Twinkle VS Custard: Cat Battle Why? Plus Repro Parlor Musings

[WingsOfMasquerade]

So as you have probably heard by now, the cat who comes with the Pretty Parlor is NOT Twinkle.
It is Strawberry Shortcake's "Custard the Cat". When you put them side by side, they're actually fairly different looking. Custard's head shape is a lot wider & he/she has big feet. So, now that something's different it's time for questions & cat battle

1. WHY did they choose Custard over Twinkle?
2. Do you like Custard or Twinkle better? (Ex. do you wish they'd of put Twinkle instead?)
3. Do you think it ruins the authenticity of the playset to not have the real cat and instead a substitute?
4. Are you getting the playset & keeping it with Peachy & 'Twinkle'?
5. What was your opinion on the original pets that came with the playsets through the years?

Aside: They included that obscure old not well liked heart shaped brush so they're clearly going for 'like it was the first time'
Also do you think the saddle & the basket belt will induce "Saddle Sores" like the vintage ones did, opening up these ponies to all the old time problems we still deal with today?

If they're the ones doing the retro repro SBSCs then it makes sense that they'd have the pets on hand, like Parfait Parrot, Pupcake, and whatever else...but then why not also have real Twinkles? Also if they go ahead with playsets are we going to get the Duck because SBSC never had a duck. How about Brandy the dog? Or would they pass up Brandy and do Pupcake instead & say it was Brandy?

The playset is pretty reasonably priced at 20.00...
When we first heard of it, I was thinking they'd go high like 40 or 30. At that point I didn't know if it was a good idea for them to make. It's coming on really strong really fast with just 6 ponies and then suddenly a playset. Would anybody care enough to spend that much on 'not a pony'? How many people exactly are THAT nostalgic for the Parlor? I'm not. It was never among my favorites. How many people have Peachy as a favorite pony? That's also something to consider because Snuzzle & Butterscotch are now shelf-warming while Minty still flies off the shelves.

But the 20 dollar price point is better if you think of each pony at 10...then double it for the cat, accessories, and parlor itself. I'm hoping it does well. Personally, all I have is a crumby old one that's broken/was a hand-me-down that has no accessories except 1 of the hats. So, it's a chance for me to get it in nice shape & just keep---but of course it's hardcore fans talking to hardcore fans here. For something to do well world wide it takes more than that to create success.

I guess I would have saved it for later, like after the rainbows or while into the Glory/Firefly ones or something, if I was BD.

[LadyMoondancer]

I would've liked them to put in an "authentic" Twinkles, but I'm not mad about it.  My guess is it was a combo of "we're trying to keep costs down" and "oh look, we have this other 80s cat mold."  I am fine with him as long as he is able to sit in the basket.

I think the Pretty Parlor is one of the most nostalgic playsets.  Look how many Peachys are out there on eBay.  Every single one of them originally came with a Pretty Parlor!  A lot of parents who haven't thought about G1 MLP in years are going to look at that box and be hit with a major rush of nostalgia, and hopefully buy it for their kids.  Peachy was not the flashiest pony in my herd, nor my favorite, but I played with the Pretty Parlor + accessories all the time.

I am hoping the $20 will make it a hit.  That's SO affordable.  Like, this cost $15 to $20 six years ago:

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. . . and it wasn't even a real building, it was just a flat "front" of a building and a tiny G4 pony that wasn't even exclusive to the playset.  (No stickers or molding on the other side of the barn, either.  Man, Hasbro was lazy on that one.)

[Ponyfan]

I’m guessing that Bridge Direct didn’t have a proper mold for Twinkles and just reused Custard since they had it readily available. They’ve been doing a great job on the retro SSC and 35th anniversary ponies so far. Maybe Hasbro no longer had a mold for Twinkes so it was either the Custard mold or no Twinkles for the Parlor. I do wish Twinkles was more accurate but there are a few advantages to Twinkles being so different. It will be hard for someone to try to sell orange Custard/Twinkles as the original Twinkles unless a buyer doesn’t do their research to see that orange Custard is not Twinkles.

I also expected the Parlor to be more expensive than $20 but I think it’s reasonable when you consider that each retro pony is $10 and for another $10 you get the playset and accessories as well.

