Batch Difference Research - Help Needed!

[NightGliderSA]

Hi Everyone,

I have been looking a lot at batch differences in ponies and how that might affect them. This is one of the small things that apparently interests me and helps to pass the time. I would like to start off with Pinwheel, a pony famous for age spots. What I have noticed is that there appear to be two distinct batches.

Pinwheel 1 (left):
She is a redder pink, has BLUE sticks on her pinwheels, and has airbrushed eyes.

Pinwheel 2 (right):
She is a colder, more lilac toned pink, has LILAC sticks on her pinwheels, and has stamped eyes.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Now, I see Pinwheel 1 almost always has age spots, but Pinwheel 2 almost never. So, what I am getting at here is there may be a nice way of checking out whether your future purchase of Pinwheel may be prone to age spots or not.

Where I need your help is with confirmation of my theory: please could everyone who has the time and inclination check which Pinwheel they have and whether their girl does or does not have age spots? I think this could be fun 

In addition, what state is their hair in? With my two, P1 has great hair, and P2, not so great... of course!

[tootie_tails]

I think the first one looks discoloured... I have seen it happen to other pink ponies, for example, TE Galaxy.

[Taffeta]

I think the first one looks discoloured... I have seen it happen to other pink ponies, for example, TE Galaxy.

The problem with assuming it's discolouration is that it doesn't explain other production differences. The body tone on Pinwheel isn't necessarily always stable, but the other elements, like the eyes, etc, demonstrate different batches regardless. Which is I think what Night Glider is getting at - that some batches may be more prone to the discolouration, and there may be tell tale signs to pick them out.

Fading and discolouration are important issues but sometimes I feel they're used as a catchall to explain all pony differences rather than when there are batch differences which give a lot more clues about the release.

@NightGlider, I love geeky batch difference discussions! Unfortunately miles from ponies at the moment, and I only have one  HK Pinwheel (not sold here, sob), but she came from the US so would've been part of the US release. Here's a photo of her - she clearly has lighter wands, but is too camerashy in that picture to show her eye

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


 I say that because we've already discussed elsewhere types of cards and stuff different ponies were sold on...did both yours come from the same location? Because if they didn't, then their release years would probably be different (maybe 1985 and 1986). Although that could be the case anyway because I think Pinwheel had a mail order release in the US as well...

[Matcha]

I don't have a Pinwheel to help out, but what's the difference between stamped and airbrushed eyes? I didn't know there were different types of eyes in non-nirvana mlp :O

[Chrissytree]

Pinwheel was also sold as a Mail Order pony in a deeper shade.

@My.Little.Ponyland donated a photo of a much deeper coloured Pinwheel MOC to my site. I don't seem to have added the information she wrote about it on my page though.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[Taffeta]

Pinwheel was also sold as a Mail Order pony in a deeper shade.

@My.Little.Ponyland donated a photo of a much deeper coloured Pinwheel MOC to my site. I don't seem to have added the information she wrote about it on my page though.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

O.O
Another one of those ponies on that card in English *growls at Hasbro*

So pretty, though. And darker sticks...

[Chrissytree]

Pinwheel was also sold as a Mail Order pony in a deeper shade.

@My.Little.Ponyland donated a photo of a much deeper coloured Pinwheel MOC to my site. I don't seem to have added the information she wrote about it on my page though.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

O.O
Another one of those ponies on that card in English *growls at Hasbro*

So pretty, though. And darker sticks...

But possibly sold in Sweden

[Taffeta]

Possibly also Australia, since one person who has Flutterbye on that card got it from a seller there... but given who it is who started this thread, I was wondering more about South Africa...

Since it would make sense for a later release of Pinwheel to show up there too, right?

Night Glider, where did your 2 different Pinwheels come from?

[Chrissytree]

Well I mean that one is from a Swedish collector but I can't remember what she said about its origin.

[Gizmo]

Pinwheel 2 is a later release, Pinwheel 1 belongs to the 1985 production which also includes browning Confetti and Trickles (that Pinwheel also has dark blue sticks). I luckily have all versions of her including the mail order both sealed and out of bag.

As for the MOC one Chrissytree posted, those were sold in Australia, South Africa, Germany (German text, HK), and Scandinavia as they were all on the same price list that Hasbro UK was sending out in 1986 (if they didn't show up in Denmark or Netherlands for example it was only because shops there did not order them).

[NightGliderSA]

Thanks everyone! Gizmo, that is really helpful and seems to confirm what I was suspecting? Two completely different batches. I wonder what was up in the Hasbro factory the first time around?

Would I then be correct in assuming: lilac wands (prettier sounding than sticks) are probably safer to purchase and are less likely to develop age spots in the future while blue wands are much less safe to purchase and highly likely to develop age spots if they are not already rampant all over the pony? Unless of course they are on a vividly pink pony, who was then the mail order. Is she prone to age spots? Can anyone confirm?

Taffeta: both ponies purchased online in South Africa from dealers who get the ponies from where ever they can find them locally simply to resell. So the back story is completely unknown to me: sorry! I can tell you that neither of these dealers import, but how their previous owners got hold of them is more than I can say. Your pony seems to be from the 'safer' batch. And yes, I really do love looking at the small, apparently insignificant, details. I have another theory about Baby Cotton Candy and her fading pink hair which might also be related to batch differences, but that can wait for another day.

Thank you Chrissytree for posting the MOC image!

[Gizmo]

Thanks everyone! Gizmo, that is really helpful and seems to confirm what I was suspecting? Two completely different batches. I wonder what was up in the Hasbro factory the first time around?

Would I then be correct in assuming: lilac wands (prettier sounding than sticks) are probably safer to purchase and are less likely to develop age spots in the future while blue wands are much less safe to purchase and highly likely to develop age spots if they are not already rampant all over the pony? Unless of course they are on a vividly pink pony, who was then the mail order. Is she prone to age spots? Can anyone confirm?

In 1984 after Hasbro spent 100s of millions purchasing Milton Bradley and with some stock market declines within the toy industry drove production to cut costs, ponies produced the year prior were of much higher quality.

Another example would be Starshine, ones that turn brown are the 1985 version whereas those from 1984 remain fairly white (sometimes even too white, as it's the same plastic used for Megan and Sundance which is somewhat harder and does not yellow easily).

As for Pinwheel, you're right the lilac wands version is definitely the safer choice as most issues tend to be associated with the other version. Mail order is also safer as far as I know as none of my mail order Rainbows show any plastic issues. Mail order Confetti for example, at least all the ones I've owned or seen were never the waxy browning type.

[flutterscotch]

I am working on similar research involving Galaxy.   

Test the two you're testing under black light and see if their entire bodies fluoresce differently.
Galaxy does (I have one that was described as "having full body regrind" when I bought her, and one who is decidedly more towards the purple spectrum of pink than any others I've had). Baby Blossom (the one that tends to fade faster vs. the one that stays purple longer does, Fading color fluoresces light purple (the same way white does), the rest does not). As a matter of fact, my baby blossom with a mismatched head has one of each type of plastic involved.

[tootie_tails]

Pinwheel 2 is a later release, Pinwheel 1 belongs to the 1985 production which also includes browning Confetti and Trickles (that Pinwheel also has dark blue sticks). I luckily have all versions of her including the mail order both sealed and out of bag.

As for the MOC one Chrissytree posted, those were sold in Australia, South Africa, Germany (German text, HK), and Scandinavia as they were all on the same price list that Hasbro UK was sending out in 1986 (if they didn't show up in Denmark or Netherlands for example it was only because shops there did not order them).

I didn't know there were so many different ones. Is there any sure way to tell them apart? So if you have a random one you can see which type it is?

When you all are talking about a "deeper" pink, what do you mean? Is it brighter pink? Or less purple-y pink?

[NightGliderSA]

I am working on similar research involving Galaxy.   

Test the two you're testing under black light and see if their entire bodies fluoresce differently.
Galaxy does (I have one that was described as "having full body regrind" when I bought her, and one who is decidedly more towards the purple spectrum of pink than any others I've had). Baby Blossom (the one that tends to fade faster vs. the one that stays purple longer does, Fading color fluoresces light purple (the same way white does), the rest does not). As a matter of fact, my baby blossom with a mismatched head has one of each type of plastic involved.

This sounds like fun! A friend of mine has a black light so I will invite myself and my ponies around to see what happens. They have just selfishly gone away on holiday overseas so I will have to wait until they are back. Seriously, could they not have planned better? 

And thank you Gizmo, it's great that you have that info at hand so to speak!

tootie_tails: I don't know myself as I have never seen the MO pony in person. She looks very similar to the 'dangerous' pony to me, and I am not sure that I would be able to tell the difference from an eBay photo. If you want the safer bet, perhaps look out for lilac wands. Otherwise, maybe Gizmo can help with a pointer on how to tell the apart from eBay photo's?