The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: glitterball on February 21, 2019, 02:10:28 AM

Title: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: glitterball on February 21, 2019, 02:10:28 AM
So there are rumours that Basic Fun are *thinking* about releasing flutters - as seen at the 2019 toy shows - but of course with the usual caveats (like production costs, trade interest etc.).

Naturally, as evidenced by these boards, quite a few of us are super excited (yay clean, new flutters with intact wings!) - and maybe a wee bit apprehensive (will they actually get the proposed stronger, thicker wings looking right?)


Here is a link to an advert from 1986 -
I wonder if they had any "stunt flutters" with extra-strong wings that could last being played-with for the duration of the ad!  :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY6E0fAPBRg


I was lucky enough as a kid to buy Honeysuckle and Rosedust from the shelf, (WH Smith, I think) they looked so pretty in their boxes (I remember being upset that a wing fell off the moment I carefully de-boxed, but oh well).

Delicate, fairy-like poses, sylph-like bodies, their AB (Aurora Borealis) coated wings twinkling in the light, picking up the surrounding colours in their reflections, extra long curly manes and tails - magical!

I was a bit annoyed at their characters in the original movie and their reluctance, at first, to help the earth ponies; it bugged me!

G4: I look at the animation in FIM, especially for Celestia and how her mane magically swirls and twinkles and it does remind me somewhat of the look/effect of a flutter pony.

Please share some of your photos and memories - also, excitement and hopes for the new release (IF they ever DO get released, that it!) 
:frolic:


Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Taffeta on February 21, 2019, 04:23:59 AM
I never saw the flutters in animation as a kid. Seeing it as a teenager also was disappointing, I felt they were nondescript and annoying. But I liked how the comic gave them each their own character.

I first saw a flutter which was Rosedust, at school. The wings were damaged but still attached in that recollection. I bought Tropical Breeze with my birthday money in 1987. I remember a whole wall of flutters, in their tiny boxes, sparkling their wings at me. I chose carefully. I had wanted Wing Song but she wasn't there. Wind Drifter I thought I wanted, but decided I didn't like her pose. I wasn't interested in Rosedust as my friend had her. I don't recall who else was there, but Dad persuaded me towards Tropi (he likes red xD). In hindsight he was right, she is the nicest flutter :D I don't remember when Tropi's wings broke, but I knew it was a possibility because of my friend and so I kept them religiously. My Tropi got played with a lot as Lucky's big sister mostly. But I have since fixed her wings. Unfortunately her hair is very frizzy now. But she's still my childhood Tropi.

The other flutter from my childhood was Cloud Puff. She belonged to another friend, who was super careful with her ponies. But of course, Cloud Puff also had broken wings. I have that Cloud Puff now, and her wings, also now repaired. I also have both Tropi and Cloud Puff MIB, as I consider them both my childhood flutters in different ways. I also have Rosedust but I am not so keen on her. These are boxes with the art from my childhood. I only have one in a US box (Morning Glory) and she sits at the back of my shelf :/ I love the UK boxes because of the little poems (also in the factfile). I have five in box in total. ROsedust and Lily (UK box) have both been removed, Rosedust more so, but both are complete with their stickers and unbroken wings. Morning Glory is in her US box. Tropi and Cloud Puff are in French boxes. No stickers :( as France didn't get them, But I do have my childhood Tropi one. And the art is the same as the UK. My flutter obsession also extends to box collection. I think I have loose UK boxes for most of the first set and Tropical Breeze.

As a kid I memorised Tropi's poem as she was my flutter. "Flutter ponies bring good luck, no matter what life brings. And if you need a helping hand, Tropical Breeze flutters her wings." Something like that :)

I am very concerned about the new wings living up to the old. Of course I don't want another generation of sad kids with broken wings. But I love the original wings too.

On another note about stunt ponies, the second year wings were arguably stronger. I had Tropi and she still broke, but I will say this. We picked up Pink Dreams at a market here in the UK, in a plastic bag with her wings separate and strapped to card. That was how she was sold here at the end of the line. So she was new with her wings intact. And she fell from my top shelf all the way to the floor of my room once.

And her wings did not break.

She is still entirely intact.

I also remember getting MIB Lily at ponycon as my first buy a few years ago. And carrying her around the whole day then getting her back to my uni room, and finally getting her home proper. She also didn't break. While MIB flutters are generally quite stable and so do survive postage, Lily had been out of her box and wasn't properly affixed in. I fashioned a temporary fix and apparently it worked, but Lily, being a first year flutter, has the more delicate wings. So I think I was lucky.

