Ties) in the US then I'd probably pick up a bunch of those, too, because I really like some of the color combinations other countries used that didn't get used on the US releases.

I think as long as the feet were stamped with the current year then it wouldn't really devalue the original collections.  It would also make finding an 80s G1 at the thrift store a bit more thrilling.

I agree that the date stamp on the hoof would make sure that older collections don't decrease in value, and it would make them even more fun to find!
Not sure how I feel about re-releasing old ponies; I think part of the fun of My Little Pony collecting is that there are different generations and I'm sure it will continue that way. There will continue to be new designs, and throw backs, and I don't think we need to bring back all of the old ones.
I don't collect g1s just because they look and feel nice, I collect them because somebody in the 80s/90s used to play with them and love them and they get another life in my collection, and I will make sure they stay nice for the next kid or collector to get them.

The problem is the hoof mark goes by mould manufacture date. So if theory even ponies made now would have 1983 or 1984 stamped on them.

[LadyMoondancer]

As far as I know, Hasbro no longer has any of the original molds.  In that era they typically melted the metal molds down after a toyline was done.  I know this was an issue when it came to G1 Transformers re-releases.

So if they made retro ponies they would have to create new molds, and I'm sure they would update the hoof mark to 2016 (or whatever year they remade the molds). They did this on the retro Collector ponies (and I assume the retro Rainbow ponies, although I don't own any of those.)

[hathorcat]

I was keeping in the "what if" theme of the post So if Hasbro was to do this and keep it as realistic as possible they would need to do it all the same, from reverse moulds and casting or perhaps they managed it due to undiscovered, unused moulds...after all we have seen a couple of them pop up for sale recently.

[goddessofpeep]

This actually happened with Magic the Gathering in the late 90's.  They released a set of cards called "Chronicles" that were reprints of some older cards(mostly from Legends and Antiquities).  Many of those original cards had been going for pretty high prices at the time, and a lot of collectors got really, really angry about the reprints.  You could tell the difference between the two card runs, but the originals commanded high prices because the cards were good, and people wanted to use them.  I actually loved Chronicles because I had come in *just* too late to get the originals, so the reprints were fantastic as far as I was concerned!  I got to have access to a bunch of cards I'd never have gotten due to the rarity and the price.

The prices for the originals fell drastically, and there was such a hue and cry about it from the collectors who had paid the high prices for the originals, that Wizards of the Coast vowed never to do that kind of thing again.  Now, there are some cards that get reprinted in new versions as new sets come out, but none of them are big ticket old cards.  If they do reprint anything expensive, it's usually a seriously limited and expensive set that doesn't impact the card market much.

If Hasbro were to release identical versions of G1s in mass quantities, it would make the vintage market take a nosedive.  Rapunzel goes for $700 because there's only one way to get her.  If you can get a version that looks the same for $10 at TRU, her price will drop like a stone.  That's good for new collectors and people who couldn't afford the original's prices, but not for the people who sunk the big money for her.  I got mine when she was $300, and that was many years ago.  She's been going for crazy prices for years, and so every collector who bought her in the last 15+ years probably paid at least $200 for her.  If it was one or two ponies as a special release, then it wouldn't be so bad.  But if the entire line was re-released, vintage collectors would probably be foaming at the mouth.  Just look at what happened when We Love Fine re-released some of its "limited edition" figures. 

I've bought ponies at crazy prices that came down later(Baby Cherries Jubilee used to go for over $300 when I bought her).  It's part of collecting.  You win some, you lose some.  However, that was just one pony here and there, not all of them at once.  Giving newer collectors a chance at a few ponies they may not have been able to get would be a good thing, but the entire line would be just too much.  You're talking hundreds and hundreds of ponies.  G1s ran for over 10 years.  That's a lot of ponies!

I bought the re-releases when they came out during the G3 years.  I was excited that they did a release like that, but again it was only a few ponies.  And sadly they made them not as nice as the originals, so it wasn't a very successful re-release.  I'd be happy with a few ponies getting a new release, but recollecting the entire line would be just too much.

