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Author Topic: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?  (Read 1119 times)

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Offline WingsOfMasquerade

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What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« on: January 17, 2020, 04:14:12 PM »
Now that G4 toys are done...
Nothing else G4 toy-only will be coming out. Blindbags are long replaced by cutie crew, which is now gone for G4.5 or whatever it'll be called. Brushables are over, and FS is too. Everything from this point on will be the new style. So with nothing else capable of coming out, we have our playing field.

So it comes time to ask the BIG question:
What was the BEST TOY of all of G4? Figures DO count / so yes Funko. It doesn't have to be brushable but it can be.
Show a photo if you like!

Criteria:
ACCURATE - Does it look like the show/character while being appealing?
QUALITY - Does it have actual collect or play value?
FUN - Do you think it is fun to have?

Nominate your toys!
But you have to list WHY it belongs in the 'best' category. Share photos, use the criteria or add your own. You can add a "wacky extra" too, if there's something strange but charming that you really like. Tack it on! I want to see what everyone thinks was the best item. Do we agree? Is there something you missed? Let's find out.

My Picks:
1. Fashion Style Tempest Shadow-
THE. Most. Accurate. Pony. Looked exactly like the movie. Looked like an actual pony! Her brushable didn't even do as well, and her GOH was only fair. This thing was the best, plus, she was brushable AND a light up figure too. Buy this while it is cheap.
2. Funko Celestia & Luna Full Size-
These are a close 2nd even though I don't own (but want) both of them. Transparent manes like the show, show-proportions (if not scale), individually sculpted, pretty colors, good glitter. They don't do anything, so they're in 2nd place.
3. The Zillas-
They had accurate wings unlike FS. They were big enough to feel quality. Discounting Cadence & Celestia who had weirdo hair colors and looked like baby versions of themselves, the mane 6 were very nice and solidly done here.
4. Glamor Glow Rarity (and lesser known GG Cadence)
Kinda-TAF, good light up feature, pretty designs but rotten hair quality. Would be very suiting for Rarity to want to be 'glamour glow'. Loses all its points for bad hair, but makes the list for very pretty sculpt, good design, and good light feature.
5. Maybe the Hikari Soufubi Dashes?
Amazing pose but the face was kinda odd, great glitter/colors, but kind of hard to find. Good quality plastic but you couldn't do much with it.

Wacky Extra:
Stratos Skyranger Movie Sounds Action GOH-
Buyyyyyyy this guyyyyyy while he is cheap. He's an old school giant action figure with wing flapping light up and sound action. And ironically, he's the most pony like thing G4 ever produced. I'm gonna say it: He's MOST!
But he's not like the movie and he's not even a hippogriff because they didn't give him a beak/bird head, but a real horse nose. So he's not even accurate. But he's actually fab looking with accurate horse-back-legs, beautifully done hair, excellent proportions and is actually really graceful with the big wings. They wrote him out of the movie, but don't write him out of the collection.

Offline Leave a Whisper

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2020, 09:46:42 PM »
I don't have very many of them, my opinion is subject to change once I pick up Sandbar, one more water cutie and the Retro Pack as I'm not quite done yet, though I hope to be this year, but my picks so far are:

1) Pearly Sapphire Joy. Her hair is soft, if unruly. Her colors are gorgeous and her symbol is unique.

2) Fashion Style: Sapphire Shores-Nice, silky hair. Big and sturdy. I wonder if all the Fashion Styles are this nice?

3) Sparkle Bright: Princess Luna-Shockingly lush and thick tail that's in the correct place. Simple gimmick.

4) Water Cutie: Princess Celestia-My favorite of the 2 WCs I own. The hair has colors that throw me right back to G1. Deeper blue, radioactive red, deep purple. Her symbol is nice.

5) Pearly Starlight Glimmer-Wonderful colors. Soft, but unruly hair.

Runner Ups:
Pearly Mer-Rainbowdash
Pearly Sea Swirl
Princess Sterling
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Offline Wind~Whistler

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2020, 10:16:28 PM »
Possibly the best out of the whole line was the early (pre-Crystal Empire) G4 waves; nice mix of new and old characters (Blossomforth, Lily Blossom, Diamond Rose, etc.) with very nice, soft and silky hair, not to mention the amount of accessories they included (usually a comb, pet and saddle/luggage) compared to the accessories they came with post-Crystal Empire brushables (sure, they had tinsel, but is that even a gimmick anymore?). The Fashion Styles were pretty amazing too, like LaW said, big and sturdy with very nice hair.

Possibly the set I would nominate for being closest to show-accurate would be the FoE set that came out last year. Heck, FoE Cadence looked even more accurate (and nicer!) than her first release as Pony Wedding Castle Cadence! Luna was finally a somewhat accurate color! Minty!
If their hair was nicer, they would’ve been at the top of my list. For now, they just c r u n c h.

Wacky extra? The 2011 Talking Princess Celestia. She was just SO inaccurate it was kind of cute in a way. Nothing screams “I love to make new friends!” like a huge pink plastic pony with green flapping wings :rofl:
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Offline Zapper

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2020, 01:30:23 AM »
Sheesh, good question. I made a topic a while ago about favorite G4 lines, but single toys? I have to go with the ones that stayed in my memory. Can't speak too much on quality since a lot of these toys are not in my collection, like GoH and such.