I never had the Parlor growing up (I had the Baby Bonnet School of Dance and Lullabye Nursery) so for me it’s a chance to get a playset I never had at an affordable price.  I do think having orange Custard instead of a more accurate Twinkles does make the repro Parlor a little less accurate than it could have been (by the same token though we all know the original Rainbow ponies weren’t scented )


Ponyfan

[Gator]

I think they should have used the original cat if portraying it as a honest 35th anniversary re-release, but, that being said, new cat is cute and I love its grin.

[brightberry]

I had the parlor growing up and I think it's ok they switched Twinkles.  New Twinkles is cute and I think kids will like him/her.

[nessa16]

I am really surprised that it is only being sold for $20 when each pony is $10.  I was expecting $30-40 price point too.  I actually like when the remakes have "small" changes because, otherwise, it just feels like I am buying the same thing I already own.  Honestly, even though I got all 6, I already kind of felt that way with the CP set.

I have the original but pretty sure it is broken.  I am pretty sure I have most if not all of the accessories though minus the name cards.  Does anyone know if this remake has all the same cards, or just the one for Peachy?

I think that maybe Hasbro did not have the mold for Twinkles anymore like Ponyfan said.  Why go through the trouble of trying to make a new one if they already had the one for Custard.  I think overall they are doing a great job with the remakes.  I am excited to get the Rainbow ponies.  I would be so happy if they remade the Lullabye Nursery, as that has always been my favorite play set.  Oh and it would mean baby ponies!  They never get remakes.  I would not be upset if they used Pupcake's mold in place of Brandy's if they redid any of the stable play sets.

I may need to get two of these, one for my collection, and one for my daughter to open and play with when she gets old enough (pregnant right now). 

[LadyMoondancer]

The remake only has a card for Peachy I believe, and doesn't have the blanket.  (But the blanket would be easy to fan-make, it was just a very thin felt material.)

I don't think Hasbro has any of the old molds any more . . . IIRC the reason the 25th anniversary ponies turned out a little odd looking was that Hasbro took an existing flat-foot pony and poured a mold around it.  But when you do that, you get small changes to the mold.  (Lizard eyes, lol.)

I believe what The Bridge Direct does is scan existing toys with a computer, use the scans to build a 3-D model, and uses the 3-D model to create the mold.  Which results in a toy that is more "true" to the original than Hasbro's method with the 25th anniversary ponies.  So I think they could've made a Twinkles that was true to the 80s mold. 

But it might have been a matter of cost.  One thing I've learned from watching the HQG1C project is that making a mold for an accessory can be just about as expensive as making a mold for an actual pony.  Honestly, TBD is doing such a great job overall that I just can't get upset about them saving a little $$ on Twinkles.  I mean, as recently as last month I thought the Pretty Parlor had been cancelled completely.

[Foxtale]

1. Cost, mold was already made and she is pretty cute. The pet is more important for SBC than MLP.
2. I would have preferred the original but I understand why. The pricepoint for this playset is unreal, I think whatever they did to get that cost is great!
3. No, I don't think so. It's a reproduction. All the differences make it unique and special in it's own right.
4. Already got it, keeping it MIP or at least together.
5. I didn't grow up with them so I could take them or leave them. I just like Spike ;D

[Leave a Whisper]

1) I'm going to second what ponyfan said about them already using the custard mould.

2) I've never had either of them, so I'm not bothered. But I can understand why people would be.

3) Yes. I do think it ruins the authenticity because they've done so well by making these ponies so authentic, right down to the packaging and artwork. But again, it doesn't really bother me.

4) I'm highly tempted by this playset. It looks so detailed and full of fun stuff. The one drawback is Peachy. I don't care for her, and I don't like her pose. But this playset looks so cute! And it also seems economical spacewise. So if I see it and and I have fun money, I just might give into temptation. Though I wish they'd picked the Waterfall or the Show Stable.

[toyjunky]

1. WHY did they choose Custard over Twinkle?

I am going to go with cost saving measure and I am fine with that in this case. I do wish they had the stripes on the back though.

2. Do you like Custard or Twinkle better? (Ex. do you wish they'd of put Twinkle instead?)

They included an orange sitting cat. Yes the tail is molded in a different place. My world did not end. As I said above, I do wish it had the stripes.