I'd actually like to see G1 ponies recreated in the current generation's style, or even miniature versions of the G1s released.  Wouldn't it be cool to get a tiny version of a G1 pony on a tiny little card in a tiny little bubble with a tiny little comb?

[Sunset]

I would be tempted to buy a few but over all, I'd rather it be new characters so we'd have new ponies to collect.  Alternatively, I don't mind the old characters if done in G4 style.

But when it comes down to it, with a few exceptions, I wouldn't be especially interested in paying more money for a reproduction of something I already own.

[TogoMimori]

Personally i'd love it because im terrible with packaging and chances are, even if i got a super rare mic pony, i would still end up impulsively taking it out.  So it would be nice to be able to play with old toys still like new

[Leave a Whisper]

So people would be upset because they Chose to spend high prices for a vintage item and now people suddenly don't have to? Regardless of the fact that back in the day it was the same price as a new item in the line? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard! What a bunch of ungrateful sour grapes those card people in that community are! Talk about ruining it for everyone.

I paid fifty dollars for this one card! How dare the company who makes it slip this fifty dollar card into a 3.99 pack let's make them all sorry!

[Taffeta]

I would consider it a waste of time and effort on Hasbro's part. If they had enough nouse about them to recreate perfect replicas of G1, why would they? Why wouldn't they use those perfect replica shapes and designs to create a ton of new G1 ponies to make us all flap around and spend our money?

I think that nothing could be more terrible for G1 MLP's sense of history and nostalgia than trying to reproduce the same as what was out in the 1980s. But Hasbro would really have a thriving and obsessed collector market if they used those identical moulds and such to create all the things they never did in the 80s and more.

I think that'd be their preference, too. Why limit the market when you can capture it double?

Agreed. I'd personally feel a little empty inside if they re-released G1's. I like the fact that the pony gazing down on me from my display cabinet is as old as I am (some of them are older than me....  )!!!

There's definitely something to be said for the history they carry and sense of nostalgia they hold.

Not to mention it could invalidate the point and lower the value of everybody's G1 collections. On the other hand, it could drive up the value as sellers could then market them as 'ORIGINAL 80's PONY - WITH 1982 STAMPED ON IT'S FOOT!' & 'VINTAGE PONY - NOT THE NEW KIND!' etc, etc...

But I don't want to see it. I do like the idea of using G1 moulds to create new designs though.

Here's a good reason. We won't hafta worry about them disintegrating Because they're old and will have something to pass down and show future generations. Preservation.

But that's probably not the case. G3 and G4 are already breaking down and showing issues (mostly in G3 but at least 1 G4 example of a 5 year old pony with hair falling off and rotting has been documented). Hasbro cannot use materials not still in production, so they would use the hair fibres they use now. Also the plastic, most probably.

I'm pretty sure of my G1 collection as is surviving much longer than anything new Hasbro puts out now.

And besides, you wouldn't be keeping anything to pass down for the future. You'd be keeping a 21st century replica product that was newer than G4. That's not a G1 pony. It would still be G5, even if it replicated the G1 line. And while that is fine in itself, it's not G1.

I'm not and have never been bothered about the price of ponies, but I do care about the history, the nostalgia, the memory of those ponies. I would hate Hasbro to rerelease all the ponies I grew up with, because then I would have to see them in stores as my adult self, not my excited child self. I would be able to buy the whole set and keep them in package, rather than the decisions I had to make over how much money I had and whether to wait till the one I really liked came out or buy one there and then (I never waited). I would never have that expectation and excitement of what new things might be coming out that I hadn't heard of, because I know the whole G1 line and I know what would be on sale. It would demolish and destroy every fragment of what is special to me about MLP. You cannot package childhood nostalgia.

I think there's a good argument for not using current price values as a reason for ponies to be rereleased, as collector value is fickle anyway. But some things are irreplaceable. Leave a Whisper, you talked about selfish. A value perspective might be selfish. But preserving the integrity of a precious, irreplaceable childhood nostalgia? That's somewhat different. And you forget that we all come from very different backgrounds, with different pony histories in our respective locations. Whose history would be considered "right" for a project like this?

