Collection Expansion

[Foxtale]

This thread is really fun to read. I’m really enjoying hearing how everyone got back into collecting again. Here is a brief history of my collecting.

1990/1 Got my first pony for free from the toy store Child World (anyone remember that?). I loved her so much, Perfume Puff Sweet Suds. Slowly I got a few more ponies over the year. Stores didn’t really have them that much and I was too young to ask for what I didn’t see in the stores or catalogs. I ended up with 4 ponies in my herd. As I got slightly older I kept asking for ponies but they were so hard to find, I was so disappointed. I found 3 petite playlets at Rockbottom, a Baby Dots and Hearts at Woolworths and a Pony Bride at Service Merchandise. The final two ponies I got that weren’t second hand were the Rice Krispy treat Baby Stockings (I ended up with two of her because I loved ponies so much).

I had a pony party in 1993 but by that point there were no ponies in stores anymore so that was the end of my “original” collection. From then until G2 came out I would occasionally find ponies at flea markets and tag sales but I didn’t live in an area that had many at the time so it was hard to acquire them second hand. My grandmother even rescued one for me from the trash when I was in the hospital. I ended up with maybe 6-10 more in my collection. This I still consider part of my “originals” I still loved drawing them and watching the cartoons.

When G2 came out, I first saw them in Toys R Us and was so excited. Even though they looked different I had to have them all b/c they were real official my little ponies. I was a little too old for them, but I wasn’t a teenager yet so I ended up getting all the US releases for birthdays and holidays. I even sent away for Seabreeze. She is still one of my favorites.

When G2s were done I discovered the internet and sites like Dream Valley and Ponytopia. A whole world of ponies opened up to me and I started to pine after eBay. I also found other local flea markets, tag sales and venues to go to. My mother and I started to travel around to all the local things and I started finding more G1 ponies to add to my collection. As I got older I joined the message boards such as my home the Arena and sites like the TP, Ponyfinders, etc. That is when I started picking up speed and getting good at photography and restoration.

Then G3 came on the scene. The prototype images I printed out and pinned on my cork board in my bedroom. Once they started showing up in stores I ended up buying all the ones I found, keeping some MIB some loose. I remember using Ponyfinders forum to find all the stores they were showing up at. G3 transitioned to G4 and I ended up getting all those as well. I still collect any new ponies to this day. I also still frequent second hand markets for G1’s as well. I collect all and any pony there is.

Now I have too many to count ;p

[WaterRaven]

This thread is really fun to read. I’m really enjoying hearing how everyone got back into collecting again. Here is a brief history of my collecting.

1990/1 Got my first pony for free from the toy store Child World (anyone remember that?). I loved her so much, Perfume Puff Sweet Suds. Slowly I got a few more ponies over the year. Stores didn’t really have them that much and I was too young to ask for what I didn’t see in the stores or catalogs. I ended up with 4 ponies in my herd. As I got slightly older I kept asking for ponies but they were so hard to find, I was so disappointed. I found 3 petite playlets at Rockbottom, a Baby Dots and Hearts at Woolworths and a Pony Bride at Service Merchandise. The final two ponies I got that weren’t second hand were the Rice Krispy treat Baby Stockings (I ended up with two of her because I loved ponies so much).

I had a pony party in 1993 but by that point there were no ponies in stores anymore so that was the end of my “original” collection. From then until G2 came out I would occasionally find ponies at flea markets and tag sales but I didn’t live in an area that had many at the time so it was hard to acquire them second hand. My grandmother even rescued one for me from the trash when I was in the hospital. I ended up with maybe 6-10 more in my collection. This I still consider part of my “originals” I still loved drawing them and watching the cartoons.

When G2 came out, I first saw them in Toys R Us and was so excited. Even though they looked different I had to have them all b/c they were real official my little ponies. I was a little too old for them, but I wasn’t a teenager yet so I ended up getting all the US releases for birthdays and holidays. I even sent away for Seabreeze. She is still one of my favorites.

When G2s were done I discovered the internet and sites like Dream Valley and Ponytopia. A whole world of ponies opened up to me and I started to pine after eBay. I also found other local flea markets, tag sales and venues to go to. My mother and I started to travel around to all the local things and I started finding more G1 ponies to add to my collection. As I got older I joined the message boards such as my home the Arena and sites like the TP, Ponyfinders, etc. That is when I started picking up speed and getting good at photography and restoration.

