Symbols/Cutie Marks: Have you ever wondered?

[Baby Sugarberry]

Can you imagine how silly a TAF would look only done on one side? 
Both sides for me.

[hathorcat]

I wonder if it's a manufacturing thing. Like, if they have to flip the pony over to put the symbol on the other side, and it takes too much time, so they discontinued it.  That actually wouldn't surprise me considering I used to work a manufacturing job :/

I don't think they actually have to flip the pony around to do both sides--I am pretty sure all the ponies go through the machinery in the same "direction" (whether that's head-first or butt-first or whatever) and then something swoops in to stamp them from either the left or the right.

Most of the G4s are in the same pose, yet some have symbols on the left and some on the right.  (Ditto with some G3 poses, like the donkey pose.) IMO this indicates Hasbro's machinery has the capability of doing either side, or both sides.  They are definitely not going to have separate machines, one for left-symboled ponies and one for right-symboled ponies!

Also, the G3 art ponies have shown that Hasbro can do very intricate symbols if they feel like it.

I think it comes down to "Kids can't see the other side in the packaging, so why bother?"  (Wasn't this actually one of the answers from Pony Fair?)  Lax.

Incidentally, didn't some of the very last G2 have symbols on only one side, like the one with the teddy bear costume?

Something like this will use an impress system - so on a cheaper production process it is actually possible for only one side to be "printed" and for the machinery to only have a single printing process in place...the reason that symbols are on alternate sides is simply that the product can pass through production in differing directions.

[Saiko]

Definitely prefer both sides! Especially now that ponies' heads turn!

If there's any chance Hasbro is reading this - If you release G4 ponies with symbols on both sides in the future, I will buy them. I already have the mane six, but I would replace them like that. The reason? Display value! I have my mane six ponies on display, each standing on a step on the Wedding Castle stairs, and because of symbols being on opposite sides, some ponies have their cutie marks showing and some don't. And that really bugs me. I want to display the whole pony, not have some of it hidden away, not looking at it's best.
And I know I could turn some around but then Rainbow Dash would have her butt facing Cadance and Shining Armor T_T And it's their wedding day!~

[heftysmurf76]

I'm not sure, because I wasn't the one paying for my ponies back then, but I'm betting that the Princesses, with the fancy symbols, Bushwoolies, and the accessories, cost more than a regular MLP at the time, too. They could have definitely factored the ornate symbol into the pricing. That's probably also why I never had one

Oh thats a good point! I wonder if anyoone knows/remembers for sure, on the cost

one other thing folks might be forgetting in terms of my theory, PRECIOUS POCKETS ponies, only have their "symbol" on one side

[Diamond]

As to the newer generations have symbols on both sides in the cartoons, I bet they do that to make it easier for folks to know which pony is which. 

I like the both the single and double sided symbols, makes each generation special.

Another reason to change to a single side is if they had issue with rubs from packaging.  Also what Cat has said in regards to production and cost effectiveness. 

[LadyMoondancer]

Besides the manufaturing issues others mentioned, I'm also betting it is partly logistics when it comes to 3D symbols. I think there are a lot more of the 3d Symbols in G3 than G1, and I can see why they would also blame that not only on cost but manufactturing...I know G1 Princesses would be the exception/arguement to this rule, but still, the 3D symbols on G3s are bit more ornate and harder to put through manufacturing twice, AND position the same exact way on certain poses, etc

I disagree.  3-D symbols are probably even easier to do than "regular" symbols.

Regular symbols:  usually several different colors of paint, which all have to be aligned properly on the pony's body.  (Imagine if the white cloud of G4 Rainbow Dash's symbol wasn't in alignment--you'd immediately notice that the cloud has "floated away" from the rest of her symbol!)

3-D symbols:  paint the symbol BEFORE inserting it into the pony (or in the case of the princess ponies, assemble the little gems, etc, ahead of time) and then jab the whole thing into the pony's flank.

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Also, G1 actually had a lot of 3-D symbols--not just the Princesses and the Sundae Best ponies, but also the Merry-Go-Round ponies.  G1 ponies with 3-D symbols had the symbols actually molded onto their bodies (not stuck in with a peg like G3s), and then the paint was added.  So you can imagine how important it was that the paint be aligned.

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It just seems . . . borderline disrespectful that they don't bother to do both sides anymore.  :/ 

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^ Yeah, MLPs are in a cheap price range, but that Transformer has more paint on it than any G4 pony, has MOVING PARTS, and costs $3.99, less than a basic MLP.   Like, why does MLP always take the hit?  You know?  They would never make an Autobot that had half of its car-mode painted.

[Leopard_Print_Unicorn]

http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/Files_Main/7CE91BA35056900B100160274A2B54EE.jpg[/img]

^ Yeah, MLPs are in a cheap price range, but that Transformer has more paint on it than any G4 pony, has MOVING PARTS, and costs $3.99, less than a basic MLP.   Like, why does MLP always take the hit?  You know?  They would never make an Autobot that had half of its car-mode painted.

