SDCC 2018 Exclusives Revealed

[Einhornbaby]

Okay, that is some pretty sweet packaging. Dang.

Pity they put more effort into the packaging then the ponies.

yuh...

I am so tired of seeing Pinkie, Twilight and RD. There are so many other options that they could have explored.

kinda cute. but ... way too much Pinkie-Rainbow-Twili for me. Lol wouldnt it be cool to have Cheerilee instead? Thinking of her yearbook photo with that crimped mane

[Safflower]

I'm a little late to this but I agree with what everyone has said. It's a bit disappointing.

Anywho, I've heard that Hasbro claims that MLP was started in 1983 because that's when the patent was granted. That might explain why they always say 83 and not 82.

[Taffeta]

I'm a little late to this but I agree with what everyone has said. It's a bit disappointing.

Anywho, I've heard that Hasbro claims that MLP was started in 1983 because that's when the patent was granted. That might explain why they always say 83 and not 82.

Hasbro UK claimed to me that their own 'inception' (I love that they used that word) was 1985 but there's UK packaging from 1984 and the sea ponies are the first exclusives for the UK...they're in 1984 packaging. I think Hasbro really don't always pay attention to the tiny awkward details. I mean, the fact that the hooves say 1982 on them, and there were ponies probably in stores around the winter/Christmas period of 1982 makes them 1982...

I also think the Pat Pend was on hooves for longer than that? Maybe I'm wrong...?

In any case, do we believe Hasbro about anything?

(Ironically, MLP in the UK probably did first emerge in import form in 1983...)

[Safflower]

I'm a little late to this but I agree with what everyone has said. It's a bit disappointing.

Anywho, I've heard that Hasbro claims that MLP was started in 1983 because that's when the patent was granted. That might explain why they always say 83 and not 82.

Hasbro UK claimed to me that their own 'inception' (I love that they used that word) was 1985 but there's UK packaging from 1984 and the sea ponies are the first exclusives for the UK...they're in 1984 packaging. I think Hasbro really don't always pay attention to the tiny awkward details. I mean, the fact that the hooves say 1982 on them, and there were ponies probably in stores around the winter/Christmas period of 1982 makes them 1982...

I also think the Pat Pend was on hooves for longer than that? Maybe I'm wrong...?

In any case, do we believe Hasbro about anything?

(Ironically, MLP in the UK probably did first emerge in import form in 1983...)

Well, of course it isn't good logic I've heard it from a few different websites and such, but I don't really know if it is true. It could be given how Hasbroken doesn't make sense. Anyway, the patent for MPP is dated August 2, 1983: https://www.google.com/search?q=my+pretty+pony+patent&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwij6fLFlaDcAhXG5J8KHdZsAW8Q_AUICygC&biw=1440&bih=726#imgrc=YiVr94RhHsWSdM:

[Mana Minori]

Okay, that is some pretty sweet packaging. Dang.

that would've been amazing! Dangit, Hasbro!

Pity they put more effort into the packaging then the ponies.

yuh...

I am so tired of seeing Pinkie, Twilight and RD. There are so many other options that they could have explored.

kinda cute. but ... way too much Pinkie-Rainbow-Twili for me. Lol wouldnt it be cool to have Cheerilee instead? Thinking of her yearbook photo with that crimped mane

[LadyMoondancer]

I believe 1982 was when the first molds were created, but 1983 is when the majority of MLPs hit the shelves.  Like, Moondancer is from the 2nd year of the line and her hoofstamp is 1983. Yet I am pretty sure I got her for my birthday when I was 5 years old (1984), not 4 years old.  Because when I was 4 my family was still living in Alaska, but I know I got her after we moved to Washington state.

Next time I see my mom I will ask her, I know she wrote down about me getting the pony in my 'baby book' because I was so happy with the toy.

I don't think the patent date is relevant . . . I just took a glance at NSS Heart Throb's hooves and even three years into the line, her hooves still have "Patent Pending" stamped on them.

[Wardah]

Though I admit it would bother me less if the whole Basic Fun project wasn't so uncertain right now.

Kinda off topic but what's up with the Basic Fun releases? Are they canceling the line or something?

Nobody knows. People are worried because some Amazon preorders have been canceled and Basic Fun is a smaller company that might not be strong enough to survive both the demise of TRU (they still owed lots of vendors money, including Basic Fun) and the Annoying Orange Nitwit's trade war. I'm personally hoping the reason the preorders were cancelled is because they made some kind of exclusivity deal with Target.

Apparently he's now in the UK. The Mayor of London even authorised a special tribute for him during his visit...and London tomorrow will be entirely locked up in the centre because of mass protests he probably won't even see. Sigh. Is there a return to sender option? Anyone know?

...Back on topic - I may have hallucinated this but I got the impression Basic Fun had told someone that they were focusing more on online sales after the close of TRU. So...the cancellation of Amazon preorders is not a great sign. BUT it's not impossible they've made such a deal. Weird things have happened with the UK release - as far as I know Rainbow preorders on the UK site haven't been cancelled although the page is still  missing (you can buy them from UK amazon but they're more expensive as they've been imported via France) and the preorder pages for the collector ponies has returned, just with a delayed date.