Then G3 came on the scene. The prototype images I printed out and pinned on my cork board in my bedroom. Once they started showing up in stores I ended up buying all the ones I found, keeping some MIB some loose. I remember using Ponyfinders forum to find all the stores they were showing up at. G3 transitioned to G4 and I ended up getting all those as well. I still collect any new ponies to this day. I also still frequent second hand markets for G1’s as well. I collect all and any pony there is.

Now I have too many to count ;p

That's so cool that you saw the G3's before they came out. I remember how excited I was to see the new cartoon when it came on TV, but I didn't connect to it like I did the pilot from the 80's. I was too old for it by that time, I think. Though I loved seeing the toys in store. I sadly didn't think to collect the . It wasn't until I got into the customs and saw how many people were collecting that I realized I could collect too, child; adult, it didn't matter.

So great to be a part of this community ^_^ Thanks for sharing!

[Taffeta]

Great stories!  I am also especially impressed (jealous?) that Taffeta wrote to Hasbro when they ended ponies and they sent her TWO teeny tiny ponies!!!!  How sweet was that!  And international trading- how awesome!

We had a correspondence going back and forth for a while, the lady there and I. I still have most of the letters, I think. I often wonder about the story behind those two Teenies, because they have the better quality hair that I usually see in the US release ones. I wonder if they were ponies sent as samples to hasbro UK when they were deciding what to release here, but I don't know for sure. They're not prototypes or anything like that xD. But they are a little different from the ones I had from store.


Edit - I checked and I received 5 letters in total, plus the two teeny ponies, photocopies of two pages of their Hasbro booklet and the typed list of ponies available according to their records in 1995. I was a bit off on the date - they date between June and Sept 1995

[SkyCakes]

1) 1982 or 83 heard about ponies as a kid in the stores when I was 8 or 9.

2)  1983-beyond to the 90s start expanding the G1 line. I get the dream castle, pretty parlor and show stable. I had Medley, Firefly, Moondancer, Sunbeam, Applejack, Bowtie, baby purple and pink hair ember, Birthflower Morning glory, baby glory, baby moondancer, baby blossom, baby cotton candy,Cotton candy, Blossom, Majesty, Spike, Brandy, Peachy,Twinkles,  ect, Im very surprised I remembered this much. I had about 100 ish ponies at the time.

3) I then got rid of all my ponies except for Curly Locks and Twinkler. In the early 90s I think.

4) November 2006 ( I finally found this date it took me forever to figure this out.) I started recollecting ponies I started with my favorite Medley and worked from there.

5) Ive had a few small breaks and maybe a year absence from pony collecting. However I have been going strong and traded/bought ponies for a little over 10 years. I now been wanting to branch out to Nirvana which I love to know more about.

[josiekat]

When I started out, I was only going to replace the ponies I had as a kid that were sold at a yard sale. Then it was the ones I had, AND the ones my sisters had (I remember playing with those lol). Then it was The ones we owned, and the ones I always wanted but never got (G1's I'm talking about.....I'm a child of the 80's lol). Then it was ok.....I have most of the ponies from the first 3 years of production......I am going to complete that. Then I became a full out G1 collector.

I was G1 only for a long time. Although, I did have a few G3's in my herd. My Mom had found Pumpkin Tart and Abra Cadabra on clearance and thought I would like some Halloween ponies. She was right. I wasn't into G3, but I thought they were a cute addition. Then I joined the online pony communities. That was where things started to change. I saw so many ponies in the G2 and G3 line I had never seen before. They were very cute! But.....I became a collector of all generations when I saw Autumn Skye. I knew I needed to have her! Once I finally bought her......I realized that there were many G3's I wouldn't mind adding to my growing G1 herd. It was downhill from there. lol. Now I have a collection of over 800 ponies that spans every generation. I even adore G3.5's. The only pony lines I don't really care for are the Equestria Girls (though I do have one......a gift that my niece found for me at a yard sale) and the new guardians of harmony line. I need real hair on my ponies. lol