The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: gabumon on October 27, 2013, 06:35:17 AM
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I have all my G1 wants (except Chiefs hat), all my G2 wants, all my G3 wants... and all my G4 wants including international exclusives!, but I'm so discouraged about Hasbro's latest release.
Unlike their Transformers Line, Hasbro doesn't even known adult MLP collectors exist... 3rd party stuff (Funko, Enterplay) doesn't count, and even the TRU and target releases aren't great.
I'm learning that MLP collectors are really underdogs rooting for a line that even it's creator doesn't give much attention to.
Could it be that maybe I'm just looking at the short term? maybe the long term is where Hasbro's Adult Collectors get some love? Though I've been actively collecting for a few years and still have yet to see anything besides TRU "Collectors" sets...
:cloud:
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I can understand the sentiment. I mean, what have they got out now?
THey've got mane six, released over and over again, intended for little girls who like candy coloured plastic horses and the cartoon. We have Equestria Girls which is made for little girls who like people dlls and monster high. We have funko ponies for bronies. The closest thing we've had for the collectors in recent memory is the chinese new year pinkie pie which is, well. Pink and red and horribly ugly and not even really all that good and the collectors are as a whole unhappy with it. They aren't do they old SDCC painted COOL PATTERNED ponies anymore. They aren't releasing new toy only characters. It's just show characters in boxes and mane six over and over and over again. It's obvious the only two audiences they're looking at is little girls and bronies.
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To be fair, two points:
1.) The target audience for MLP is little girls. That has not stopped being a thing. Adult fans are incidental.
2.) Hasbro does not seem, so far, to differentiate between bronies and other collectors. Not sure how to get that point across to them, though.
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yes, but the "it's for girls" argument doesn't stand up to how Hasbro coddles adult Transformers collectors:
Example #1
http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/transformers-generations-titan-class-metroplex-with-autobot-scamper-figure?BR=496
Example #2
http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/transformers-platinum-edition-predaking-figure?BR=496
^^ Both of these are $100+ "G1" Transformers figures released in the last few months for grown ups. This is what MLP needs.
Though Transformers "is for little boys", they sure know how to treat (and I mean Reward Lovingly) the grown ups too.
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They know, but I don't think the adult collector group is big enough to get a special line of merchandise. Like lets take the arena with 111 users on right now, vs a random transformer forum that has 2,175 users on right now.
I'm going to get a bunch of fakies thrown at me, I think it's also a really hard group to satisfy. No matter what Hasbro does, no one seems happy with it. It's either price is too high-- or quality is too low-- or they just hate it.
I think transformers are a bit more unique with tiny parts, and details as well. What exactly should Hasbro make for adult collectors. Replica MLPs? That won't go over well.
I think with the g3 art ponies, we started to see them try to cater to the adult demographic a bit more. But it apparently didn't work good enough, because if it did-- they'd still be around. ^^; I wanted to like them, but I hate the g3 mold. I would be so thrilled for a cute little g4 Junko pony... but no. It was G3...
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I will say, even from a collector standpoint (and I'm only a casual collector) GI. Joe and Transformers adult collectors both have G1 toy re-realeases, remakes of original toys though the collectors lines like universe, and comics based on the storylines for both 1980's versions. Heck, even characters from the Joe and TF shows who had no toys are getting them. This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary. Why do the other franchises collectors get all the attention, and pony collectors get left in the cold?
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I think Hasbro tried to put out an 'Adult Only' collectors with the SDCC and a 'special' Twilight Sparkle... but I think they missed the mark. Really I don't even know how much hasbro cares about the MLP Fanbase, maybe they are being narrow minded, maybe they think the blind bags will do for collectors, maybe they will have something planned in the future, who's to say, all I know is that G4 kind of went down the sink for me as being a collector (and I'm not even a 'got to have them all' type of collector but I know what I like)
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I actually completely agree with banditpony on this one. We are a big group in comparison to a lot of other collecting circles...but for a mainstream manufacturer we are actually very very small. Transformers, followed by GI Joe, but especially TF have staggeringly large numbers of adult fans. Making collectors lines for such a massive audience makes financial sense. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for MLP; we are just too small a number.
In addition, even with the brony fandom and the seeming tens of thousands of new fans, MLP still makes the majority of its money by selling the little pink and purple ponies to the parents/friends/relatives of little girls the world over. And so logically thats where the product development and investment must go. Hasbro have never and will never divert from this. Even if we are just G1 collectors, we are still just purchasing ponies which were designed and marketed for little girls.
Do I like it? Nope. Do I understand the logic and the reasoning? Unfortunately, yes :(
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yeah. it's just sad really... and has hit me hard recently.
guess there's much more important things in the world to worry about.
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In my opinion the last sort-of interesting pony toy they made was the transparent glittery Wysteria and I'm not really excited for anything else recently
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yeah. it's just sad really... and has hit me hard recently.
guess there's much more important things in the world to worry about.
Oh no...I dont mean that :P Ponies are like serious stuff of course! Otherwise we would not all be here :P I just mean that in the grand scheme of things I understand the whys of the decision makers. Doesnt mean we have to like it or not be frustrated by it. Thats the very nature of collecting. And I will admit I am in a royal huff over the lack of 30th Anniversary anything.
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We are a big group in comparison to a lot of other collecting circles...but for a mainstream manufacturer we are actually very very small. Transformers, followed by GI Joe, but especially TF have staggeringly large numbers of adult fans.