The reason I go around trying to collect up inserts, packaging etc from the 1980s is that they are pieces of history in a story of MLP in the UK that I have spent 16 years trying to put back together. In the space of one release of merchandise Hasbro UK defaulted to the US name system with "Princess Sparkle". The probability of US packaged items and US names and US sets are huge, since there is no regional diversity these days, just distribution issues.

To me that would be an assault on my childhood. I love US ponies - I really love a lot of them - but that wasn't my childhood. And I'd rather have my nostalgia of G1 than have them back on store shelves. I am a UK pony collector. I grew up with ponies in the UK. I don't like uniformity. I don't want G1 back.

I would be fine with new ponies in old pony style and design and card that were sold uniformly across the globe. I have no prejudice against ponies frm any location, either.  But for me, some parts of childhood have to stay sacred. I don't think wanting to preserve nostalgia is selfish.

Actively wanting reissues so you can get a rare pony cheap is the same to me as actively not wanting reissues so you can preserve pony value. It becomes all about money, which is not what ponies are about. I think destroying the past is one of the worst things you can do to any collectable, because real collectables aren't created by hype and store shelves. They are created by that sense of nostalgia and 'past'.

Which to me is why ponies are not like something like MTG cards. They are toys turned collectables.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

The argument that newer copies would lower the value of the originals is not entirely valid.  Take, for example, the Harry Potter books.  They are currently available everywhere.  However a first edition can still get quite a bit.  (Granted, this example is a signed copy, but there are examples of unsigned copies below it.)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/131826841193?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

I can pick up a paperback edition for much cheaper than the hardbacks cost.  Does that mean that someone isn't interested in paying for the rarer signed 1st release?  No.  In fact, those interested are more hard core collectors than your average everyday aficionado.

I really think that anyone who wants the original G1 release will pay the price for it, even with a re-release available.  In fact, with newer ones readily available it would actually increase the rarity factor of the originals to collectors which could potentially drive the prices up.  The re-release of the collector's poses didn't drive down the price of the flat-footed ones. 

HOWEVER: The re-release did cause a few problems with buyers when sellers failed to admit that they were the re-release and not the originals.  In fact, the sellers were pricing them at prices that were a good deal for the originals but the buyers felt ripped off when they discovered that they were getting the re-release and not the originals. I can think of a specific example that was posted on the arena concerning a Moonstone that they thought was fairly mint and once they got it they discovered it was the re-release, which wasn't what they wanted.  I could see that as being a real problem.

[Leave a Whisper]

I would consider it a waste of time and effort on Hasbro's part. If they had enough nouse about them to recreate perfect replicas of G1, why would they? Why wouldn't they use those perfect replica shapes and designs to create a ton of new G1 ponies to make us all flap around and spend our money?

I think that nothing could be more terrible for G1 MLP's sense of history and nostalgia than trying to reproduce the same as what was out in the 1980s. But Hasbro would really have a thriving and obsessed collector market if they used those identical moulds and such to create all the things they never did in the 80s and more.

I think that'd be their preference, too. Why limit the market when you can capture it double?

Agreed. I'd personally feel a little empty inside if they re-released G1's. I like the fact that the pony gazing down on me from my display cabinet is as old as I am (some of them are older than me....  )!!!

There's definitely something to be said for the history they carry and sense of nostalgia they hold.

Not to mention it could invalidate the point and lower the value of everybody's G1 collections. On the other hand, it could drive up the value as sellers could then market them as 'ORIGINAL 80's PONY - WITH 1982 STAMPED ON IT'S FOOT!' & 'VINTAGE PONY - NOT THE NEW KIND!' etc, etc...

But I don't want to see it. I do like the idea of using G1 moulds to create new designs though.

Here's a good reason. We won't hafta worry about them disintegrating Because they're old and will have something to pass down and show future generations. Preservation.

But that's probably not the case. G3 and G4 are already breaking down and showing issues (mostly in G3 but at least 1 G4 example of a 5 year old pony with hair falling off and rotting has been documented). Hasbro cannot use materials not still in production, so they would use the hair fibres they use now. Also the plastic, most probably.

I'm pretty sure of my G1 collection as is surviving much longer than anything new Hasbro puts out now.

