Euro releases of Play and Care babies and German babies

[katrine2309]

Hi all!

I have a question regarding releases of these two baby sets;
Play and Care (baby Gusty, baby Ribbon etc)
German Baby ponies (Baby CJ, Baby Buttons etc)

Does anyone know if both these sets were released in Scandinavia?

I know for certain that some of the Play and Care babies were sold in Norway as baby Gusty was my sisters childhood pony. I also remember one of her friends having baby Heartthrob. But does anyone know if the whole set was sold?

Also, I found baby Buttons at a fleamarket in Norway. Which surprised me a little because I have no recollection of this set being sold in Scandinavia from when I was a kid. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it would be fun to know

And if you do not know if they were sold in Scandinavia, perhaps you know about other countries these two sets were sold?

[Taffeta]

My MIB Baby Lickety Split came from Norway. Her box is identical to the UK release. I think that that set was probably released the same in at least some Scandinavian and Nordic countries as in the UK. My Baby Lickety does have the wrong sticker mind you - but that doesn't seem to be an uncommon thing..?

I only know for sure that Baby Buttons' set was sold in Germany and Austria. But you're not the first person to find them in Scandinavia so I don't know...

The UK didn't have the Baby Buttons set. We only had Baby Lemon Drop with the stroller in the shy pose. So that set can't have had the same distribution arrangement as the PACS one seems to have done.

I hope that helps a little?

[katrine2309]

Thank you! Yes! It does, as it confirms that the Play and Care set was sold in Norway - most likely the full set. I have actually never seen a backcard with norwegian writing. I have seen in both swedish and danish, but it seems like norwegians almost always kept the foreign language: english. This was extremely common in the 80’s and 90’s on all sort of packaging. I remember my mom had to translate the stories on the cards every time we got a new pony *lol*

It’s helpful to hear that baby Buttons have been found by others as well. Hopefully, I will be able to find more ponies around in fleamarkets to confirm my suspicions that this set, or at least baby Buttons, was aldo sold in Scandinavia.

[Leikin]

The play and care sets where sold in Sweden (the full sets) so I assume it would be the same for Norway. I have only seen maybe one box in Swedish, so we kept most in english as well. I guess we where a too small market to translate for (although it is strange that they did it for denmark that is smaller).

For Buttons set, I'm almost certain we didnt have them at least. I have never heard of anyone having them as childs, nor seen them in any advertising. But I guess some stray ponies may have traveled here.
And I just saw a post on facebook with a norwegian collector (i think) that had found a baby cherries jubilee second hand, but wouldnt we have seen more of them if they where an official release there?

[Taffeta]

It seems possible some might have gone from Germany into Denmark and then from there perhaps?

I was thinking about this and about the ponies I've found here that weren't sold here and there have been a few (Italian Surprise, Italian Heart Throb, Glory HK, Moondancer HK, Mimic, Baby Leaper, Diamond Dreams, German Skydancer). And we don't share a border with any of those places. So I assume they got here via people going on holiday and then bringing them back.

It seems likely that may have happened with Baby Buttons' set as well? Or people travelling for work?

Unless a store somewhere imported them specially. I heard of a few stores in the UK doing that eg one down south somewhere which had So Softs, apparently.

[katrine2309]

Thank you for the reply, Leikin! It is very helpful! I feel like I’m trying to find a needle in the haystack with not only understanding Scandinavia releases, but Norwegian releases especially. There were some differences between the countries, I know.

I think I read somewhere that Sweden for instance only had the U.K. play and care set with baby CC, Blossom and AJ? I’m not sure if that is true or not?

But I am fairly certain Norway got the full Play and Care release (without AJ). My sister had Baby Surprise with all her accessories as a kid and my neighbour had baby Moondancer with her accessories.

It is certainly confusing!

@Taffeta: Yes- the most logical answer would be travelling. Like Leikin says, why wouldn’t we have found more of them if they were sold over here...? The 80’s were not a very good decade financially in Norway though, as the financial issues of that time hit hard. Especially for young families. Idk, some people still travelled quite extensively though;) If they were bought by stores or perhaps sent over as a means to sell the “leftovers” from Germany that would also explain the random findings.

 I’ll definitely be on the look-out at flea markets and thrift stores though;)

[Leikin]

Oh, I never think of the set with Firefly and them as PnC babies ^^
But I think you are right regarding that. I know I had baby Blossom, Baby Glory, Baby Firefly and Baby Suprise as a child, so they where definately sold here, and for a long time I assumed they had been sold like the PnC sets wit all accessories (like the US), but then I discovered they where also sold on cards with only a bottle with them, and as I seem to lack all the accessories that I first assumed belonged to them, from my childhood, I think mine where all sold on card.
I'm not excluding that we might have got them in boxes with all accessories as well, but most likely we had that set on card in Sweden.
After all, we had PnC baby Blossom and Cotton Candy along with baby Applejack, so it wouldnt really make sense to have Blossom and CC in two different sets with boxes. But on the other hand, the early releases in Sweden doesnt always make sence ^^

So I'm certain we had the PnC babies Blossom, Cotton Candy, Applejack, Gusty, Ribbon, Hearth Throb (with wing on hearts, the so called "german"variant) and Lickety Split in boxes.  I had both applejack and Lickety Split as a child.
And my guess is that we had Blossom, CC, Firefly, Surprise, Moondancer and Glory on card here.