But how much of that is due to the fact that they do market to adult fans, thus increasing the number of adult fans who become interested? Or to put it another way, how many of the adult fans would still be active in the fan community/collecting if Hasbro hadn't been catering to them?
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Actually I think we're ignoring the fact that Hasbro DOES attempt to include the adult pony collectors, just not very well. They seem to try a bit but then fail...try something else and fail... then give up for a while before they try again.
1.) They tried to make repo G1's for the 25th Anniversary, and from what I understand, they didn't sell very well. This is pretty much what the Transformers line does, isn't it? Make G1 toys for the adults? But they didn't sell for the MLP's, for various reasons. (Too expensive, looked too much like the original release, colors were off, etc.)
2.) Hasbro also tried making adult-aimed G3's in limited qualities to be sold at Pony Fairs and Cons. These were more expensive than 'off the shelf' ponies, but were also much more detailed in their paint schemes. However I think they didn't sell well either, because after each Pony Fair I always saw extras being sold on the Pony Fair website. Even a long time after the fair was done. They never came close to selling out.
3.) Then Hasbro tried catering to bronies with the SDCC Exclusive girl, Muffin. She sold out like crazy, though they did seem to have enough extras to post on the Hasbro website after the con. (That's how I got mine.) Those sold out in minutes as well.
4.) Hasbro then decided to make a very expensive 'adult' collector toy and added a lot of gimics like gems and lights, with SDCC DJ and Princess Twilight Sparkle (maybe just to jack up the price). I don't think these sold well since they were up on various websites for a long time after the con ended.
So as you can see, Hasbro tried at least 4 times to cater to the adult MLP community, and three of those four times failed. But I think they will keep trying, even if we have to wait some time between attempts.
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I feel like there has to be a better way to get accurate information on what collectors actually want. I mean. There really must be a better way than "try something and see if it works"
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We are a big group in comparison to a lot of other collecting circles...but for a mainstream manufacturer we are actually very very small. Transformers, followed by GI Joe, but especially TF have staggeringly large numbers of adult fans.
But how much of that is due to the fact that they do market to adult fans, thus increasing the number of adult fans who become interested? Or to put it another way, how many of the adult fans would still be active in the fan community/collecting if Hasbro hadn't been catering to them?
Very good point. Chicken or egg kind of thing I guess?
The only thing I would say is that the TF collecting/fan community has been going strong for much longer than sites like the Arena. And has been established long before may of the collector/adult fan lines were launched. Is it perhaps bigger now because of Hasbros engagement? Yes I can believe that. But even without Hasbro's acknowledgement of them I still believe they would be a much larger community than we are.
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As a mom to a 4yo that Hasbro is marketing to, I can tell you how enraged I get when a new wave of ponies come out, and my daughter really wants, for example, Trixie, but adults have completely obliterated store stock. I go to every store within 20 minutes, as well as getting friends around the country to look, and I can't find a Trixie in store. I look on Amazon and eBay, however, and sure enough, you can find them, but jacked up 3-4x the price.
MLP was created for kids--and I get that those of us who grew up playing with them like to collect them, for memory sake and whatnot--and it should stay that way. I'm tired of moneygrabbing jerks buying out store stock to list it for outrageous prices somewhere else.
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*raises hand* I just want to point out the Fair pony exclusives, while they were designed and made by Hasbro, were sold only thru the fairs because the fair had to purchase the whole run of them to get Hasbro to make them. They were not available anywhere else, and have only been purchasable from the fair website, here, and on the MLPTP, so I don't think that is a very good comparison.
On the other hand, the 25th anniversary ponies were actually pretty hard to find, by the time they showed up in most areas, people had given up on them. While the first set of collector ponies didn't go over well(harder plastic, cheaper hair than the G3 or G1 line) the second set, rainbow ponies, are harder to find and go for a decent amount.
These sets were not really marketed to adult collectors, they were made cheaply and marketed the same way that Sock Monkeys are. "I had one of these when I was a kid, I'm going to get it for MY kid!" type of situation.
The art ponies were the only things that were really marketed to adults, and they were selling out of each design, but Hasbro stopped making them when they changed to the G4 style molds. On ebay they're anywhere from $25 up, depending on design.
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^ RE kids not getting
ponies: Right! but the difference with Transformers is that they produce whole
separate lines of figures for difference
ages. they have Hero Squad or bot Squad (I think) for 5-8 year olds, then the regular "show line" (TF Prime atm) for 9 to 12 year olds, then two(!!!) lines for adults, Generations and Masterpiece.
There are always plenty of the kids' lines on the shelf.
So MLP needs this approach IMO .
Maybe another difference with TF is the involvement of the Japanese company Takara. I'm not 100% sure what influence thy have, but maybe they know the market better and "weigh in" harder to influence Hasbro.
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I think Hasbro tried to put out an 'Adult Only' collectors with the SDCC and a 'special' Twilight Sparkle... but I think they missed the mark. Really I don't even know how much hasbro cares about the MLP Fanbase, maybe they are being narrow minded, maybe they think the blind bags will do for collectors, maybe they will have something planned in the future, who's to say, all I know is that G4 kind of went down the sink for me as being a collector (and I'm not even a 'got to have them all' type of collector but I know what I like)
This is exactly what they should do, is what they already started make them online only exclusives and only make enough to sell, they tried with Twilight which was a big fail because everyone already has Twilight and she isn't a new character, they should do pre gen ponies like G1 ponies in fashion style or brushables as exclusives on hasbrotoyshop.com I'm sure they would do very well, why wouldn't they do it?