Maybe there are stunt flutters out there...

Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: mlp4me on February 21, 2019, 05:40:14 AM
Never had flutters as a kid. Had a winger. I will be very curious as to how they're going to finagle those wings so they are indestructible!
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: SaraMari on February 21, 2019, 06:37:48 AM
The only flutter pony I had was Tropical Breeze, I was less than a year to about a year when her set came out. As such I have no recollection of buying her, opening her etc. In my mind she was always wingless since I have no memories of ever having her wings intact.

I'm looking forward to the retro flutters and not poo pooing them already because I don't have any insisting expectations of their wings, I just want them to look cute and stay attached. I don't want to harvest the retro flutter pony wings to use on old vintage flutters either, I don't like mixing old and new things haha
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: tailrustedtealeaf on February 21, 2019, 06:39:00 AM
I was disappointed by how they were presented in the movie/cartoon. The movie was meant to be an ad for them, and they were..lackluster. That said I think they are very cute and didn't learn that you could FLUTTER their wings until recently. It's made me appreciate them a lot more and want to make cute wings for them.
I don't own any repro wings, how were the originals? Were they just very brittle plastic? It's a shame that they break so easy and I imagined a more flexible plastic, like water/soda bottle flexibility almost.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Leave a Whisper on February 21, 2019, 06:45:52 AM
I saw the Flutters as a kid in the movie and show and remember wanting Morning Glory, Forget-Me-Not and Peach Blossom. I never got them. My first Flutter was Yum Yum. Its weird because when I first saw her, I turned my nose up and thought her colors were clashy and ugly. When she came in the mail, it was love at first sight. I've come to realize that I prefer my chartreuse ponies to have noticeably more green like my childhood Shady did. I have Tropical Breeze who is my absolute favorite and I want to try to get more Flutters this year. I have my heart set on Wind Drifter.

I like the new Flutter wings on the remakes as I never liked the shape of the original wings. They look strange and bubbly to me. Neither of my first flutters have the classic wing shape. Had a lot of fun making them using Linniekin's tutorial.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Ponyfan on February 21, 2019, 07:15:53 AM
I had Honeysuckle. Rosedust and Yum Yum in my childhood ponies. I still have them. :) but they are wingless. Rosedust came to me without wings. I traded some Mirco Beauty ponies for her. I don't remember my Honeysuckle having wings. I was so happy to get Yum Yum in the Birthday Party gift set with her wings still attached. I was always carefully with my toys and was extra careful with Yum Yum but her wings broke off anyway. :sad: I thought I had saved them but somehow they got lost/thrown out along the way.

I didn't realize that my Honeysuckle was an alternate mold flutter until I posted pics of her on the Trading Post and everyone kept saying she was different than the usual Honeysuckle.


I'm excited that we might see retro flutter ponies. :)



Ponyfan
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: nessa16 on February 21, 2019, 07:44:38 AM
I only had Tropical Breeze as a kid.  I picked her up at a flea market.  She had horrible messy hair.  My cousin had Rosedust (my favorite), Wingson, and Forget-Me-Not.  They never had wings in my memory.  I am excited for the new ones to have hardier wings.  Hopefully, they get picked up and they add Rosedust.  She is queen after all!  Wouldn't it be awesome if they made the Flutter Hideaway from Ruth Bush's (?) concept art?
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Taffeta on February 21, 2019, 08:50:00 AM
I don't own any repro wings, how were the originals? Were they just very brittle plastic? It's a shame that they break so easy and I imagined a more flexible plastic, like water/soda bottle flexibility almost.

I think that fluttering the wings probably added to their quick demise.

The weakness I believe is in the join - the tabs that connect the wing to the body. The wings themselves are actually pretty sturdy. I haven't ever seen a wing that was broken across the main part. They always break at the tab, and I think it's because of that mechanism. It's a slim piece of plastic, and even though they tried to strengthen it with the way the second wave were made (with more easily removeable wings, too), it didn't really solve the problem. I guess that's why wingers happened instead of more flutters.

I do wonder though if flutters would lose their charm if their wings were more sturdy. I like the ephemeral nature of it :)

Edit to add: I just saw the advert and realised Rosedust and Forget me Not are in each other's poses for most of the ad. And I like them better that way O.O.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Galactica on February 21, 2019, 03:10:20 PM
It's odd but I didn't really associate the toys with the cartoons much- they seemed so different.

