G1: My Unexpected Love

[Iris Patch]

When I was a little kid, I had a few My Little Ponies. Bunny Hop and Sweet Talkin’ Pony for sure, possibly Ringlet and a unicorn I’ve never been able to remember clearly enough to ID. I liked them just fine. I ruined my Sweet Talkin’ Pony by putting her in the bathtub, her voice became garbled and strange and finally she fell forever silent. Bunny Hop I had named Trixie because I didn’t know they had official names, and I thought it was a good pun relating to magic tricks (kind of funny how there is now a G4 named Trixie, they must have had the same thought process I had!) I never had more than a small handful of ponies, and I quickly forgot about them as I grew older. When Power Rangers and Beast Wars Transformers came out, I favored those toys for a long while. I also have always been a big plush collector, to this very day. I had a secret club with my plush when I was five where I would set all my fuzzy friends out and hide behind my play kitchen and make everyone swear an oath to show their loyalty to the club. Point being, while I had ponies in my childhood, it was a very short phase and wasn’t anywhere near an obsession.

Fast forward to 2011- the internet had blown up over Friendship is Magic and I couldn’t understand why. The art looked ugly to me, it was a little kid’s show, did people like this cartoon ironically because it’s so bad? No? Huh! As I watched from the sidelines, I noticed a common trend- bronies were willing to pay big money for fan merch, especially plush. As a costume maker and plush artist, that certainly pricked my ears, and I decided to overcome my reticence regarding ponies and make a few to sell. So I started doing research on the characters and figuring out which ones I could make on the cheap with materials I already had in stock. The more I looked at screencaps, the cuter and more creative their designs seemed to me. I decided that I needed to give the show a fair chance before I snub my nose at it- after all, talking cartoon animals are kind of my thing. So I watched the first episode two-parter and found myself sniffling back emotional tears over a kid’s cartoon. Oops. Yeah, pretty much overnight I went from hating FiM to loving it. I never really did end up milking money from bronies before all the waves of reasonably-priced official merchandise came out, but that’s okay- I had a new fandom and everything was shiny and new and fun.

I saw the Fashion Style figures all over, I decided I wanted the Fluttershy because she’s my favorite of the Mane Six. I told myself, “I’m not starting up a pony collection, I already hardcore collect Pokémon and I haven’t the room or money for a new collection. I’m just getting this one character.” But then Fluttershy needed a friend… I endeavored to collect the whole Mane Six in Fashion Style form. So I did over the span of a year. Then I realized I really liked Luna, so that army was started. So much for not collecting!

I knew I didn’t really want to hang out in brony circles, they weren’t really the right crowd for me, but then I remembered the Arena. A few of my friends used to be Arena members, and while I had never been interested before, I did remember hearing it was a pretty chill place to hang out on the internet. So I joined all you lovely individuals and started learning more about ponies. Through the forum I found out about a pony meet going on not even twenty minutes down the road from me, so I made plans to attend. Over the next few months, I started getting to know everybody and basically having a crash course in ponies here on the Arena. It still took me a while to get comfortable with my knowledge of other gens to where I could actually participate in a conversation and hold my own. I thought G1s looked weird and I wasn’t interested. I honestly never was really into horses or ponies, I’m more of a wolf and dog person. G4s I liked because they didn’t really look like horses. I was still polite about G1s of course and I still was open to learning what it was all about. The more I became exposed to G1s, the more I grew to appreciate them. I picked out a few I liked and bought them (Snuzzle was my first G1 I owned as an adult, love her!) I continued to learn more and hang out with my newfound pony friends. Pony collecting is such a pleasant hobby!

Then this February, one of my favorite artists was going through storage and found her childhood box of G1s and invited any interested parties to make her an offer. I didn’t know what any of them were just based on looks and I didn’t know what they were worth, and I wasn’t even sure I should buy them, but I made an offer which I later learned was WAY lowballing, but the seller accepted anyway, much to my delight. In the days leading to the package’s arrival, I did the research on what these ponies were and I was amazed to find some of them were quite rare (Blue hearts Dazzleglow and Crystalline being the rarest in the lot). I excitedly planned to clean them all up and restore them to like-new condition and sell/trade the ones I don’t want in exchange for G4s on my wishlist. When they arrived, they were in better shape than I thought and I actually decided to keep Dazzleglow, starting a new side-collection of ponies that glow-in-the-dark (said side collection is actually two and a half pieces away from being complete). Having that many exciting and beautiful ponies sparked the beginnings of a G1 obsession. Exhilarated by my big score, I started searching eBay for other big cheap lots and bought one or two more, thinking I would have a nice table full of things to sell/trade at the next local meet.

I made plans to attend the MLP Fair this year and even had a table to sell my handmade goods. I did a bunch of research on which ponies are popular and fell in love with more of the G1 designs. The enthusiasm was palpable in the air at the Fair and even though I had planned to simply make money and not buy anything, I ended up coming home with a few ponies including one of the Sweet Talkin’ Ponies I had remembered from my childhood. I also started a Rockin’ Beats collection- I simply couldn’t resist any longer! They are so cool and punchy with their bright colors and crazy symbols. I think the Fair was the tipping point- I started looking around online to complete all these new G1 side collections I started, in addition to keeping abreast of any new G4 Luna releases, and trying to recreate my tiny childhood herd. I went crazy last month and bought a bunch of huge lots of G1s and G3s, and I’m officially crazy over G1.