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You know what would be really cool and a good way to guage what people actually wanted? They have online exclusive. They set up a few of them for preorders- say, some older ponies as G4s and maybe some brony favorite ponies, like three or four. It runs like a sort of preorder-poll, where you preorder it and your money is taken. They have a certain amount of time to sell a certain amount of ponies, and if they hit that number within the time limit, then the ponies are made, shipped, and then perhaps also have a run on shelves. Hopefully with a different sort of packaging. However, if they don't get enough orders, then everyone's money is refunded and the ponies aren't made. No huge losses and it's an accurate way to find out exactly what people want to throw their money at, and it would also be a good way to support the things you DO really want more of.
//i realize this is obviously not something that's going to be implemented, it just occurred to me how nice it would be and I wanted to share.
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As a mom to a 4yo that Hasbro is marketing to, I can tell you how enraged I get when a new wave of ponies come out, and my daughter really wants, for example, Trixie, but adults have completely obliterated store stock. I go to every store within 20 minutes, as well as getting friends around the country to look, and I can't find a Trixie in store. I look on Amazon and eBay, however, and sure enough, you can find them, but jacked up 3-4x the price.
MLP was created for kids--and I get that those of us who grew up playing with them like to collect them, for memory sake and whatnot--and it should stay that way. I'm tired of moneygrabbing jerks buying out store stock to list it for outrageous prices somewhere else.
Yeah buying everything on the shelf only to resell is very rude. I don't have trouble in my home town but I can imagine that is frustrating.
Something I know is unpopular, but think Hasbro is doing right, is making the mane 6 so widely and commonly available. Ok, so we are getting bored of them, already have them, don't need more. But, when I was a child, I really wanted the ponies that frequented the cartoon series like Wind Whistler, Paradise and Sweet Stuff for example, but those were no longer sold by the time I even knew about them.
It's great for kids that the mane 6 is always around.
Also, packaging nice exclusive ponies with an expensive playset like the carousel...ooh I see what they are doing. Most collectors want the pony, not the carousel. Carousel goes more cheaply on ebay, to a parent looking for their kid perhaps. Hasbro gets the full amount, the adult collector paid a lot but gets their pony, the child gets awesome discounted playset, may or may not even know there was an exclusive pony. And, the child may never have been able to get the playset otherwise. (I know of a few IRL instances of this already, it must happen a lot)
I wish there was more G1 realted stuff and acknowledgement of the women in the fanbase :(
Annoyed as I am about G4 I am going to try to remember how I felt about it when it happened...
I do think it has been uphill since G3.5. To me, G3.5 was the END of everything I liked about my little pony. I remember looking at the G3.5 ponies and thinking mlp was DEAD.
I was not interested in anything new being put out, I could only look back.
G4 came along made them cute again (G3.5 not being aesthetically pleasing in my opinion) G4 brought in a cartoon with a STORY full of LORE, with sun and moon ponies, a developed world, family relationships and distinctive characters that went on adventures.
G4 was more than I ever hoped for actually...If someone described G4 to me, back in the pony dark ages (G3.5) I would have found it to good to be true
Also I think the chinese new year art pony is a positive step. I don't really like her much but hopefully there will be many art ponies
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I think adult pony collectors are far more recognised now, than ever before :blink:
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I think, for our size and spending, we're being treated pretty well by Hasbro. Consider one main difference between us and Transformers: I don't know how much Hasbro rakes in from their entertainment division, but the Transformers movies are a successful franchise with ticket sales here in the US at something crazy like $300,000,000 or $400,000,000. Those are largely teen/adult fans and they will pay well for great collectors toys. We didn't show up in those numbers to Equestria Girls--not by a long shot!
I think they are doing their jobs and keeping the line healthy and relevant for 30 years helps us collectors, ultimately. But sure, I have a mile long Wishlist to deliver to them if they wanted it. ;)
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Something I know is unpopular, but think Hasbro is doing right, is making the mane 6 so widely and commonly available. Ok, so we are getting bored of them, already have them, don't need more. But, when I was a child, I really wanted the ponies that frequented the cartoon series like Wind Whistler, Paradise and Sweet Stuff for example, but those were no longer sold by the time I even knew about them.
It's great for kids that the mane 6 is always around.
I agree with this, but at the same time, I think their recent approach to keeping the mane six constantly available isn't working out because of...
Also, packaging nice exclusive ponies with an expensive playset like the carousel...ooh I see what they are doing. Most collectors want the pony, not the carousel. Carousel goes more cheaply on ebay, to a parent looking for their kid perhaps. Hasbro gets the full amount, the adult collector paid a lot but gets their pony, the child gets awesome discounted playset, may or may not even know there was an exclusive pony. And, the child may never have been able to get the playset otherwise. (I know of a few IRL instances of this already, it must happen a lot)
this. This is something that they did towards the beginning of the G4 line and in gens past, and while you may have been stuck with an extra Pinkie, you did get a nice playset and an exclusive pony. But lately? It's been the mane six over and over again and I don't think it's worth it to kids and most especially their parents, let alone collectors, to purchase an expensive playset for a pony they already have and, at this rate, may have three or four of. In fact, I think the playset would be more alluring if they packaged it without a pony. Which is kind of how it works for fashion doll lines, isn't it? Kids already have Barbie, now they need her house or her car! A new outfit! Not another Barbie. Unless, of course, she's different enough from the doll they already have to warrant another purchase i.e., in G4's case, Fashion Style or Shine Bright.