So we're hoping for the best and planning for the worst. But my point was really that if Hasbro wanted to celebrate 35 or 36 years of this toy, then they are the ones who should be putting the effort into retro G1, not licencing that out to another company while they peddle more G4 repeats. Hasbro UK (whose customer service person used to be nice, once) told me basically that they didn't care about the retros, it wasn't their project so I needed to contact Basic Fun about it. That kind of summed it up for me.

It's nice that the packaging is awesome but a bit sad the package is better than the product. Even as a fan of G1 packaging, I feel that way.

Yeah but Hasbro didn't have much success when they tried releasing retro ponies 10 years ago. Hasbro wasn't going to take a chance like that again especially if another company was willing to shoulder the risks. If Basic Fun hadn't come along there probably would just been a bunch of merch and no actual ponies for the 35th.

As for SDCC I think they don't want to go too much into G1 as that would upset the bronies, who I'm sure Hasbro still considers the main audience at SDCC, even if they have been waning in popularity.

[Taffeta]

Hasbro released rubbish 10 years ago and they mostly only got sold across the US. There were apparently a few sightings here but I honestly believed until recently that they never got to the UK, that's how bad the distribution was. At least I guess Basic Fun knows the rest of the world exists, so there's that.

I also don't think the patent is important. And I don't think it matters when ponies hit the shelves, either. The line begins when the toy begins construction, right? I mean, the toys are 1982 on the hooves, so they're 1982. Just like Hasbro UK's records begin in 1985 but I can 100% prove they were out in 1984 (not least because I had Windy for Christmas 1984 xD). The packaging is also distinct between 1984 and 1985 (the earliest ponies here had no stories). And then the US line had FF ponies, then CF ponies...

But CF ponies are also dated 1982. And while you could argue that's for consistency with the FF ponies, that kind of doesn't make sense because all later altered moulds which are based on older moulds have later dates (eg Butter Kiss/Swirly Whirly doesn't have 1982 on her hooves). The whole mould was changed, too, not just the feet - to make them not fall over any more. SO that means CF must have also been in the works in 1982.

...And all of that happened but they only came out in 1983?

Not buying it.

[Safflower]

Hasbro released rubbish 10 years ago and they mostly only got sold across the US. There were apparently a few sightings here but I honestly believed until recently that they never got to the UK, that's how bad the distribution was. At least I guess Basic Fun knows the rest of the world exists, so there's that.

I also don't think the patent is important. And I don't think it matters when ponies hit the shelves, either. The line begins when the toy begins construction, right? I mean, the toys are 1982 on the hooves, so they're 1982. Just like Hasbro UK's records begin in 1985 but I can 100% prove they were out in 1984 (not least because I had Windy for Christmas 1984 xD). The packaging is also distinct between 1984 and 1985 (the earliest ponies here had no stories). And then the US line had FF ponies, then CF ponies...

But CF ponies are also dated 1982. And while you could argue that's for consistency with the FF ponies, that kind of doesn't make sense because all later altered moulds which are based on older moulds have later dates (eg Butter Kiss/Swirly Whirly doesn't have 1982 on her hooves). The whole mould was changed, too, not just the feet - to make them not fall over any more. SO that means CF must have also been in the works in 1982.

...And all of that happened but they only came out in 1983?

Not buying it.

Yeah, it doesn't makes sense. I don't think it's true.

Anyway, Hasbro is wrong regardless!

[Wardah]

And this would have made more sense for the SDCC exclusive.

https://www.mlpmerch.com/2018/07/amazon-exclusive-twilight-sparkle-as-star-swirl-up-for-pre-order.html

[LadyMoondancer]

Wardah, I just saw that and thought the same thing!  Hasbro is a mystery . . .

[Taffeta]

And this would have made more sense for the SDCC exclusive.

https://www.mlpmerch.com/2018/07/amazon-exclusive-twilight-sparkle-as-star-swirl-up-for-pre-order.html

Yes...

But I wonder whether it's Amazon because they want to sell it on a wider scale? I dunno. It's a weird one. But SDCC stuff is hard to get outside of the US, whereas Amazon is global...in theory.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

My Froggy Stuff has a video up for the MLP SDCC exclusive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42HsgE_IgK0

I'm still not impressed... and although NOW I can tell that Pinkie's band and legwarmers are fabric, while the other two it's plastic stuff.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

At least now I know to keep these in the box. I'm absolutely in love with the back art, if only they put some more effort into the toys.
The collectors cards are a nice touch (I'm amused by thinking about Twilight dancing to Careless Whisper) buttt I'm not quite sure how those would be displayed.
The plastic skirt looks so bad on Twilight. Pinkie and Rainbow do look fine, but I wish that Rainbow's jacket were actually fabric.
On another note, the reboot models look SO GOOD with bangs! Can we pleaase bring back the forelock.

[TornadoTwist]

Anyway lovely set, hope this one will be available on Amazon. Just lacking some space at the moment. Those 80s-MLP shirts are also cool. Feels still a bit strange for me though...