3. Do you think it ruins the authenticity of the playset to not have the real cat and instead a substitute?

If we are going to complain about that, then one can also say that the lack of 2 ribbons, a blanket and the other name tags
ruins it too. I would have liked to have the name tags.

4. Are you getting the playset & keeping it with Peachy & 'Twinkle'?

Yes, already bought and photographed for my own reference. Peachy was a main reason for me to buy it as I had the mail order version without her. I never had any of the G1's whose name tags were in the pretty parlor until now. I had other G1's that I used with it as a child.

5. What was your opinion on the original pets that came with the playsets through the years?

As a child, the pretty parlor was the only playset I had for MLP that had a pet.

6. "They included that obscure old not well liked heart shaped brush so they're clearly going for 'like it was the first time'."

I am just going to straight up say opinion on that, which is fine as everyone has the right to one. I will say though, that I spent quite some time today looking for that brush through various boxes at my parents house and was happy to have found it.


7. "Saddle & the basket belt will induce "Saddle Sores" like the vintage ones did"

I never left my ponies in the accessories longer than I was playing with them as a child. End of the day and the accessories came off.

8. "Also if they go ahead with playsets are we going to get the Duck because SBSC never had a duck. How about Brandy the dog? Or would they pass up Brandy and do Pupcake instead & say it was Brandy?"

Actually, the Strawberry Shortcake line did have a duck. Mint Tulip (doll) had Marsh Mallard (pet duck). At the moment there is no retro Mint Tulip doll. If they were going to use Pupcake for Brandy and that means we get a Show Stable that is as accurate in the detailing as the Pretty parlor that would be fine with me.

9. "Would anybody care enough to spend that much on 'not a pony'? How many people exactly are THAT nostalgic for the Parlor? I'm not. It was never among my favorites. How many people have Peachy as a favorite pony?"

In some ways that is a loaded set of questions. For me, as a child in the 80's, the Pretty Parlor was one of the few things I ever got as a mail order. My parents could only afford to buy me it as the inexpensive version without Peachy. I loved that thing and spent many days playing with it with my childhood ponies and my Strawberry Shortcake dolls as well as later on it also was Barbie's stable and the ponies were her horses because that was what I had. So personally, I have very fond memories of it. As I mentioned above, Peachy was a main reason for me to buy the new one. I now have a nice new Peachy, a pony I have never had.

I will say this, in my opinion, we are lucky to have reproductions at all. Especially after what happened with the 25th ponies (and yes I know different company but still). As a person with a husband who has an enormous Transformers collection, it is about time. I am personally very excited for the retro ponies just as I was very excited when the retro Strawberry Shortcake dolls came out. Walking around the corner of an aisle and running smack into your childhood toys (or wanted childhood toys) on the shelf in front of you is an amazing thing.

[Taffeta]

It will be easier to tell apart the retro from the original, so I am fine with it.

I have no interest in this set because NOO NOT MORE PEACHIES...so basically that's where my position on this ends xD.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

If you think about how expensive plastic actually is, it's wonderful to have a playset that's reasonably priced. Everything has a heavy markup on it, and it may be so low because they don't get the added value of being Current MLP. Think off-brand soda versus Coke.
I hope it causes some kids to pick it up where they otherwise would not have. Kids like stuff! If a parent says they can choose one $20 thing and they aren't picky with what the brand is, they're going to want the pony that comes with a house rather than the pony that comes with one accessory.
The cat doesn't bother me as I'm not into MLP for the accessories, although I suppose a more accurate Twinkle would have been nice to have.

[Skeen]

I don't care, I'm buying it anyway! 

[Shy Violet]

I'm not bothered by Twinkle. I think she's cute in Custard's mold and I'm so beyond happy that they are making reproductions I don't care if there are small differences.

[Baby Sugarberry]

The screws on the inside of the Parlour, lack of paint on certain parts, missing blanket/ribbons/cards and the known-to-be-fragile-as-all-heck-hinges not being upgraded to more beefy ones bother me a lot more than Twinkles in a new mould.  I'd guess it was a cost saving measure or they just couldn't find an original Twinkles or the mould to work with in time for production.

I'm probably not buying one though.  I have several originals, don't need another.
I like the playsets with pets, but they're not a 'omg must have' feature, personally.