It wouldn't be so bad if the mane six weren't also the only single release ponies you can get. I think it's important that they be readily available to new fans of the cartoon, however, kids who are a fan of the line longer than a few months aren't going to have any new characters to collect and play with and just like us here on the Arena, probably don't want to see another Pinkie Pie.
As for this year's con exclusives -
When Ditzy Doo was released, not only was she a fan favourite, we did not have any toys of her. She was one-of-a-kind (well, couple-hundred-of-a-kind, but you catch my drift) and, at the time, many thought she would be the only officially released Ditzy toy we would ever see. Had she been released this year, I doubt she would have done nearly as well what with the brushable, the blind bag, and the various show accurate Funko vinyl toys of her.
And that was the problem with both DJ and Twilight. DJ is a fan favorite, yes, but already had a brushable prior to the release of the exclusive and Funko had already confirmed her release for later this year. Since the Hasbro exclusive is completely molded, it looks a lot like the Funko vinyl but twice the cost. A light up box and Swarovski crystals isn't going to win over somebody who just wants a show accurate figure and can get one for sixteen bucks or whatever. DJ had the added downfall of displeasing longtime collectors who are used to and prefer brushable ponies.
As for Twilight, she is a Fashion Style doll with crystals and glitter slapped on. I personally didn't see anything interesting enough in her design to justify the $50. Had she been a cool art pony like what we had during G3, I would have considered it. That's just me, but from what I understand from this thread, she did not do well and I'm guessing that is why.
If Hasbro is going to stick to the fan favourite ponies for cons, they should continue to release exclusives we have not, and are convinced, will not see in the regular line. Emphasis on the will not. I'm still afraid we're going to see :muffin: Pony repackaged in a Fashion Style box and sold at retail stores. :P
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They certainly make it very hard to be a collector living outside North America, that's for sure! I'm annoyed that the only new ponies I've seen in the last year have been Sunset Shimmer or the (over-priced) Pinkie Pie's Boutique Line, and it must be a lot more frustrating for young fans of the show, as not all parents are willing to pay to import toys or pay £10 for a single 3" pony.
I think the Favourites Collection, and the SDCC exclusives, etc, are a step in the right direction for adult fans, it's just a shame you have to import most of them :( Funko definitely seem to be more on the ball with adult fans (or the ones that don't prefer brushables, anyway) so maybe Hasbro is content to leave most of the work to them so they can concentrate on making more Pinkie Pies? =P The mail-order exclusives from the G1 (I think?) line looked interesting, so it would be really cool if they did something like that again for adult fans (and these could also be enjoyed by young fans, too). Something like that, maybe.
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I don't think you're being at all fair with the analogy that Hasbro releases more for the adult TF fans then the MLP fans.
First off, adult collectibles for the TF fandom are a VERY new thing. At least in the domestic US market, aka, the Hasbro market!
When I got back into the TF fandom, they didn't even have the revoltechs or the Masterpieces. Alternators and Binaltech had come out, but that was it. Even when the Masterpieces came out, it was like Optimus, Megatron and then Starscream. Then came the seeker repaints of Skywarp and Thundercracker.
BUT THESE WERE NOT LICENSED BY HASBRO. They were not made by Hasbro! They were made by TAKARA( with the exception of Revoltech, which was Revoltech. Not Hasbro.). Same with Binaltech, and it was only after Binaltech, that Hasbro licensed the molds FROM TAKARA to produce Alternators. Hasblow has made almost NONE of the molds which they used. They have not licensed any of the Masterpieces with the sole exception of Starscream to my knowledge. Which was again still made first, and better by Takara.
The War for Cybertron and IDW figures are extremely recent, and in comparison, the IDW comics have been going on for years. Before I even got back into the fandom. And still, those releases are fairly small. I could turn the argument around that Hasbro puts out far more for MLP to be collected than it does Transformers. What molds it does manage for like TFP are. . .pretty bad looking figures. And then they keep putting out the same characters over and over. Optimus Prime. Megatron. Starscream. Seeker repaint. Bumblebee. GUH. Same argument we have about MLP.
I couldn't believe they put out as beautiful of a toy as the IDW Springer ( and off of Nick Roche's design! ), and then followed up with a Blaster and a Soundwave! But there still isn't a decent Mirage toy, or a Hound one for that matter. And still no Sunstreaker to go with his TWIN Sideswipe in the Masterpiece toys.
So no, not everything is hunky-dorry in the TF fandom, and I hardly think that Hasbro in anyway caters to one more than the other. Most of the adult toys for Transformers are not even produced by Hasbro. They've now put out a few, but still not many. Most anything nice has to be ordered from JAPAN or China from the Takara factories because Hasbro doesn't license most of the expensive stuff and can't cheap it out.
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They know, but I don't think the adult collector group is big enough to get a special line of merchandise. Like lets take the arena with 111 users on right now, vs a random transformer forum that has 2,175 users on right now.
I'm going to get a bunch of fakies thrown at me, I think it's also a really hard group to satisfy. No matter what Hasbro does, no one seems happy with it. It's either price is too high-- or quality is too low-- or they just hate it.
I think transformers are a bit more unique with tiny parts, and details as well. What exactly should Hasbro make for adult collectors. Replica MLPs? That won't go over well.
