retro MLP toys and media

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I still vote that we should let sleeping ponies lie. The past is what it was, it was beautiful, let's not tarnish it by forcing it into the present.

I am with you!  The more that people try to revive the nostalgia, the more they miss the mark!  There have been a few "positive" retro-releases but trying to "refresh the G1 brand" always falls short of what collectors expect or want.  And then we get cranky.  And seriously who wants to listen to us whine and whinge on?  LOL

[Al-1701]

Would you even need to refresh the G1s all that much?  They're a really timeless toy.  I could imagine doing some alternate posing for preexisting ponies and making new ponies (using naming and symbol conventions of G1) would add something new, but keep it in its classic roots.

[Leave a Whisper]

I still vote that we should let sleeping ponies lie. The past is what it was, it was beautiful, let's not tarnish it by forcing it into the present.

I am with you!  The more that people try to revive the nostalgia, the more they miss the mark!  There have been a few "positive" retro-releases but trying to "refresh the G1 brand" always falls short of what collectors expect or want.  And then we get cranky.  And seriously who wants to listen to us whine and whinge on?  LOL

What does whinge mean?

[bewilderness]

I wonder, didn't Hasbro claim to have lost the trademarks on the old ponies and that's why they couldn't use them in FIM?  Would someone even need to get licensing from Hasbro then to use the characters?  I guess so, since you see some G1 clothes and stuff.    Although maybe the rights are for the MLP concept itself, instead of each character?  I'm not sure how this stuff works.

[Al-1701]

Trademarks will lapse if they're not periodically renewed.  However, the copyrights are practically immortal.  They could make new trademarks for the classic characters, but it would cost more money.  Also, when creating G4 (remember the show was developed after the initial release of the toy was finalized), they wanted to use ponies based on G3 since it was immediately following it.

[LadyMoondancer]

Hasbro still retains the rights to G1 ponies.

That said, there are a lot of third-party Transformers toy companies, which Hasbro never goes after.  They don't use the exact same molds as Hasbro of course.  That would be asking for trouble.  They make their own molds.  But they're very blatantly G1 Transformer characters.  Hasbro COULD go after them, but they don't seem inclined to.

They might be based overseas as well for extra protection?

Like here's a third party "Transistor" (based on G1 Blaster):  http://tfsource.com/kfc/transistor-unpainted/

Note the price, though.

[bewilderness]

Yikes, that price! 

If all else fails, maybe I could do my own line of fakies.

[LadyMoondancer]

LOL yeah, the prices are nuts!  Partly to cover what are probably pretty small production runs;  less customers means higher prices.  And also because each piece has to be engineered, which takes time and money.

I think the fact that the third-party transforming robots aren't sold in "regular" stores (you will never see them in Toys R Us or WalMart) is part of the reason why Hasbro studiously ignores them.  Basically, only hardcore Transformers fans buy them, and you have to search for them online in order to buy one.  I feel like Hasbro would be more aggressive if they were on actual store shelves, available to a bigger demographic (like children).

[Al-1701]

Hasbro seems to stretch the "Plausible Deniability" excuse for not litigating as far as they can when it comes to use of their IP.

Still, it would be cool to do it officially.  Maybe just some figures and a comic magazine similar to the U.K. one which would have multiple short stories in an issue.

[Carrehz]

I still vote that we should let sleeping ponies lie. The past is what it was, it was beautiful, let's not tarnish it by forcing it into the present.

I am with you!  The more that people try to revive the nostalgia, the more they miss the mark!  There have been a few "positive" retro-releases but trying to "refresh the G1 brand" always falls short of what collectors expect or want.  And then we get cranky.  And seriously who wants to listen to us whine and whinge on?  LOL

What does whinge mean?

Whinge = another word for whining, basically.

[Leave a Whisper]

I still vote that we should let sleeping ponies lie. The past is what it was, it was beautiful, let's not tarnish it by forcing it into the present.

I am with you!  The more that people try to revive the nostalgia, the more they miss the mark!  There have been a few "positive" retro-releases but trying to "refresh the G1 brand" always falls short of what collectors expect or want.  And then we get cranky.  And seriously who wants to listen to us whine and whinge on?  LOL

What does whinge mean?

Whinge = another word for whining, basically.

Thanks.