So when you say you had the full PnC set, without applejack, is it possible that you had the boxed version of Firefly and Co.(like the US version), as that set also included CC and Blossom, and not the set with CC, Blossom and Applejack, like we did?

[katrine2309]

@Leikin: yes, I’m certain we had the boxed versions here in Norway. I remember the box, because we kept them and looked at them all the time (that is until my mother burned them all, with me crying next to her- a very traumatic childhood memory!) I had baby Blossom and Baby Firefly (which I’m fairly certain I both got in boxes) and my sister had baby Surprise with all accessories (so she was definitely a boxed version).

I don’t know if we had the AJ set here in Norway, but I don’t think so? I’ve never found her in second-hand and I can’t really remember her. But that doesn’t mean anything really. That set could have been sold here as well.

We definitely had the baby ponies sold on card in Norway as well. I had baby Glory with her (random) bottle which confused me a little at first too. But I remember getting her and actually choosing her in the store so I know she came on card. I did wonder if some of the German ponies were sold together with this set as a part of some left over sales from Germany, but that is just pure speculation.

We also had the 2nd PnC set here. My sister had Baby Gusty, and my neighbor had baby Heartthrob (with wings). I know of other Norwegian collectors who had Baby Ribbon.

I actually also opened another post here on the Corral concerning baby Firefly. It seems like these two posts is slowly overlapping -although I didn’t intend for them to do that @Leikin: Maybe you know something about it? If you had Baby Firefly as a child? I’m trying to find out if one of my two versions of her could be the glittery pony sold on card in Scandinavia.

[Leikin]

I must say that Im envious of all people that remember such things from their childhood I actually have  few mlp-memories since childhood, even though I had a lot of them and loved them and played with them a lot ^^  Although, my most traumatic memory is that i wanted Milky Way in the store, and never got her, so I'm lucky I dont have any memories of anyone burning all the boxes (which I'm quite certain it happened, just not me being aware of it. I guess I never cared much for the cards and boxes back then, which I definately compensating for now *lol* )

Its hard to exclude that she was never sold (AJ) but if you both had the boxed version and carded version of the first six babies, that already include two different sets of CC and Blossom, do you think they would import a third set with CC and Blossom (with the same acc as in the other boxed set) just to get Applejack as well? I mean, the boxed and carded version makes sence, even if it is the same ponies, as one set is more of a budget verion, without all the accessories, but both boxed versions are alike, except from the box itself, and I guess that didnt mean much for the children or their parents buying them back then

Do you have any market media or adverts from Norway? I know we use to have a lot of ads in magazines like Donald Duck. They might be some clues to what was sold and when

Yes, I saw that thread. I actually have mine packed away at the moment, but can see if Im able to dig her up when back home.
I write and answer in that post as well, so everything is in right place

[katrine2309]

Oh, I have many memories from both getting ponies, wanting ponies I never got and playing with them. Although I started my pony career probably around three years old, so I don’t recall getting my first ponies. Baby Glory is probably one of the first I remember getting That could have been around 86/87/88.

I don’t think we had Baby AJ, but I have no evidence really excluding her either. It seems highly unlikely though. Just based on my own childhood ponies (and my friends ponies) I think we got a big smash-up of the standard US releases, UK releases and continental Europe. Especially those first years. I had CP Bowtie as a kid - got her around the same time as my sister got Lickety Split and we both had Posey (pink tulips). So I’m thinking we definitely had the UK set with CP Bowtie/AJ here. But then we also got the US boxed set with PnC babies. Go figures 

I remember me and my sister working on Norwegian releases back in 2006/2007 as well. Because we released it was a little different from the Swedish releases. But it was a little tricky, there isn’t that much info out there and most information is focused on Sweden and Denmark I think. Probably because you all have been more committed to both doing and sharing your research I’ll take my part of the blame on that, as I know I had info ten years ago that I can’t remember the specifics on and now the raw info/material/pics are gone

Ah, well- no use fretting about it now. I have recently bought a toy catalogue from autumn 1989 for my research. It is too late in the line for finding out more on the baby sets - but I’m super curious on what’s in there. I would have been seven years old and in the middle of my pony-phase. You did give me an idea though with the ads in Donald Duck-suggestion. I do have a drawer full of all magazines and comics from the 80’s *trotting off to look through them all*