I think with the g3 art ponies, we started to see them try to cater to the adult demographic a bit more. But it apparently didn't work good enough, because if it did-- they'd still be around. ^^; I wanted to like them, but I hate the g3 mold. I would be so thrilled for a cute little g4 Junko pony... but no. It was G3...
personally i'd LOVE some collectable " collectors" MLPs i don' t think they should remake the OLD ones.. I think they should make NEW g1 mold MLP for collectors.
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*MiRaja. The TF Generations line is a mass marketed line that caters to G1 fans, it's been around for years and is produced by Hasbro. and at a more reasonable price point. Still nothing in the MLP line like that.
yeah I wonder how the Takara relationship affects what TFs adult fans get.
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I'm going to sort of disagree. I feel Hasbro is giving adult collectors more attention than they ever have... but I don't like it. I collected toys, not collectibles. KWIM?
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Personally, I would rather they spent more time developing the actual G4 toy line than worrying about making special super duper ponies directed at me, just because I'm an adult. I have a wall of ponies directed and made for children, why does putting the word adult behind it make a difference to me as a long time MLP collector?
I have nothing against special edition ponies but I just do not buy every single pony anymore because it's a re-release of the same thing over and over.
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I'm going to sort of disagree. I feel Hasbro is giving adult collectors more attention than they ever have... but I don't like it. I collected toys, not collectibles. KWIM?
I have to agree with spottedslug on this one also. If you look back just a few years there was not so much pony stuff.
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Personally, I would rather they spent more time developing the actual G4 toy line than worrying about making special super duper ponies directed at me, just because I'm an adult. I have a wall of ponies directed and made for children, why does putting the word adult behind it make a difference to me as a long time MLP collector?
I have nothing against special edition ponies but I just do not buy every single pony anymore because it's a re-release of the same thing over and over.
I agree. If there was more available variety, rather than just the same old mane six all the time, then I think both children and adults would be happy as they could both expand their herds, and the increased availability of non-mane six characters would mean that they wouldn't be so hard to get hold of and sell for so much online.
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I'm probably echoing everyone else here, but first of all - back when G1 came out, it was a girls toy. There wasn't any adult collectors/fanbase. However when G1 Transformers came out - there were adults that bought them and collected them (same with Star Wars).
I think the problem is Hasbro really has no clue how to market MLP. G1 was short lived in the US when you think about other toy lines. G2 was even shorter. I think G3 started off on the right foot, but then they got into the whole Mane Core thing and decided Pinkie Pie was now the official MLP mascot and that went down hill.
I was thrilled for the Anniversary ponies because they were anniversary, but I never ever saw the Rainbow Ponies in any store and only managed to find the full set of the collectors pose.
I loved the art ponies and I was willing to buy them because they were different. I didn't think they were outrageously priced (compared to the "exclusives" for the G4)
So then g4 came out and somewhere somehow it become all about these Bronies. How when why, I don't even pretend to understand. I'm not saying MLP is only a girls toy, but I have issues with teen/young men telling me how ponies are supposed to be. What toys are supposed to be, what merch I should see in stores, how tv characters personalities are supposed to be. I also have issues with the fact that I have a 3 year old daughter who loves the show and who loves the few ponies she has and how sad she gets when we find blind bags that are torn open ever time we are at Walmart and Target, how ponies are ripped out of boxes or the shelves are empty because certain people feel they can do that because the show is so popular and in their minds kids shouldn't have them.
fact is fact - it's a *toy* line with a cartoon.
Now, I'd say a good majority of us are "adult" collectors because we had g1 as a child and we loved those ponies and we love that we have people who are as obsessed with MLP as we are. We liked the other generations for the way it reminded us of our childhood. We buy the current G4 because we have kids that love it or because "hey it's ponies".
I guess it bothers me that the line is lacking in variety. I'm used to lots of ponies. We didn't have 100 versions of Cotton Candy when I was kid. It also bothers me that somewhere someone in Hasbro HQ thinks that it's a good idea to have a gem encrusted light up pony for $50 because "it's a fan favorite". It's a statue, not a MLP toy IMO.
What I would love and would make me happy as a collector? First off better QC - and second. Make ponies Hasbro. Lots of ponies. Who cares if they are in the show or not. Ponies are meant for playing, for brushing, for pretending. Give my daughter ponies so she can play ponies, not PP's army of clones,.
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yeah I wonder how the Takara relationship affects what TFs adult fans get.
Judging by MiRaja's post, I'm going to assume that Takara is to Transformers as Funko is to MLP.
To say the Funko line is not directed at adult fans would be silly. They are collector-quality, completely molded "show accurate" figures. A lot of G4-only fans complained about the lack of show accuracy in the main line of toys, complained about "HasbrOCs" (toy-only ponies), and out comes Funko with several quality figures based on fan favourite characters. It's definitely for adults, not kids, even if they are selling them at TRU now -- for a while you could only get them at Hot Topic and some Barnes & Noble stores, not exactly kid hangouts. And unfortunately it seems that Funko is more diverse than the Hasbro line these days, which isn't fair to kids or their parents.
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So then g4 came out and somewhere somehow it become all about these Bronies. How when why, I don't even pretend to understand. I'm not saying MLP is only a girls toy, but I have issues with teen/young men telling me how ponies are supposed to be. What toys are supposed to be, what merch I should see in stores, how tv characters personalities are supposed to be. I also have issues with the fact that I have a 3 year old daughter who loves the show and who loves the few ponies she has and how sad she gets when we find blind bags that are torn open ever time we are at Walmart and Target, how ponies are ripped out of boxes or the shelves are empty because certain people feel they can do that because the show is so popular and in their minds kids shouldn't have them.
fact is fact - it's a *toy* line with a cartoon.