And besides, you wouldn't be keeping anything to pass down for the future. You'd be keeping a 21st century replica product that was newer than G4. That's not a G1 pony. It would still be G5, even if it replicated the G1 line. And while that is fine in itself, it's not G1.

I'm not and have never been bothered about the price of ponies, but I do care about the history, the nostalgia, the memory of those ponies. I would hate Hasbro to rerelease all the ponies I grew up with, because then I would have to see them in stores as my adult self, not my excited child self. I would be able to buy the whole set and keep them in package, rather than the decisions I had to make over how much money I had and whether to wait till the one I really liked came out or buy one there and then (I never waited). I would never have that expectation and excitement of what new things might be coming out that I hadn't heard of, because I know the whole G1 line and I know what would be on sale. It would demolish and destroy every fragment of what is special to me about MLP. You cannot package childhood nostalgia.

I think there's a good argument for not using current price values as a reason for ponies to be rereleased, as collector value is fickle anyway. But some things are irreplaceable. Leave a Whisper, you talked about selfish. A value perspective might be selfish. But preserving the integrity of a precious, irreplaceable childhood nostalgia? That's somewhat different. And you forget that we all come from very different backgrounds, with different pony histories in our respective locations. Whose history would be considered "right" for a project like this?

The reason I go around trying to collect up inserts, packaging etc from the 1980s is that they are pieces of history in a story of MLP in the UK that I have spent 16 years trying to put back together. In the space of one release of merchandise Hasbro UK defaulted to the US name system with "Princess Sparkle". The probability of US packaged items and US names and US sets are huge, since there is no regional diversity these days, just distribution issues.

To me that would be an assault on my childhood. I love US ponies - I really love a lot of them - but that wasn't my childhood. And I'd rather have my nostalgia of G1 than have them back on store shelves. I am a UK pony collector. I grew up with ponies in the UK. I don't like uniformity. I don't want G1 back.

I would be fine with new ponies in old pony style and design and card that were sold uniformly across the globe. I have no prejudice against ponies frm any location, either.  But for me, some parts of childhood have to stay sacred. I don't think wanting to preserve nostalgia is selfish.

Actively wanting reissues so you can get a rare pony cheap is the same to me as actively not wanting reissues so you can preserve pony value. It becomes all about money, which is not what ponies are about. I think destroying the past is one of the worst things you can do to any collectable, because real collectables aren't created by hype and store shelves. They are created by that sense of nostalgia and 'past'.

Which to me is why ponies are not like something like MTG cards. They are toys turned collectables.

I meant preservation in the sense of this is what it was like and passing it down to your kids, grandkids, nice/nephews etc.

Just because  Star Wars is on DVD instead of video tape, doesn't mean it cheapens childhood memories as an example.

Furthermore no one is forcing old fans to buy it if they want the genuine article.

I would love to get Mimic, Munchy and Crumpet for my twelve year old daughter but I can't afford or justify the price tags.

Taffeta how about we just agree to disagree since we don't see eye to eye on the subject.

[Taffeta]

Furthermore no one is forcing old fans to buy it if they want the genuine article.

I don't think that is the point, as I think you ignored my point, which was the impact on nostalgia and childhood memories reissues can and would have (especially for people not in the US who maybe have a different memory of MLP). If Hasbro were more interested in diversity now with their ponies and packages, that would be one thing, but the "Princess Sparkle" thing was enough to tell me that's not the case. I don't want ponies I grew up with back in stores, but even more so, I don't want them back in stores not as themselves, with the wrong cards, wrong names and wrong release order.  It's a deeper issue than choosing not to buy them. It's the entire identity of the ponies themselves which for me is at stake here.

I'd rather have new ponies in G1 style on G1 cards that could be available worldwide without trampling on anyone's memories.

You might still find Crumpet at a flea market yet. But I can't get my childhood memories back. That's the difference. I found Mimic at a second hand sale once and she wasn't even sold here, so it's not like that's impossible. I think it would be extreme to want the whole line reissued so you could acquire 3 htf ponies that might show up second hand somewhere next week anyway.

But we can agree to disagree. Either way it isn't like Hasbro are going to throw so much money onto a project that they already ditched a long time ago, so its all academic anyway.