I love the large size and soft texture of the vinyl of G1s. They’re so tactile, much more satisfying to hold than the tiny, rock-hard G4s. G1s have such a wonderful variety of poses too. I have grown a bit weary of the “all four feet planted, stiff body and staring head” pose that’s standard of the G4 line. The colors on the G1s are so dramatic and amazing- I’ve honestly always loved the aesthetic of the 80’s in a non-ironic way, and I feel like these toys really encapsulate that design aesthetic (especially lines like Rockin’ Beats, hehe). I don’t have as much nostalgic attachment to the G1 line as others since I played with them for such a brief period of time, but judging from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, these toys are so great. And it also triggers my crazy collector side because there’s so many variants, so many characters, plus customs and rehairs and restores- even though the line has been over for so many years I feel like I just can’t ever be bored with G1s. After three years of mostly the same releases, I’ll admit it- I’m bored with G4. G4, the gen that got me into this hobby, the one I thought I liked above all others. I still love the cartoon and the toys I have collected of the G4 line, but my interest has definitely shifted to G1 moreso than any other gen. I also love the idea that almost no G1 is ever truly “totalled”- there are always brilliant restoration artists and customizers willing to give a gross pony new life. This hobby is creative, fun, and friendly. :] My collection goals are simply to collect all the ones who’s designs I like a lot. I certainly don’t want ALL the ponies, that’s for people with more display space and income than I, but I still find myself adding new items to my mental wishlist every day.

So here’s to my unexpected love, G1! And to the lovely people here on the Arena that have made me feel so very welcome, and have tolerated my complete lack of pony knowledge in the beginning. I’m definitely feelin’ the pony love!

[apanda0622]

Yay!  I am glad you have found your love for G1s!  I have always loved G1s but at first I was picky about which ones I collected.  I was not a fan of some of the sets but now I have come to love the Perfume Puffs and Rockin beats , etc. The only bad thing about collecting G1s is trying to find them in good condition for a good price!  Welcome to the vintage side of ponies!  I believe you will have just as much fun collecting them as anything else you collect!

[ponyqueen]

You're in good company here! Glad you are part of the community! 

[Kiwi]

That's a great story, and journey.

[Falconaitae]

I told myself, “I’m not starting up a pony collection, I already hardcore collect Pokémon and I haven’t the room or money for a new collection. I’m just getting this one character.”

Hah, I remember the same thing from 2 years or so ago! I got my first pony too, because I just wanted something related to FiM - and it was supposed to be the one and only. Of course, it didn't end on one pony...

Anyway, that's a great story, and yes, Arena is a nice place

[Eternia]

haha you have been buying up a lot of lots lately
That's great to hear though! And there are so many ponies to collect- you can be choosey and just get the ones that you really like

[hathorcat]

Yay! What an awesome story and a great way to come to the Arena and come to love all the generations (especially G1 - my favs!).

I am pleased great people like you are part of our fantastic community!

[Rainbowrific Renia]

I'm a hardcore Pokemon collector too, (figures, plushies, Japanese trading cards) so I totally understand!  My love for ponies started with G4, but I'm starting to think that G1 might be favorite now that I've begun collecting them.  And I only began collecting them after joining the Arena and being active on the forums. 

It's great to hear your story, though! This is why I love this community!

[tuneful87]

What a lovely post. I'm so glad you've come to the light! haha

I only collect G1's myself. To me they are just so beautiful and full of personality, something later generations don't seem to be capable of capturing. Who are you favorite G1s so far that you have and who are you after the most?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Hehehe welcome to the Dark Side! 

[moonsugar]

  What a tale! I can definitely understand the "exposure to G1s through the arena" thing. I've been collecting G4s exclusively for three years, but I've bought six G1s in the last 6 months! Madness!

Thanks for sharing your story

[Mirnyj]

I'm so glad to hear that the arena has helped you to find new aspects on your hobby! 

[Iris Patch]

What a lovely post. I'm so glad you've come to the light! haha

I only collect G1's myself. To me they are just so beautiful and full of personality, something later generations don't seem to be capable of capturing. Who are you favorite G1s so far that you have and who are you after the most?

I think I like my Rockin' Beats the best so far, with the Glow n' Shows as a close second. I also recently reobtained a nice Bunny Hop I'm really happy to have.

I've been daydreaming about Argie Tuneful but I doubt it'll happen anytime soon- I saw one for sale as recently as last month but I'm just not hardcore enough yet to where I could justify spending the money. So a more realistic goal is to complete my US release Rockin' Beats set with Pretty Beat.

[Sonata]

There is so much happiness in your post it made me all fuzzy inside <3

[Radiance]

What a great story!    I remember thinking, "I'll just collect a few of these ponies, the ones I remember from my childhood..." But more & more G1 ponies crept onto the shelf, then G3s made an appearance, then G4. It's a slippery slope!