Now, I'd say a good majority of us are "adult" collectors because we had g1 as a child and we loved those ponies and we love that we have people who are as obsessed with MLP as we are. We liked the other generations for the way it reminded us of our childhood. We buy the current G4 because we have kids that love it or because "hey it's ponies".
I guess it bothers me that the line is lacking in variety. I'm used to lots of ponies. We didn't have 100 versions of Cotton Candy when I was kid. It also bothers me that somewhere someone in Hasbro HQ thinks that it's a good idea to have a gem encrusted light up pony for $50 because "it's a fan favorite". It's a statue, not a MLP toy IMO.
What I would love and would make me happy as a collector? First off better QC - and second. Make ponies Hasbro. Lots of ponies. Who cares if they are in the show or not. Ponies are meant for playing, for brushing, for pretending. Give my daughter ponies so she can play ponies, not PP's army of clones,.
AMEN!
My 4yo and your 3yo would get along smashingly!
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I completely agree with Sweetstuff!!!
I do not think that we as collectors care that it is marketed to kids or adults...we just see ponies. That is why we are wanting more than the mane 6 characters, because we something new to buy. I personally do not care if I have an adult line to buy from. I buy the kids toys because they are MLP and that is what I love. Truth be told I would rather buy a $5 kids MLP toy than a $50 we designed it for an adult show piece. I do love the exclusive comic con toys and do own them, but I can't afford a continual $50 exclusive for adults...
Truth be told, I do not like the FiM Cartoon series at all. My 5 and 4 year old girls are banned from watching them. I feel that more and more "kids" shows are starting to become all adultesq. But I have bought my girls all the different ponies because, like Bonnie Zacherle told me, "It is all about a girl and her pony", and I couldn't agree more with that sentiment.
I buy G1 ponies because I had them, and I let me kids play with them, because they love them (unless they are really rare ponies, then mommy keeps them). I have G3 Ponies because I love the way they look and the variety...my girls have some too. I bought the g4 for my girls, because let's face it, they are the only MLPs available in stores that I can still get reasonably. If I could buy g1 I would rather do that. I still would love to see more variety, because I look at some of the sets and go, "nope my girls already HAVE those ponies" and like I tell my girls we do not need multiples of all the same ponies. If they had new ones I would be more than willing to add them to our collection.
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yeah I wonder how the Takara relationship affects what TFs adult fans get.
Judging by MiRaja's post, I'm going to assume that Takara is to Transformers as Funko is to MLP.
To say the Funko line is not directed at adult fans would be silly. They are collector-quality, completely molded "show accurate" figures. A lot of G4-only fans complained about the lack of show accuracy in the main line of toys, complained about "HasbrOCs" (toy-only ponies), and out comes Funko with several quality figures based on fan favourite characters. It's definitely for adults, not kids, even if they are selling them at TRU now -- for a while you could only get them at Hot Topic and some Barnes & Noble stores, not exactly kid hangouts. And unfortunately it seems that Funko is more diverse than the Hasbro line these days, which isn't fair to kids or their parents.
That is not an accurate comparison. Takara is a Japanese toy company that's been around for years. They started producing transformable robot pre-transformers. Not just in Japan, but a lot of these toys were produced for the Italian market. The pride of my collection of TF ( which is really small, but whatever ) is one of these. He's literally the same toy that would become Jazz, but he's from several years earlier than when Transformers came in. It was then that Hasbro started licensing for the toys from Takara and other companies to produce a line. ( Note: Takara made up the majority of the figures. Other ones like Shockwave and Skyfire ( A Veritech toy, originally, from Macross!) came from other toy companies. ) They then produced the biggest commercial ever for a toy line, that being the original G1 Transformers cartoon. Transformers actually becomes super popular even in Japan, and continues to do so, which leads to several Japan-only tv releases, and lots of Japan-only toys. Takara makes boatloads. And they continue to make lots of toys for both kids and collectors, some of which Hasbro decides to pick up and others not. Like the Binaltech to Alternators, and then the Transformers Universe line was almost entirely all Takara remolds. I'm not sure of the exact number with Generations as I stepped out the fandom during that time, but I'm guessing those are likely Takara too. I was never into TF Animated, but I think they had a company in Japan make those, not Takara I think, but I could be wrong.
Also, Takara should be a familiar name. Hasbro granted them rights to make their own My Little Pony line in Japan in the 80's. :P
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yeah I wonder how the Takara relationship affects what TFs adult fans get.
Judging by MiRaja's post, I'm going to assume that Takara is to Transformers as Funko is to MLP.
To say the Funko line is not directed at adult fans would be silly. They are collector-quality, completely molded "show accurate" figures. A lot of G4-only fans complained about the lack of show accuracy in the main line of toys, complained about "HasbrOCs" (toy-only ponies), and out comes Funko with several quality figures based on fan favourite characters. It's definitely for adults, not kids, even if they are selling them at TRU now -- for a while you could only get them at Hot Topic and some Barnes & Noble stores, not exactly kid hangouts. And unfortunately it seems that Funko is more diverse than the Hasbro line these days, which isn't fair to kids or their parents.
