This week I interviewed my fellow mod and friend, Griffin! Thanks so much for participating!
Personal Interview-Where did you get your user name? I've been using Griffin as my pen name and online alias since the early 2000s. I was in my early teens, fell in love with fantasy books and things like Magic the Gathering (a trading card game), which uses this spelling for gryphons. I just found them to be cool creatures so I adopted the name.
How old are you? I was made in the 80s but grew up in the 90s
What are your hobbies? Arts & crafts, reading... I also train Aikido.
Do you have any pets? I have two cats.
What do you like/dislike about yourself? I like that I'm creative and skilled with my hands. I dislike the fact that I worry too much about everything... sometimes I wish I could shut down my anxious brain!
Do you collect anything other than ponies? Not actively. I have very small collections of Schleich animals (equines mostly), Monster High dolls etc. but I'm not looking to expand my collections. I do trade Artist Trading Cards and participate in other art swaps, does that count? I also sort of used to collect postcards (via Postcrossing etc.) but I haven't done that in ages.
Ponies-How long have you been collecting ponies? Since 2005.
Why did you start collecting ponies? A friend of mine showed me some customs she had made and I immediately got excited. She also told me about G3 ponies which were the current generation at the time. I found them really cute and got a few as soon as possible, although the most important step in my collecting path was to go and find my childhood G1 ponies in the storage.
Who is your favorite pony and why? Gusty has been my favourite since I was a child. I had never seen the toy or even animated depictions really, all I had was a sticker. Butterscotch is another, more recent favourite. I consider both my "army ponies" although my armies are pretty pathetic, I'm a slow collector.
Who is your favorite pony from another country? I suppose the US had many ponies which were never sold here but I don't know...
Who is your favorite fakie? I like fakie Baby Takaras.
Who was your first pony? Probably Sports-Time or Pony Bride (childhood ponies).
What pony did you get recently? Baby Bowtie and G2 Hip Holly (I don't even collect G2s but I can't resist the bright colours!)
What is your favorite generation? G1
What is your favorite part about collecting? The community
And rows of curious smelling pastel coloured plastic on my shelves!
How big is your collection? Relatively modest considering how long I've been collecting. Perhaps a couple of hundred counting all generations and customs.
What do your friends and family think about your collection? I think most people are pretty curious and even excited when I tell them. However, I always mention customising and I think that's easier for many people to "accept", the creative side. Not everyone understands collectors (be it ponies or something else). My family and friends have always been supportive, though.
Do you still play with your ponies? No, they're only for display.
If you had to have a pony symbol tattooed on your butt, which would you pick and why? I sometimes toy with the idea of getting Gusty's maple leaves as a tattoo (it would be subtle enough!) but I don't have any tattoos and am not actually considering of getting any.
If you could have any pony remade in a different generation, who would you choose and why? I would love a G1 Big Mac!
What has been the worst part about collecting? Packing them for moving!
What is your ultimate collecting goal? I don't think I have an ultimate goal. To complete my favourite sets? I'm not looking to have full collections of US/Euro/whatever releases, I'm happy to ignore sets that don't speak to me.
What is your biggest collecting accomplishment? I can't name a single biggest moment, but some set completers have been memorable. Cranberry Muffins, for example – I'd been looking for her for years and finally found a beautiful one on eBay. I woke up in the middle of the night to bid on the auction and was so happy when I won!
What is your biggest collecting regret? One of the first things I did when I started collecting was selling all the G2 ponies in our childhood herd. I only had one, my sister who is younger had maybe four of them. All were complete with accessories. I had my sister's consent, of course, and gave the money to her, but I didn't ask much and now I regret it. I was only interested in G1 and G3 at the point, and it's taken me years to warm up to G2 again, but I wish I still had them.
Who is your grail pony and why? Brazilian Escocês (shy pose Gusty) with her outfit. I don't know, I just think she's super cute! I'm not really a Nirvana collector, though.
Do you have it? Sadly, no.
Do you prefer loose or MIP ponies? Loose. I wouldn't mind having some MIPs in my collection and I wouldn't be tempted to open them ( I’ve kept some of my G3 and G4 ponies as well as retro G1s in their packaging) but I'm not actively searching for them.
Are you a customizer? Would you ever be? Yes, customising is what brought me to the world of MLP in the first place, and it's still an important part of my pony hobby, even though I don't have much time for it.
What do you think of custom ponies? I love the creativity! I would never customise a good-condition pony of an older generation, and I hope others avoid it, too. But I think it's a wonderful way to give some less-than-ideal-condition ponies a new life. Hasbro-inspired customs are cute but in my own work I prefer a more adventurous approach: I like experimenting with intricate paintwork or sculpting, and with themes that are somehow different from what you would typically associate with colourful plastic ponies. I also very much enjoy seeing different artists' work. I love swaps and collecting customs made by others!
What are acceptable and unacceptable pony flaws, in your opinion? I'm lazy when it comes to restoring so I prefer to buy my ponies in nice condition. I definitely avoid visible age spots or regrind, bad head/body mismatches, pen markings, bite marks or missing parts. I also try to avoid hair trims, although that would be an acceptable flaw in my eyes. Then again, I have a bunch of bald ponies in my collection but never get around to rehairing them… I don't mind dirt that comes off, markings under the hooves, small rubs to eyes/symbols/blush, small hair trims, slightly frizzy hair, a missing plug here and there… NB this only concerns ponies I'm buying for my collection, I'm not saying a single "unacceptable" flaw on this list would automatically make a pony custom bait in my eyes.
Would you rather have a bait pony or a fakie? A bait. Unless it's a cute fakie!
Do you watch pony shows/movies? Which ones? Sometimes. I watched FiM and have watched the G5 movie and the first special. I haven’t seen all the G1 animations, only some of them as a kid. Not sure if I've ever watched anything G3? Generally speaking, I'm much more interested in the toys than the shows/movies.
Do you read pony comics? Which ones? Sometimes. G1 only.
What is the worst thing you've ever done to a pony? Do customs count?
Fill in the blank!"I wish Hasbro would
bring back equine-looking MLPs.""When I was new to ponies I didn't know
there were so many different ones!""I think the most underappreciated pony is
Rosette because
I rarely see anyone talk about her or draw any fan art of her.""I think more ponies should have
bright colours like yellow, orange, green.""I don't like
G3 baby ponies (that much) because
they are so disproportionate with their tiny heads and huge feet.""I love
unicorn and pegasus ponies because
I never had any as a child."
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