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Author Topic: Question: determining the correct year  (Read 993 times)

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Offline iam_misshennessy

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Question: determining the correct year
« on: April 18, 2021, 12:35:06 PM »
I have to use mylittlewiki for information, but I've noticed a lot of times the dates on the bottom of the hooves are always the second of the two dates given. And that includes when I have multiple of the same pony, because I'll check just in case some are marked with one date and the others the next.

For example, it'll say that the pony was made in:
1986-1987

And that means every single pony I have of that exact pony, and this instance it was up up and away (of which I have four - I collect & sell), is Marked 1987

Doesn't matter which pony it is though, at the bottom of the page it'll say from 1 year to the next, and I've noticed the pony is always marked with the second year provided.

1984-1985 (pony is marked 1985)
1986-1987 (pony is marked 1987)

Is it because the ponies were released in the getting of 1986 and we're sold throughout 1987? Or was it that they were released at the end of 1986 and went until the end of 1987?

And then my second question is, since the ponies came out in 1982, that means if a pony came out in 1985 that it's year should be stated as year 4. Since a pony made in 1982 would be year one, so whatever the last number of the year is, the year the pony is made is just the number subtracted by one.

Sorry I'm probably making this so complicated and I don't need to but hey here we are haha

So if Mark 1987, wouldn't that mean up up and away is a year six pony? Because on their page it says she's a year five pony. But again, aren't the ponies made in 1982 Year One ponies?

I just need help with this because when I sell them I always write in the following way:

Vintage My Little Pony by Hasbro
Generation one, year 6, made in 1987
Twice As Fancy "Up Up and Away"
*Actual description here*

So any information on how all of that works would be awesome and hopefully I didn't confuse anyone too too much!
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Offline Ponyfan

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Re: Question: determining the correct year
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2021, 01:34:47 PM »
I think the date on the hooves is the date the mold/pose was first made.  I just checked Applejack and her hooves say 83.  So all Bowtie (shy pose) ponies would say 83 on their hooves unless the pose was modified in someway from the original. So even though Sherbet/Sorbet Surprise is in the Posey pose her hooves are marked 87 instead 84 because the 3D symbol makes it a different pose. 


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Offline Lilja

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Re: Question: determining the correct year
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2021, 02:14:27 PM »
As far as US releases go, Hasbro considers 1983 to be the first year of MLP. So 1984 is year 2, 1985 is year 3 and so on...

However, it seems sometimes ponies turned up in stores slightly before their "official" year of release. For example, some have said they could find the first MLPs in US stores in late 1982 (around November-December). This could also have been the case for other years, some of the "new ponies" for the next year turned up in stores in time for christmas shopping (people from the US, please share your experiences. I'm just going by what I've heard). Which is why collectors have the US release years as "1982-1983", "1983-1984" and so on, just to be on the safe side.

And yeah, the year on the hoof is when the mold was made and it stays the same when the mold is reused in later years.

Usually, for any newly introduced molds the year on the hoof will be the year before the pony actually ends up in a store, because that's about the time they take to develop, produce and ship. For example, most new poses from year 3 (1985 or 1984-1985) are marked 1984 (the Cuddles pose is the one exception which is marked 1985). However for year 5, while their cards say ©1986, most new ponies (maybe all of them?) from this year have 1987 on their hooves. So there is no hard and fast rule. It depends on what point in development Hasbro had the mold finalized. But in any case, I'm certain no pony could've been in stores BEFORE the year that's on their hoof.  :biggrin:
« Last Edit: April 18, 2021, 02:31:24 PM by Lilja »

Offline Artemesia's Garden

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Re: Question: determining the correct year
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2021, 08:40:41 AM »
I think the date on the hooves is the date the mold/pose was first made.  I just checked Applejack and her hooves say 83.  So all Bowtie (shy pose) ponies would say 83 on their hooves unless the pose was modified in someway from the original. So even though Sherbet/Sorbet Surprise is in the Posey pose her hooves are marked 87 instead 84 because the 3D symbol makes it a different pose. 