That is not an accurate comparison. Takara is a Japanese toy company that's been around for years. They started producing transformable robot pre-transformers. Not just in Japan, but a lot of these toys were produced for the Italian market. The pride of my collection of TF ( which is really small, but whatever ) is one of these. He's literally the same toy that would become Jazz, but he's from several years earlier than when Transformers came in. It was then that Hasbro started licensing for the toys from Takara and other companies to produce a line. ( Note: Takara made up the majority of the figures. Other ones like Shockwave and Skyfire ( A Veritech toy, originally, from Macross!) came from other toy companies. ) They then produced the biggest commercial ever for a toy line, that being the original G1 Transformers cartoon. Transformers actually becomes super popular even in Japan, and continues to do so, which leads to several Japan-only tv releases, and lots of Japan-only toys. Takara makes boatloads. And they continue to make lots of toys for both kids and collectors, some of which Hasbro decides to pick up and others not. Like the Binaltech to Alternators, and then the Transformers Universe line was almost entirely all Takara remolds. I'm not sure of the exact number with Generations as I stepped out the fandom during that time, but I'm guessing those are likely Takara too. I was never into TF Animated, but I think they had a company in Japan make those, not Takara I think, but I could be wrong.
Also, Takara should be a familiar name. Hasbro granted them rights to make their own My Little Pony line in Japan in the 80's. :P
My apologies then. I am very familiar with Takara from other toy lines I collect/ed but I know nothing about Transformers haha. Judging from your original post I assumed they were responsible for producing most of the current "adult collectible" Transformers, much like what Funko does for MLP.
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You know what we need? We need a token celebrity.
If we had someone famous with a lot of money and publicity as a MLP collector, Hasbro would be more likely to take notice, and the MLP collecting group would be more likely to grow.
I've always considered Hasbro's "girl toy marketing" to be crappy in comparison to their one for boys. It might be though because they make more money from the male oriented toylines than female ones though.
I will agree about the size of the Transformers fanbase though. It's huge compared to MLP.
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This is definitely an interesting topic and one I've been thinking about for some time.
I agree with the sentiment that I don't necessarily need a special adult collector pony. It's most likely going to be a G4 fan favorite anyways which I don't have much interest in. I am grateful that the G4 brushable line doesn't exactly match the show look too significantly so they still look like "just ponies" to me.
But I do think the huge runs of the same character is stiffling. I don't mind that Hasbro wants the core group on the shelves but it'd be wonderful for kids and adults to have different ponies on the shelf alongside them. It's always disappointing to browse the toy aisles for months and see only 6 ponies being re-released and perhaps one (Sunshimmer) thrown in as a side note.
I have to say I even prefer the "Bore 7" to the current selection of ponies. At least when they re-released characters they would add leg fading, extra symbol details, a theme of some kind. But these new G4s are so tiny that when something is re-released there is barely any difference between the other releases, making it hard to justify purchasing essentially the same pony again.
I fully understand the bottom line is money. It costs more to develop, design, and produce more characters, especially if they can presently justify not soing so with all the new MLP line collectors. Why spend more money when you can "skate by"?
But my answer to that would be to keep a line, that has an immensely successful head start, going strong. Ponies are to play with (child or adult) and having more ponies promotes imaginative play to make up *your own* personalities for them rather than the canned personalities they give the show characters.
This will never happen but I just wanted to share, I'm of the opinion that they should re-launch the G1 line but with a new sculpt. Get a great designer to "update" their look but stay true to those big thoughtful eyes, decent sized snouts, and round bottoms! Lol!
So I guess in conclusion, more ponies please! More experimentation! G1 and G3 variety s'il vous plait!
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I'm probably echoing everyone else here, but first of all - back when G1 came out, it was a girls toy. There wasn't any adult collectors/fanbase. However when G1 Transformers came out - there were adults that bought them and collected them (same with Star Wars).
I think the problem is Hasbro really has no clue how to market MLP. G1 was short lived in the US when you think about other toy lines. G2 was even shorter. I think G3 started off on the right foot, but then they got into the whole Mane Core thing and decided Pinkie Pie was now the official MLP mascot and that went down hill.
I was thrilled for the Anniversary ponies because they were anniversary, but I never ever saw the Rainbow Ponies in any store and only managed to find the full set of the collectors pose.
I loved the art ponies and I was willing to buy them because they were different. I didn't think they were outrageously priced (compared to the "exclusives" for the G4)
So then g4 came out and somewhere somehow it become all about these Bronies. How when why, I don't even pretend to understand. I'm not saying MLP is only a girls toy, but I have issues with teen/young men telling me how ponies are supposed to be. What toys are supposed to be, what merch I should see in stores, how tv characters personalities are supposed to be. I also have issues with the fact that I have a 3 year old daughter who loves the show and who loves the few ponies she has and how sad she gets when we find blind bags that are torn open ever time we are at Walmart and Target, how ponies are ripped out of boxes or the shelves are empty because certain people feel they can do that because the show is so popular and in their minds kids shouldn't have them.
fact is fact - it's a *toy* line with a cartoon.
Now, I'd say a good majority of us are "adult" collectors because we had g1 as a child and we loved those ponies and we love that we have people who are as obsessed with MLP as we are. We liked the other generations for the way it reminded us of our childhood. We buy the current G4 because we have kids that love it or because "hey it's ponies".