When the toys came out I was so in love with the thin gossamer fairy like wings-  too bad my first wing broke just taking it out of the box.  :cry:

They were definitely too fragile for real children.  The new ones don't seem to have that gossamer thin as a rainbow look that I loved- but I do like the idea of actual little kids ACTUALLY being able to play with them without crying...  so I'm on board.

We should all call the buyers for Target (and other big box stores) and ask them to carry!!!


I was reading this checklist from  http://mrcheckout.net/how-to-get-product-into-target, and I think some of this advice could be applied to requesting a Target BUYER to carry the line too


Contact Target Buyer

Call the Target’s corporate phone number and ask for the names of the buyer and assistant buyers in your category.

Always leave voicemail with whomever the dispatch will connect you.

Use that information to connect with them on LinkedIn, RangeMe and any other professional social platform.

Ask your representative at your trade bureau to connect you to the Target buyers as they will potentially have a better history.


So what would the category be for Flutter ponies? I used to have the name of the buyer for "girls soft" but I think that means dolls- would mlp be "girls soft" or another category?
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: tailrustedtealeaf on February 21, 2019, 03:19:42 PM
Taffeta thanks for the clarification, I've been imagining the wings breaking all wrong! That makes much more sense, maybe they should have kept the wings shorter and made them slightly less heavy? I wonder if the repros are going to be significantly shorter or smaller to make it easier on the tabs...
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Ponyfan on February 21, 2019, 03:22:21 PM
I never noticed that Rosedust and Forget Me Not are in each others poses. Protype ponies in ads strike again.  :)


I heard somewhere that flutter ponies were supposed to be fairy ponies.


Ponyfan
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: brightberry on February 21, 2019, 03:37:56 PM
My first was Peach Blossom.  I adored her color and the fact that she had an extra mark on her face.  I still have her wings but the tabs are broken off.   :cry:

I never bought more than one in a set and I don't think I was aware of wave two in those days.  But it was funny that I met my best friend in high school and she also had a single flutter pony, Peach Blossom.  If they come in stores, I'm sending her Peach Blossom.

It is exciting to possibly see these in stores! I hope they do well.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Galactica on February 21, 2019, 03:48:15 PM
So I don't have a great comparison photo with the prototype flutters, but here is the best I got from a screen capture.

It looks like they are using plastic wings that are roughly 2x as thick. Maybe they are more flexible/durable too. Plastics have come a long way since 1986 after all.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

The problem with the original wings, as many of us know, are that the plastic was thin (beautiful but thin) and brittle. There was a little tab glued on the end to fix the wing in the wing base. But the slightest pressure on the wing just caused the wing to snap, right at that point where the plastic was glued on to the base... 

I've seen many plastic products that were thin and MUCH tougher in recent toys, so I am confident the new wings will be quite tough.

Post Merge: February 21, 2019, 03:52:45 PM

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Here's another pic of the original wing...
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: NightGliderSA on February 22, 2019, 12:28:15 AM
I remember that ad! My parents refused to buy me a flutter pony. = Big Scar. So of course I am in the process of acquiring both sets as I just adore them. None of mine have wings, and the first I received were a lot of 3 that I bought on eBay for $1. Which was so strange as Cloud Puff is perfect, no discolouration at all and factory curl to boot. But I am not complaining, not one little bit. So the first time I ever even got to hold a flutter pony was as an adult, I have never seen the original wings in person and have no attachment to them. All my ponies do now have wings, but I made them myself.

I would be first in line if the re-boot flutters were actually made. Though I have low expectations of them making it to SA. Retailers here are dim and cannot see the benefit in bringing the ponies in. It is deeply frustrating to know that all these lovely ponies ARE available, but not to us as the shipping fees are very high on top of the terrible exchange rate. $1 = R13-98 and 1 pound = R18-23, so we have to times the selling price by either 14 or just over 18 before even thinking about shipping price. Siiigh.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Shaz on February 22, 2019, 01:52:45 AM
I still haven't ever seen flutter pony wings in real life! My gf had Rosedust, Forget-Me-Not, Honeysuckle and Wind Drifter when she was little, but they were second-hand and already wingless so she pretended that flutter pony wings were so thin and delicate that they were invisible to the naked eye :). She also had one Winger, Little Flitter, who did have wings (though they sometimes came off due to exuberant flying and had to be glued back on frequently) and who was Rosedust's little sister.