Ponyfan

If that's true that's really cool and makes a lot of sense  :frolic:
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Re: Question: determining the correct year
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2021, 06:24:15 PM »
I think the date on the hooves is the date the mold/pose was first made.

Ponyfan

That's correct :)
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Offline Taffeta

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Re: Question: determining the correct year
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2021, 11:09:47 AM »
The date on the hoof is the first time the mould was used, whatever the original pony from that release might have been. The date will be the earlier year because it has to go into production before it hits shelves.

Anecdotal collector evidence reports MLP in stores as Lilja said in late 1982. To me that's the actual start of the line since it also corresponds with the date on the hooves of the original. But there are blurred lines.

The first evidence I have for MLP here is winter 1983, which is the Grooming Parlour, and the UK were mostly a year behind Hasbro in the US. So it makes sense to me that Hasbro US put out the ponies first in time for Christmas 1982.

If Hasbro US are like Hasbro UK, their own records may not record this. Hasbro UK's own records begin in 1985, but we've a lot of concrete evidence that MLP did begin here in 1983. Hasbro are not an entirely reliable source for their own releases, especially so far after the original line.

I don't have as much paperwork for the US, but it's certainly true here that some ponies that aren't listed or included on the insert by Hasbro till 1985 have 1984 style release packaging and were clearly available at the end of the previous year too. For example, the first set of Rainbow Ponies in the UK were officially promoted here in 1985, but their cards are 1984 cards and their hooves are 1983 because they had an earlier US release and so did the moulds they use.

I would never date a pony by the hoof mark, honestly. Especially here, since it's mostly irrelevant except for pose exclusives, and even then it's a bit questionable.

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Offline kitkatvintage

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Re: Question: determining the correct year
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2021, 05:57:01 PM »
The dates on the feet are the year the molds were made. Those dates are typically one year before the ponies were set to appear on shelves.

After years of confusion over release years with year 1 as "1982-83", year 2 as "1983-4", and so on I have an answer to this! The key to understanding the release years lies in the dealer catalogs Hasbro made for their retail buyers.

The correct release years for MLP in the US start with year 1 in 1983. Hasbro created a catalog for retail buyers that was given out at Toy Fair which took place in February every year during the original run of MLP. Technically a product year debuted in February when products were first shown to retailers... or at least first shown to MOST retailers.

Hasbro & the other major toy makers of the day also had an event called PRE-TOY FAIR which took place in September each year, and was exclusively for their largest retail customers. In the 80's & 90's this would have been stores like Toys R Us, Kmart, Walmart, etc. At Pre-Toy Fair, the retail buyers would get the chance to see the new products for the following year early, and place their orders before other retailers. So a "Pre-Toy Fair 1988 catalog" would have been given out to retail buyers at an event in September 1987. Those buyers could place orders at that time, which in turn could then put brand new products on their shelves right at the end of the year during the holiday shopping season.

Only certain products were available to certain retailers to purchase early. So the split year numbering we have used for years is not entirely accurate... but it's not exactly inaccurate either.

My Little Pony debuted in the US at Toy Fair in February 1983 and the first round of product was on shelves in the spring of 1983. So calling year 1 "1982-1983" is incorrect. The earliest Pre-Toy Fair catalog I personally have found is 1986, so the Year 4 So-Soft ponies & company are likely the first product year that was available for early shipments & may have hit stores at the end of 1985. There may be Pre-Toy Fair catalogs for 1984 & 1985 as well, but so far I have not found proof of their existence.

The correct years for US releases should be:
Year 1 - 1983 (debuted Feb 1983; first on shelves Spring 1983)
Year 2 - 1984
Year 3 - 1985
Year 4 - 1986 (starting here, some product may have appeared at select retailers in the holiday season of the previous year. This justifies the split year "1985-1986", but the products were really not intended for wide release until 1986.)
Year 5 - 1987
Year 6 - 1988
Year 7 - 1989
Year 8 - 1990
Year 9 - 1991
Year 10 - 1992

 

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