They're making Transformers again too? No way! Mine were cooler :p

[ChenilleTwist]

LadyMoondancer, you are my hero! I was going to bring up Transformers for comparison in the thread about mismatched heads, but I chickened out and deleted it!

But to the topic, both sides should have a mark. Whenever we see ponies overhead, they have it on both sides. Faust was a fan of G1, so it's not a matter of having the symbol visible at all times in the cartoon; they really are just on both sides. Maybe that applied to the g3 animations, but that's certainly not the case in FIM.

[MnDancer]

First, Happy Birthday ponyRN!
Second,I prefer it on both sides as well, I kinda consider it laziness on Hasbro's part not to put it on both sides.

[Leopard_Print_Unicorn]

First, Happy Birthday ponyRN!
Second,I prefer it on both sides as well, I kinda consider it laziness on Hasbro's part not to put it on both sides.

Thanks! I (think) I got a job for my birthday. And we all know what that means: MORE PONIES

[SiameseMoon]

I have to agree with what everyone has said here. I prefer the symbols on both sides. Because that way its -easier- to identify the pony, specially considering some ponies can be the same colours.  Not only that, you can display them facing -either way-

With the symbols now being on on side only, its kinda forces you to keep them on -just one- side. Putting them on the side without the symbol it just looks weird and blank to me.

I also agree that it could be due to time & money, that Hasbro are only putting the symbols on one side. They can put symbols on both sides in the cartoon's, but not the toy's? I understand that cartoons and toys are different but -both- take -time- to make, if you're able to put a symbol on both sides in the cartoon then, that should apply to the toys too in my opinion.

[hathorcat]

Besides the manufaturing issues others mentioned, I'm also betting it is partly logistics when it comes to 3D symbols. I think there are a lot more of the 3d Symbols in G3 than G1, and I can see why they would also blame that not only on cost but manufactturing...I know G1 Princesses would be the exception/arguement to this rule, but still, the 3D symbols on G3s are bit more ornate and harder to put through manufacturing twice, AND position the same exact way on certain poses, etc

I disagree.  3-D symbols are probably even easier to do than "regular" symbols.

Regular symbols:  usually several different colors of paint, which all have to be aligned properly on the pony's body.  (Imagine if the white cloud of G4 Rainbow Dash's symbol wasn't in alignment--you'd immediately notice that the cloud has "floated away" from the rest of her symbol!)

3-D symbols:  paint the symbol BEFORE inserting it into the pony (or in the case of the princess ponies, assemble the little gems, etc, ahead of time) and then jab the whole thing into the pony's flank.

Actually 3 D symbols are much more complicated as they involve a brand new mould - just look at how new moulds had to be created for some of the 3 D symbol ponies - outside the first run of Princesses all further 3 D ponies are new moulds based on old moulds [hence the minor differences in moulds like Bow Tie to Taffeta]. Creating a mould is incredibly expensive and in some ways its impressive that Hasbro went to the bother of doing this. They are not created and then stamped or placed on a pony, the 3 D symbol [such as with MGR or Sundae Best] or the "hole" for the symbol [such as with the Princesses] is actually a part of the mould.

[Bag of Magic Food]

If you release G4 ponies with symbols on both sides in the future, I will buy them. I already have the mane six, but I would replace them like that.

I've been meaning to ask, are there tutorials for how to paint custom cutie marks that look just as good as the official ones?  Then you could fix all the G3-G4 toys yourself.  But they'd have to be done really well, since it would only take flipping the toy around to check the accuracy of your faked mark.

[LadyMoondancer]

Oh yes, they created new molds for the 3-D symboled G1 ponies, but I was referring to the more recent generations (G3 and G4) with the "stick it in the rump" part.  As far as I know, all the G3 3-D ponies were "stuck on", not molded on.

Although you are right, now that I think about it, the G3 3-D ponies did have new molds that had a "hole" molded into them where the 3-D symbol was stuck in.  I think they did use the molds multiple times, though.  For example, a Jewel pony would have the same mold as a 3-D pony (like Cloud Catcher), just with a different object stuck in the hole.

[PinkRosedust]

As a G1 collector, I always preferred "symbol" to "cutie mark," but as I understand it, symbols refers to the older gens, like 1-2, and cutie mark came about in gen 3 and continues in 4. So that's how I phrase it, to avoid confusion.

lol this is true, Hasbro trademarked the phrase 'cutie mark' back when they unveiled the G3 line and probably saw no reason to give up the trademark when the G4's came along, so they got it too.

I guess this means technically cutie marks have -always- been on one side! lol.

........... *smacks self in forehead* I just realized it's probably meant be a play on the phrase 'beauty mark'! Oh man can't believe that never hit me before...

Oh wow, don't feel bad. I never realized that either. o_O I still hate the term 'cutie mark' though. =P