My main flutter pony memory is when we got into restoration and started making replacement wings out of drinks bottles. It's just so fun! We also had to drink vast quantities of Coca Cola, lemonade etc :lol:

I keep saying I'm not that interested in the Bridge Direct ponies, but repro flutter ponies are actually pretty tempting....
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Noasar on February 22, 2019, 02:50:22 AM
I kind of hope they are a bit thicker/stronger than the original wings...otherwise I will have wasted my time/money spending so long tracking down original wings for my flutters!
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: LadyMoondancer on February 22, 2019, 09:06:13 AM
I don't own any repro wings, how were the originals? Were they just very brittle plastic? It's a shame that they break so easy and I imagined a more flexible plastic, like water/soda bottle flexibility almost.

The fatal flaw of the originals was that the plastic was fairly brittle and had a weak connection point at the plastic of the base of the wing.  That's where the wings would usually snap off, and it happened very easily!   Before repro wings were common, a real pair of flutter wings cost about $40.  To put it in perspective, this was at a time when Mimic was worth about $35 to $40 and 'regular' G1 ponies tended to cost about $2 to $5.

I actually liked the flutter ponies refusing to help in the movie.  It seemed very in-character for them.  Look at the toys, with those superior expressions.  These ponies would watch you die in a ditch and not shed single a tear.  :P

I had Honeysuckle and Peach Blossom as a kid, new from Christmas, and my sister found Forget-Me-Not (wingless of course) and gave her to me.

Taffeta thanks for the clarification, I've been imagining the wings breaking all wrong! That makes much more sense, maybe they should have kept the wings shorter and made them slightly less heavy? I wonder if the repros are going to be significantly shorter or smaller to make it easier on the tabs...


It wasn't the weight of the wings that made them break, it was the pony falling over, or being dropped, or a child accidentally putting pressure on the wings.  Any external pressure and SNAP!  But the wings themselves were incredibly light. :)
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Ragamuffin on February 22, 2019, 09:58:08 AM

It wasn't the weight of the wings that made them break, it was the pony falling over, or being dropped, or a child accidentally putting pressure on the wings.  Any external pressure and SNAP!  But the wings themselves were incredibly light. :)

Ugh, yeah! I have repro wings and I accidentally dropped Lily while I was dusting. It didn't break, but now there's an ugly crease in her wing!

Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Taffeta on February 22, 2019, 12:16:59 PM
Quote from: LadyMoondancer link=topic=394638.msg1760984#msg1760984

It wasn't the weight of the wings that made them break, it was the pony falling over, or being dropped, or a child accidentally putting pressure on the wings.  Any external pressure and SNAP!  But the wings themselves were incredibly light. :)

This is true. Also the pressure of the fluttering wings against the air was probably a factor. With intact wings you sometimes see them with pressure around that area where there's been some stress but not enough to break it. In the box they are quite tightly put in place so there's no movement...it's the moment they are out and capable of being moved that they are also susceptible to breakage. To break the main part of a wing you'd probably have to stand on it - but lots of things can snap the small bit of plastic holding wing tab to pony.

Flutter wings were never expensive on the second hand market here when they were selling for silly money in the US. I've mentioned it before but we ended up with surplus wings just from carbooting regularly, and they came in ebay lots quite often too. The problem is that getting the right colour match unbroken wings for the first set/hollywood/yum yum is a challenge. I didn't really bother with that, unless they have them intact with the pony, they have the wings they're given and they don't complain about it >.>

But I never saw flutter wings selling for that amount here. I guess maybe the UK were slow on the uptake about those...of course they are NOW much harder to find here, but a lot of people don't bother to track down the originals because of reproductions or custom wings in any particular artistic style.

Repros had an impact on price of course, which was probably a relief for people wanting original wings (except the risk of them getting mixed up, as some repros look very real). But I don't know that the retros, however the wings might be, will affect the value. The people who want real wings will still look for real wings. The people who are happy with using the retro wings are probably also the people happy with repro wings. So it won't really change much.

I think if they make these, we will see whether Basic Fun's main focus is collector or kids....and even though I am very fussy about wings, I sort of hope that their answer is "kids". :/ I had my chance to have a flutter from new and play with her, and yeah, she broke, but not immediately. And it didn't change my love for her. I would often just prop her wings between the button and the tab holders and flap her anyway xD so yeah. It would be nice to spread that to another generation. In those terms, probably, the more important flutter feature is that they flap.

But I still have high expectations on what I consider proper flutter wings xD. If they don't match that, then to me they will be the same as the repros. Copies but not quite the real deal.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Ponyfan on February 22, 2019, 03:31:05 PM
I still played with my wingless flutters too but I do wish I hadn't lost Yum Yum's wings after they broke and they broke right on the tab where the wings connected to the body.