#5
Tempest Shadow as a character. She was such a departure from the usual MLP fare and her toys looked show accurate and had all different gimmicks. I'd even count the regular brushable as a gimmick since her armor can be taken off to reveal... no cutiemark. That's why she is lowest on my list. Giving her a hidden cutiemark would have been better.

#4
First original Fashion Styles. I did not like the later ones with rubber clothes but the ones with fabric clothes were great. But especially Applejack that went on to be the most elusive of the bunch until she was rereleased with different accs.

#3
Dewdrop Dazzle. Not a lot to say except that she is my favorite G4 toy-only character ever. My Dewdrop is an Earth pony with three ducklings and a swan XD
I made an entire backstory for her. She is basically the Fluttershy of my herd, but she is mostly tending to waterfowl.

#2
Collector series Nightmare Moon and Trixie/Starlight. They are just beautiful looking and the only ones that are true to their characters. I really hate the fighting Twilight/Tempest statuette because that's such a departure from what they are. Trixie and Starlight on a big rocket curtesy to Trixie's fireworks? Super cute friendship moment that I'd expect out of a series that calls itself FRIENDSHIP Is Magic.
They reminded me of the G1 porcellans.

#1
Glittery/pearly brushables. The entire line. The best gimmick they ever did, reminded me most of the olden ponies. So far each (full) generation had semi-translucent, glittery ponies. Even G2. When they revealed the Crystal Empire in the show I was tapping my virtual wrist watch and waiting for the glitter to roll in. Only dud in this line was the lack of Rarity. I mean, come on! It's still my number one spot because no other brushable gimmick really spoke to me. G4 as a whole was pretty devoid of fun gimmicks (water cuties would have been on this list but their quality was really bad. They went dry/brown/manky real fast).

Offline Shaz

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2020, 02:02:03 AM »
I really liked the blind bags, at least back when they had different colours and designs and weren't just the same ponies in translucent glittery form. And I liked the sets that had blind bag sized ponies in them. My favourite is the :muffin: Pony Pony who came in the Soarin' Pegasus set, she's cute, unusual colours, has nice wings (I love G1 but I have no idea how the pegasus ponies fly with those little wings), and the perfect size to carry about as a travelling pony :)

I also like Guardians of Harmony Shining Armour: the articulation is fun and doesn't look weird, and his accessories are awesome. I could imagine having a lot of fun with him as a child (I had a lot of fun with him anyway! He's awesome at posing for photos!).

My wacky but oddly fun vote goes to the Pinkie Pie on wheels I found in a charity shop. I think she's some kind of toddler toy. There's something endlessly amusing about this pudgy Pinkie gliding along the hallway towards you :lol:

Offline tailrustedtealeaf

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2020, 07:13:34 AM »
I love this thread!!
The Friendship is Magic Collection: Quality, accuracy, and fun!
Given the prevalence of blind-bags throughout the toyline, I think this line came a bit late to be properly appreciated. Had it been released in conjunction with season 1 or 2? I think it would have sold more readily and warmed the shelf much less. I thought it was cute that each "series" had one or two blind bag sets that were supposed to go with it, like around the time Sugarcube Corner was for sale we had that set of bakery/sweet/pastel ponies (this was my personal favorite set), or the Nightmare Night collection.
The playsets really do look like something out of the show, and I think the AJ set was on the right track by releasing more background ponies rather than making more Applejacks. What Applejacks we did get were in dynamic and adorable poses. I think the release of this collection also had the side effect of reinvigorating the blind bags with new poses.
Toys R Us Collectors Series: Accuracy and fun! I haven't had any quality issues, either.
This is something that should have been delegated to another retailer or offered as an online exclusive. It seems like since the toy boxes are a bit more "masculine", Hasbro was less afraid to release ponies it wouldn't have otherwise released like Queen Chrysalis, DJ Pon3, Muffins...But that's my theory on that, anyway. It would have been great to have a release to correspond with each season with the/a villain from the season and then various side characters or even one-off characters! Maybe they could even theme the sets to different locations as the ponies traveled more?
The one qualm I have with this set is various corner-cutting, such as paper and elastic crowns/tiaras and Chrysalis's holes being nonexistent.
Nightmare Moon Talking Pony: Fun
I'm not usually a fan of pony and tech together, but this is hilarious. I love it. I'd love to see a Chrysalis one because brushing the villain's hair is just such a novel concept.
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Offline Mermaid

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2020, 06:59:24 PM »
I really enjoyed the early G4’s twinkle shine, diamond rose, feathermay era. I also enjoyed the brushable sea ponies!

Whacky but oddly fun: pinkie pies boutique line and lunar new year pinkie pie!
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Offline OleGrayMane

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2020, 07:34:04 PM »
I would nominate the original "Mini Set" blind bags.

• Lots of original and interesting characters that were rather accurate to the show. Two of three figures were, typically, new and non-mane 6 six, so good there.
• As for value, they were comparable in price to individual figures but you knew what you were getting. And most paint jobs were pretty good.
• I found them fun to collect, and of the bunches of blind bags I have, some of the first sets from that run are still out for display because they make me happy. In particular, the twins from "Cake Family Babysitting Fun" *squee*

The Funko minis were better looking characters than the blind bags, equally static poses though, but they were blind purchases and a lot pricier.

The Nightmare Night Friendship is Magic Collection of blind bags is pretty great too, but I have to fault it for poor availability and distribution which drove up the costs in secondary markets. Four years on, I can't find Spike's set at a reasonable price. Hard to say something is "best" when you can't get it.



Post Merge: January 19, 2020, 07:50:25 PM

Wacky Extra:
Stratos Skyranger Movie Sounds Action GOH-
Buyyyyyyy this guyyyyyy while he is cheap. He's an old school giant action figure with wing flapping light up and sound action. And ironically, he's the most pony like thing G4 ever produced. I'm gonna say it: He's MOST!
But he's not like the movie and he's not even a hippogriff because they didn't give him a beak/bird head, but a real horse nose. So he's not even accurate. But he's actually fab looking with accurate horse-back-legs, beautifully done hair, excellent proportions and is actually really graceful with the big wings. They wrote him out of the movie, but don't write him out of the collection.

I got him for Christmas a couple of years ago and he was a hoot to mess around with. First, his trigger-tail, then his snappy claws! And his eyes light up, right? He only lost his display spot because of his size. An invasion of G3s pushed him back into storage.

In a similar vein, for my "wacky" extra, I'd have to nominate GoH green fire loogie-spitting Spike. Too bad I never had Shining Armor saddle him up and fight... well, who ever they were supposed to fight.  :|
« Last Edit: January 19, 2020, 07:50:25 PM by OleGrayMane »

Offline Ponyfan

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2020, 06:16:39 AM »
The only one I can think of right now is the singing Songbird Sernade. I'm not a Sia fan but I would always play with singing Songbird in Target. It was a lot of fun to press the button, watch her hairbow light up and hear her sing. :D I think that  Songbird is what made me really love the character and now I have her brushable, singing figure and Build a Bear Pony


I also loved the pearly G4s and merpones.


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« Last Edit: January 21, 2020, 07:14:53 AM by Ponyfan »
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Offline TheBeatlesPkmnFan42

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2020, 02:55:19 PM »
Hmm... in terms of entire normal brushable lines, I really liked Rainbow Power, the pearly set from Explore Equestria, Ponymania, Pinkie Pie's Boutique, and Best Gift Ever. Even though Pinkie Pie's Boutique was so heavily Pinkie-focused, I liked the color scheme it brought with having Pinkie's normal pink colors along with white and black in the mix, it's a nice color combo. That, and it gave us G3 Wysteria as a G4 (though I don't own her yet myself). Rainbow Power was pretty fun also due to adding extra colors to characters, my favorite being the pastel Rainbow Power Fluttershy (the same one Taffeta has as her avatar image), that Fluttershy is probably one of my favorite G4 ponies overall! Best Gift Ever I liked due to mostly having pearlized ponies which is one of my favorite gimmicks. Ponymania was a lot of fun with its wild designs.

I also really like all of the toy original ponies, such as Snowcatcher, Fluttermay, etc. I wish ponies like that could have stuck around for G4's entire run but unfortunately they more or less stopped them in favor of releasing too many Mane 6. Bah. Anyway, due to how little of other characters came out, that does kind of make all the ones that do exist feel more special, and therefore I'd like to have every non-Mane 6 in my collection someday as a result.

Outside of the main line but still made by Hasbro, the Fan Series portion of the Guardians of Harmony figures were very nice. Not flawless by any means, but definitely some of the higher quality items Hasbro has put out during G4's run. I've got six of them so far (Celestia, Discord, Storm King, Chrysalis, Starlight/Trixie, and Twilight/Tempest), hoping to add the others to my collection as well.

Another side-line made by Hasbro I love are the Playskool ponies. They're just adorable.

Moving from Hasbro's own toys, there's some third party ones I liked a lot. I don't own many of them, but Funko's non-pop pony releases were pretty well done. I only own one of the toys by them so far (chibi Discord), but MightyFine's MLP figures seem to be pretty nice from what I can tell. And by far my favorite third party MLP toys/figures are Kotobukiya's Equestria Girls inspired scale figures even though only half have been released so far. They're definitely the highest quality items I have in my collection, though just like everything else they aren't flawless either. But they're very well sculpted, well painted, and are well worth the money, especially since Kotobukiya tend to be one of the cheaper scale figure manufacturers (the pony ones are all priced at right around $100 which yes, it cheap in the world of scale anime figures believe me).
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Offline Mrs. Prospector

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Re: What was the BEST out of G4 TOY-only ?
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2020, 05:23:56 PM »
Do plushies count? I love the Build-A-Bear ones! They're adorable and pretty darn accurate, just the right size for hugging, and there's a huge variety of characters in the line-up!

 

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