Ponies "changed" by time - Thoughts? G1 discussion

[Sunshine]

Can I shorten this and just say - We've all seen ponies that have been changed over time - faded symbols to new colors, changed eyes, things NOT from factory, but things that make them a little different, even though they're not ruined or "bait" condition.

What do you guys think of these "changed" ponies? Do you keep them? Do you have any in your collection?

Some examples I have off the top of my head are a Majesty with blue eyes who's not Italian, faded blue from the factory purple... a Sand Digger who has all purple accents (more lavender) instead of the factory dark pink. In my Peachy Army I have a variety of weird faded colors of her hearts - including a nice white/light blue.

I won't erase the old post, but this hopefully will focus any further discussion instead of focusing on terminology or semantics.

Okay, I really don't want to get my head bitten off here by purist collectors but, many friends and I talk about what I'm about to describe all the time, and I finally decided, hey, I want to hear the communities opinions on it.

So... my question is:
Can time create pony variations? "changed ponies"/Time Pieces/Unique ponies?

EDIT: Many people can't distinguish Variant from Variation. My bad. I was trying to describe these are TWO DIFFERENT things, but, many people are stuck on VARIANT/VARIATION. So, let's change this... Can time create "changed" ponies and unique time pieces? And also, Do you keep/like those kinds of "changed ponies"?
** This was not intended to be a discussion on what to CALL these ponies. Not a terminology discussion. I just picked a word (a confusing word - "variation") - and that made this whole thing spiral to a terminology debate, which is NOT what I wanted to talk about.**

Obviously the answer is yes in the purest form of that question. Variation happens over time and so, it's unavoidable. But I hesitate to use the word "Variant" because that does carry some more specific meaning within our pony community, and a true Variant I'm not thinking as being the same thing as what I'm trying to describe. So I'm wondering if - in the pony world - time related issues can cause what would be considered "variations" "changed ponies" "unique time pieces" "something different than normal"... - and whether you keep those kinds of ponies yourself.

Okay, example time:

Regrind.
You have a Winger Skydancer or Flutter Cloud Puff. Original factory body color is a pinky-darker purple. They are totally prone to regrind and can turn a bright hot pink color. Sometimes there are some of these ponies where regrind has taken over their whole body, uniformly, and caused them to turn completely hot pink. They don't look bad, they're just now a new color.
Is this a "changed pony" you'd keep? Some people like the hot pink version, or have both a pink and purple version, just because.

Fading Symbols or Eye Color or Body Color
There are many instances where certain colors fade out over time into new colors. Many examples of ponies with purple eyes showing up with blue eyes because the red/pink pigments have leached our or faded out - call it what you will - but TIME has altered this so that now the eyes look perfectly blue. I have a Sand Digger who has bright pink eyes and one who has pure lavender eyes. In my mind, I keep these - they are variations. Obviously this isn't happening to every single Sand Digger out there (I know, I asked on a thread what color eyes peoples SD's had, and most had pink) - so, it's not like you're going to always find one with lavender eyes just because they do leach/fade out...

Another good example are the Watercolor Baby Sea Ponies - as sometimes they seem to "get stuck" in one body color or the other, so, you may actually have two unique colors of the exact same pony out there in the world... "unique time piece?" "changed pony?" Would you keep two of the same?

And of course, everyone's favorite to boo:
Fading Hair and Hair Color
Now because this is SO common with Pussycat/Fading Pink hair ponies turning white, I am kind of ignoring them, though there are some ponies I prefer to have faded hair (Very few, only 2 I can think of: Tornado and Argie Baby Ribbs) to the pink hair, but what about OTHER hair colors that aren't as prone to fading, like greens, blues, etc. I remember a while ago a thread someone posted about putting a TAF Sugarberry into an Oxyclean bath and all her berries and all her hair turned the same shade of neon orange instead of neon red. Honestly... if I found a Sugarberry like that, all uniformly faded or changed into another color, I might keep her.
Now I know for the pink-white hair issue, time is maybe... degrading the pony instead of just simply changing it. I like factory pink haired ponies if they have that color, not usually a fan of white and I don't keep whited haired ponies as variations normally. But what if you found a pony with lavender hair and somehow, over time, it had uniformly faded into blue? Not a common thing to happen, and now you have a blue haired pony that was never released with blue hair, even if it IS faded... - so... variation?

I know there are factory variations with some ponies hair colors - like, Baby Starbow having dark purple or dark blue hair, same with the Rockin' Beat, and sometimes Water Nixie ponies got Mermaid or something like that - and those I would almost call "variants" because the factory did that... not time.