I remember after I got Rosedust from a girl at school I watched the movie and pressed the button on my Rosedust like she still had wings whenever Rosedust was on the screen.

I also remember how expensive original flutter wings were in the US. When I got back in to ponies I thought I might be able to find orignal unbroken wings for my flutters but then I found out how much they cost.


As a result of all of my flutters breaking I was extra careful with my Summer Wing Skydancer because I wanted her wings to remain intact.


I really hope we see Basic Fun flutter ponies and that the wings are sturdy enough to hold up to children playing with them.



Ponyfan
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Crowning_Glory13 on February 22, 2019, 05:35:26 PM
It is no small thing I am obsessed with flutter ponies. I love them all. I only had Lily, but I remember her body very purple, exactly like her main and tail. I am on search for a Lily like that. I can not recall wings. I do remember seeing a boxed flutter cloud puff on the table of a friends house. They said it was for me, but had to take it back because it was broken....I never got a flutter pony. Not sure if I got a pony from that friend, but I dream of a cloud puff.

I played with my ponies so much I could not define if they had wings or not. I remember getting into collecting and checked out prices, and knew I was never meant to have original wings. Mostly because I still play with my ponies at 36:D

So I make my own and got creative! I just found my first two wings ever made so I will get pictures of those and the ones I make now soon.

As for the movie, I just lived them but also wanted the white flutter with pink hair...yup never made
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Sky_Rocket_Sammie on February 22, 2019, 08:05:00 PM
My flutter was Yum Yum and I loved her loud coloring as opposed to her more sedate cousins. The colorful wings were fascinating and though I was careful. Her wings were soon parted ways from her body, still played with her though. I have clear memories of buying a Winger, walking around the store trailing after my mom with the box in hand.

Bored to death with grocery shopping and enjoying the break from monotony. Buzzer came home with me because I had enough of my own money with me. MLP's, teaching 80s kids the ins and outs of finance.

The dying in the ditch comment sums up how I thought they felt about the other ponies. They were the divas and everyone was commoners.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: achab1984 on February 23, 2019, 06:08:14 PM
I would not mind getting these new ones when they come out! Never got to see the original ones when I was little in the stores.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: toyjunky on February 26, 2019, 07:33:09 PM
I have Rosedust, Honeysuckle and Lily from when I was a kid. I distinctively remember getting Honeysuckle for Christmas. I can't imagine how many times my mom took the hot glue gun (cold setting I think) to those wings. I just remember it got to a point where she was just like enough is enough and they remained wingless after that (I still have the wings in boxes somewhere). I REALLY hope the retailers pick them up.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Crowning_Glory13 on February 27, 2019, 07:26:50 PM
I would love to see original wings even if they are broken. It's like seeing an artifact. Not much for history but the idea to see a rare piece. For example, I would freak out to see a Hollywood in person...or scribbles(recently discovered not a flutter pony)

Post Merge: February 28, 2019, 12:20:07 PM

First wings made

visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 (https://flic.kr/p/24mTtBX)1F9B7279-590C-4DBA-8FBB-067F68545C75 (https://flic.kr/p/24mTtBX) by s s (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152253215@N06/), on Flickr

To now

visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 (https://flic.kr/p/2dSqb4U)3D869C26-8163-4EF8-BF6C-E1100FA795A1 (https://flic.kr/p/2dSqb4U) by s s (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152253215@N06/), on Flickr

Love wings. I do hope the wings are not 100% attached or molded. I like the idea of examining their creation...and hope they look rainbow like in the sun light.
Title: Re: ~~Flutter Pony~~ appreciation thread (chat: originals + proposed re-boot)
Post by: Psylocke on March 12, 2019, 12:44:16 AM
I always wanted flutter ponies as a kid, but i can't remember finding any of them in the stores. Don't know if they were even sold here or if I just had bad luck. Saw my first flutter irl at a Pony Meet in 2007 and thought they looked weird so didn't bother to buy any. Saw them again at a con last month and bought one and suddenly fell in love??? Bought some more on eBay and more are on their way! :'D :heart: Gonna buy a couple of new wings from etsy for the prettiest of them but for the others I'm just gonna make a few myself. So strange though how Hasbro made childrens toys that weren't suited for playing with, surely they could've come up with better wings. Like the summer wing ponies for example.

Crossing all fingers and toes that the flutter ponies will get re-made!!!! AND that they'll be sold in Europe..... :rolleyes:
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal