Hair Quality Decline?

[Nemesis]

for me modern Hasbro is redeemed by the fact they sell ponies at multiple sizes and price points.  as far as i’m concerned Fashion Style size at $15 each are the  modern “Real MLP”.  the $5-$9 brushables are basically mini ponies, (not quite blind bag ponyville but close).  ive bought my fair share, but the bigger fashion style size is what i compare to vintage MLP.  as been said i think inflation and oil costs may have been what makes a modern $15 pony equal.

I couldn’t agree with this more. When G4 started, I was immediately drawn to the Fashion Style ponies because they were close in size to G1. I do wish they would produce more characters in FS size, but that’s my only complaint.

Going by what we see on modern store shelves, it pays to offer a range of prices to suit different budgets. Pretty much all brands do this: Transformers have “Leader”, “Voyager”, “Deluxe”, and “Legends” figures (among others); Barbie has deluxe and slimbox dolls with varying levels of quality and articulation; LPS now offers a range of sizes... MLP is pretty much doing the same thing.

What’s a shame is that they’re now letting quality control slip for the “basics”, while keeping prices the same. :/

[WaterDraw]

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a straight up $5 pony.  Some of the most basic singles that don’t come with any accessories might be in that price range, and the discount chains can have ponies for that price(when they have ponies), but most “brushable” ponies are in the $7-$14 range over here because of the accessories.  The accessories they come with aren’t that great either, certainly not worth what they cost.   For that price, the ponies should be significantly better than what you can get at McDonald’s. They don’t even come with a meal!  :p 

What bothers me most about the newest incarnation is how they went away from the hollow, squishy vinyl plastic of the last 35 years to this solid, cheap plastic.  The skinny legs just get to me. They look so cheap!  They cheaped out on the hair too, so they really are a few steps away from fast food toys.

I remember last weekend I found one of the first Twilight's released at the beginning of G4 and compared her to the newer G4.5 Twilight, and the skinniness actually shocked me.  I also noticed that with the old, squishier plastic there were way less obvious seams then there are now with the awful, plastic-y reboot.

Also, has anyone else had issues with their G4.5s wobbling around? It seems that some legs aren't even and I tend to have wobbly ponies. Like, for the pose they used for DJ PON-3 in the friendship festival Toys "R" Us pack, the front leg that's standing straight is much shorter than the other legs. Also the packaging for this set was just poor in general as it was hard to get the ponies out and the way their legs were spaced out made it so some of their legs are super far apart, therefore warping the ponies. But I'm just ranting at this point.

[Leave a Whisper]

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a straight up $5 pony.  Some of the most basic singles that don’t come with any accessories might be in that price range, and the discount chains can have ponies for that price(when they have ponies), but most “brushable” ponies are in the $7-$14 range over here because of the accessories.  The accessories they come with aren’t that great either, certainly not worth what they cost.   For that price, the ponies should be significantly better than what you can get at McDonald’s. They don’t even come with a meal!  :p 

What bothers me most about the newest incarnation is how they went away from the hollow, squishy vinyl plastic of the last 35 years to this solid, cheap plastic.  The skinny legs just get to me. They look so cheap!  They cheaped out on the hair too, so they really are a few steps away from fast food toys.

I remember last weekend I found one of the first Twilight's released at the beginning of G4 and compared her to the newer G4.5 Twilight, and the skinniness actually shocked me.  I also noticed that with the old, squishier plastic there were way less obvious seams then there are now with the awful, plastic-y reboot.

Also, has anyone else had issues with their G4.5s wobbling around? It seems that some legs aren't even and I tend to have wobbly ponies. Like, for the pose they used for DJ PON-3 in the friendship festival Toys "R" Us pack, the front leg that's standing straight is much shorter than the other legs. Also the packaging for this set was just poor in general as it was hard to get the ponies out and the way their legs were spaced out made it so some of their legs are super far apart, therefore warping the ponies. But I'm just ranting at this point.

I only have a pegasus and a few merponies. Skystar is the only one who is not entirely stable.

[Taffeta]

The quality isn't always great on the FS ponies either. Photo Finish and Royal Ribbon also retailed here at £22 which is at least $30 if not more. I bought both when they were clearanced to a much lower price. Royal Ribbon's hair is fine but Photo Finish's tail looks like half of it was lopped off before she even made it into the box and I had to wash and condition it - her mane is still pretty flyaway.

[Breyer600]

My new style Twilight FS has dry hair - I haven't tried to do anything to it yet, but I'm afraid it will go frizzy when I do.  I don't recall any of the earlier FS styles having problems though I did check my Photo Finish and her hair does feel slightly greasy.  I also noticed that they've been reducing the amount of hair on them. The early ones have four rows of plugs, the more recent ones (Royal Ribbon, Photo Finish, etc.) have three, and the new style have only two.  There may be a few that break that pattern, but it does seem to be the general trend.

[Leave a Whisper]

The quality isn't always great on the FS ponies either. Photo Finish and Royal Ribbon also retailed here at £22 which is at least $30 if not more. I bought both when they were clearanced to a much lower price. Royal Ribbon's hair is fine but Photo Finish's tail looks like half of it was lopped off before she even made it into the box and I had to wash and condition it - her mane is still pretty flyaway.

That's insane.

[invaderhorizongreen]

The quality isn't always great on the FS ponies either. Photo Finish and Royal Ribbon also retailed here at £22 which is at least $30 if not more. I bought both when they were clearanced to a much lower price. Royal Ribbon's hair is fine but Photo Finish's tail looks like half of it was lopped off before she even made it into the box and I had to wash and condition it - her mane is still pretty flyaway.

Just when you think Hasbeen *cough* I mean hasbro cant sink any lower.

[Leave a Whisper]

The quality isn't always great on the FS ponies either. Photo Finish and Royal Ribbon also retailed here at £22 which is at least $30 if not more. I bought both when they were clearanced to a much lower price. Royal Ribbon's hair is fine but Photo Finish's tail looks like half of it was lopped off before she even made it into the box and I had to wash and condition it - her mane is still pretty flyaway.

Just when you think Hasbeen *cough* I mean hasbro cant sink any lower.

It's their pleasure to prove us wrong.