Sooooo...
Are all variations worth keeping? Probably not... but obviously that's up to the owner of the ponies. I myself find it very hard to get rid of any two ponies who are not identical, which seems silly because really - I'm sure no two ponies are ACTUALLY identical... but I have my fair share of Pink Eyed Sand Diggers go through my hands and I've never handled another lavender eyed one yet. Or... all the Majesty's I have except one have Water Nixie hair, I haven't had another Mermaid Majesty go through my hands...

So I just thought I'd like to hear what others think about this. Would you keep a Gusty if she had bright blue eyes and wasn't an Italian version? Would you keep a Star Glow who's pink stripes had somehow faded into an orange color? Would you keep a Daddy Bright Bouquet if all his blue symbols had faded out to purple?

Throw me your thoughts!

Edited this to try and change the word "variation" and get this thread on the true topic I wanted to have people talk about - Do you keep these or like these, do you even notice these? Any special ponies in your herds who are specifically off-factory but you like them for that reason?

This is NOT about money! This is NOT about value or selling them. It's not even about creating a word for them. It's just about - Do you see these changes over time, and do you consider them different enough that you'd keep two of the same pony in your collection?

[KarentheUnicorn]

I usually consider a variant to be a pony that was originally made that way at the factory; a examples would be a different color hair or different color body. This would come from the factory that way new.

If a pony has a flaw, like say a missing symbol then I would call that a factory flaw. This would be something that would be similar to the above variant.

If we are talking faded hair or aged plastic, something that has been degraded over time, then I don't really consider that a official variant in terms of collectability.

Yes, as far as being different, yes it is different, but it's not exactly the same thing, especially if we're talking value.  At that point it's just going to be a question of personal preference and what you are looking for as a collector.

[Skeen]

I don't consider degradation or damage to be a variation.  They have to be a variant right off the factory line for me. 

[NoDivision]

I usually consider a variant to be a pony that was originally made that way at the factory; a examples would be a different color hair or different color body. This would come from the factory that way new.

If a pony has a flaw, like say a missing symbol then I would call that a factory flaw. This would be something that would be similar to the above variant.

If we are talking faded hair or aged plastic, something that has been degraded over time, then I don't really consider that a official variant in terms of collectability.

Yes, as far as being different, yes it is different, but it's not exactly the same thing, especially if we're talking value.  At that point it's just going to be a question of personal preference and what you are looking for as a collector.

Yup, this.

I think that there are certainly ponies that are prone to these differences you mentioned, and I think they have their own merits. Things like white windy, who is widely accepted to be a myth/just faded, or the pink versions of purple ponies due to regrind, can often be quite sought after and certainly take their own places in peoples collections.

BUT because the term "variant" is a widely used term in the pony community to identify a pony that was created as different, it's not a good idea to apply the term variant to a pony that has changed over time.

[Shiromisa]

I wouldn't call that a  variant per se, but I would keep it as an unusual and special pony. I like oddities!

[Dorothy Rose]

If we are talking faded hair or aged plastic, something that has been degraded over time, then I don't really consider that a official variant in terms of collectability.

Yes, as far as being different, yes it is different, but it's not exactly the same thing, especially if we're talking value.  At that point it's just going to be a question of personal preference and what you are looking for as a collector.

I agree with that.  There needs to be a different word for things like this, b/c there is a definite difference between a pony with pink hair and a pony with white hair, but it's not a true varient, as you pointed out.  That being said, I am considering purchasing a pony BECAUSE that I like the faded hair more than the original pink.  If I had an option to buy one with pink hair, I'd probably keep looking for one with faded hair.  I suppose it's a bit like a cross between a varient and a custom.  Age-related changes are different and, in some case, more desirable.  So, I'm going to vote Yes on this, so long as "varient" stays within quote marks until we can find a better term.

[Marlin]

I usually consider a variant to be a pony that was originally made that way at the factory; a examples would be a different color hair or different color body. This would come from the factory that way new.

If a pony has a flaw, like say a missing symbol then I would call that a factory flaw. This would be something that would be similar to the above variant.

If we are talking faded hair or aged plastic, something that has been degraded over time, then I don't really consider that a official variant in terms of collectability.

Yes, as far as being different, yes it is different, but it's not exactly the same thing, especially if we're talking value.  At that point it's just going to be a question of personal preference and what you are looking for as a collector.

^^ This for me, too. Some will find the quirks like faded eyes for example endearing and enjoy having that variety in their collection, and why not? But I wouldn't consider it a 'variant', more a pony that has been subjected to the aging process.

I recently got a longed for pony whose eyes are more grey than the pink they are supposed to be, and her hair had faded drastically, too. She's lovely otherwise, but she will be subjected to being moved on if an upgrade comes along. Just the nature of my kind of collecting.

[prancingstag]

Time can create differences, but I agree that "variant" is a very specific term within the pony world that doesn't truly capture what a faded or regrindy pony is. For ponies that were factory made with little differences like hair colour, or those ponies with swapped/flipped/rotated symbols, or MOC with the wrong card, I would consider variants or variations. For ponies like Cloud Puff or faded pink hairs or an Applejack with orange/yellow symbols, I would consider them deviations. They don't meet up to the standard expectations for their line, not by design or factory error, but just as a side effect of the aging process.

As for collectibility, it really depends! I'm not fond of Cloud Puff's regrind pink colour, it's a bit too bright, so I would collect a purplepuff but not a pinkpuff. However, I really like the darker pink that Party Time regrinds into, and if I found a uniformly pinktime I would cherish and love it, perhaps above the original orange! It's more a matter of what I like and don't like for me, I wouldn't feel pressured to hold onto every tiny deviation like eye colour etc. if I didn't personally enjoy the look of it.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Agreeing with the general consensus - a variant to me is a pony that was different at time of issue, not one that has become damaged over time and degraded into an alternate look.

I see nothing wrong with keeping multiple ponies who have aged differently, but they're not true variants.

[Tiffymh1fan]

Some of the ponies that changed, and I have two of, I just call them a Unique Time Piece. And it is hard to let them go. Does it bring down the value? To most yes. But its different and that's what I like.

The value of a pony is not "My Thing" As a kid I didn't say, "Hey this is worth xxx amount of dollars so I like it" I didn't care what it was worth and that is not how I fell in love with ponies. And I still feel the same way.

With all this being said, And knowing that it is hard to let go of A Unique Time Piece, I wont try to make another pony fade in the sun or try to change the look just to make it different. But I really like this thread!  Im not alone Yea!

[Roseprincess1]

I noticed that in a few of my ponies.. my cloud puff has regrind that didnt make her uniform.. however she is utterly adorable. It looks like shes piebald and i love it!
The spots make her so unique!
I would love to have one that was perfect... but i found this lil lady on ebay for a dollar... she was about to be thrown away if someone didn't buy her. 
now she sits there with the rest of my re winged flutters and smiles at me spots and all.

There are a few others i would love to have mint versions of.. but the lil quirks brought on by time.. the lil variations that they have due to what they have lived through make them special.
I dont know if i would consider it one way or another as a variation to seek out.. but i certainly wouldn't turn down a pony because of it.
CP is one of my prettiest ponies now.
So it all depends on what you like i guess.

[brightberry]

I love Cloud Puff regrind.  I have one that looks like a pinto pony.  <3   But I don't consider her a variant as eventually, most will look like that... or could look like that given the right conditions.

[Dorothy Rose]

I just call them a Unique Time Piece.

I like that!  I'm keeping that!  <3

[KarentheUnicorn]

I'd like to point out that for most of us who have been into MLP for many years. It's not about the money. I have two Lucky because I wasn't gonna get rid of my original simply because he had a few age spots.

That being said, if people start changing the terms and trying to pass off faded/time altered ponies as official variants - lets just say it's not going to go over very well. It's also going to be a bit of a problem when new people getting into collecting come in, buy a pony described as a variant and then find out it's not original. There is a reason people see a difference. We as a collecting community don't just make this stuff up to make it hard on everyone - it's a way to help everyone know exactly what item they have.

Plus, this is not just MLP, in general people who collect other things probably follow about the same rules as far as condition of an item and what qualifies as a variant/factory flawed/factory altered item.

This isn't really just particular to MLP other than maybe the word used to explain a factory fluke.

[ponylady]

I'd like to point out that for most of us who have been into MLP for many years. It's not about the money. I have two Lucky because I wasn't gonna get rid of my original simply because he had a few age spots.

That being said, if people start changing the terms and trying to pass off faded/time altered ponies as official variants - lets just say it's not going to go over very well. It's also going to be a bit of a problem when new people getting into collecting come in, buy a pony described as a variant and then find out it's not original. There is a reason people see a difference. We as a collecting community don't just make this stuff up to make it hard on everyone - it's a way to help everyone know exactly what item they have.

Plus, this is not just MLP, in general people who collect other things probably follow about the same rules as far as condition of an item and what qualifies as a variant/factory flawed/factory altered item.

This isn't really just particular to MLP other than maybe the word used to explain a factory fluke.

I do not think it can be explained any better Karen.