I guess it bothers me that the line is lacking in variety. I'm used to lots of ponies. We didn't have 100 versions of Cotton Candy when I was kid. It also bothers me that somewhere someone in Hasbro HQ thinks that it's a good idea to have a gem encrusted light up pony for $50 because "it's a fan favorite". It's a statue, not a MLP toy IMO.
What I would love and would make me happy as a collector? First off better QC - and second. Make ponies Hasbro. Lots of ponies. Who cares if they are in the show or not. Ponies are meant for playing, for brushing, for pretending. Give my daughter ponies so she can play ponies, not PP's army of clones,.
Its like you read my mind! I couldn't have said it better!
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You know what we need? We need a token celebrity.
If we had someone famous with a lot of money and publicity as a MLP collector, Hasbro would be more likely to take notice, and the MLP collecting group would be more likely to grow.
Celebrities we know of who collect MLP:
Beyoncé
Paris Hilton
Okay, that is NOT improving matters... ;D
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You know what we need? We need a token celebrity.
If we had someone famous with a lot of money and publicity as a MLP collector, Hasbro would be more likely to take notice, and the MLP collecting group would be more likely to grow.
Celebrities we know of who collect MLP:
Beyoncé
Paris Hilton
Okay, that is NOT improving matters... ;D
Really? :O
I never really paid attention to either of those celebrities, but cool.
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You know what we need? We need a token celebrity.
If we had someone famous with a lot of money and publicity as a MLP collector, Hasbro would be more likely to take notice, and the MLP collecting group would be more likely to grow.
Celebrities we know of who collect MLP:
Beyoncé
Paris Hilton
Okay, that is NOT improving matters... ;D
Dude! I actually have a bit of a soft spot for Paris. For one thing, she's in my favorite movie and did damn well in it. She's also obviously much smarter than she likes to seem, and jokes about herself often. Now ponies?! Too cool.
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Celebrities we know of who collect MLP:
Beyoncé
Paris Hilton
Okay, that is NOT improving matters... ;D
Maybe that explains the glitter-bombed Swarovski-encrusted SDCC exclusives? And DJ's light-up stage box?!
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
Now all the pieces fall into place! Beyoncé was the target audience this year. :lol:
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You know what we need? We need a token celebrity.
If we had someone famous with a lot of money and publicity as a MLP collector, Hasbro would be more likely to take notice, and the MLP collecting group would be more likely to grow.
Celebrities we know of who collect MLP:
Beyoncé
Paris Hilton
Okay, that is NOT improving matters... ;D
Beyonce collects ponies?? I love beyonce! :0 I love her like ten times more now lol.
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You know what we need? We need a token celebrity.
If we had someone famous with a lot of money and publicity as a MLP collector, Hasbro would be more likely to take notice, and the MLP collecting group would be more likely to grow.
Celebrities we know of who collect MLP:
Beyoncé
Paris Hilton
Okay, that is NOT improving matters... ;D
Beyonce collects ponies?? I love beyonce! :0 I love her like ten times more now lol.
I don't think we need any kind of celeb being a "token" for us. Then it would turn into some crazy fad thing for sheep to do and totally loose meaning. I am sorry but I don't give two schnitzels about what celbs are doing or like. They are people not divine beings and I do not run my life off of what someone wears or clothes they endorse or items they push.
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You know what we need? We need a token celebrity.
If we had someone famous with a lot of money and publicity as a MLP collector, Hasbro would be more likely to take notice, and the MLP collecting group would be more likely to grow.
Celebrities we know of who collect MLP:
Beyoncé
Paris Hilton
Okay, that is NOT improving matters... ;D
Beyonce collects ponies?? I love beyonce! :0 I love her like ten times more now lol.
I don't think we need any kind of celeb being a "token" for us. Then it would turn into some crazy fad thing for sheep to do and totally loose meaning. I am sorry but I don't give two schnitzels about what celbs are doing or like. They are people not divine beings and I do not run my life off of what someone wears or clothes they endorse or items they push.
whoa that was intense.
I just mean Beyonce is cool. She has cool opinions. She has nice music. She's a relatable person who does things I enjoy and I thing it is cool that her and I happen to share a surprising hobby. No one is asking you to care about celebrities.
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Drakinator sorry that was not directed at you. If you relate to Beyonce, all and good.
Just my opinion on the matter of a celebrity being used as a "Token" to get people to buy masses of ponies so Hasbro will cater to us more.
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They are collector-quality, completely molded "show accurate" figures. A lot of G4-only fans complained about the lack of show accuracy in the main line of toys, complained about "HasbrOCs" (toy-only ponies)
The term show accurate should be banned.
Did I mention how much I dislike the whole 'show accurate' whining associated with G4?
It's probably the reason I don't buy a lot of this stuff.
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I think I'm hard to please as a G1 fan. :blush: I don't really feel I need re-releases as most old G1s are pretty easy to obtain already and I prefer them. I didn't really care for the collector's editions in comparison to the originals. I don't want Funko ponies. I don't know why?! I really liked their pictures but I just wasn't interested enough to buy.
Things I would like:
1. Fine jewelry in elegant G1 shapes.
2. Backcard/ Original G1 art on posters.
3. G1 Tees
4. My G1 favorites in G4 brushable and blind bag form
5. Every day objects tastefully decorated with a g1 pony or two.
6. Re-release of complete Midnight Castle and Escape movie.
7. Nicely done resin statuettes of G1 ponies that really capture their adorable and sweet elegance.
For me, My Little Pony is gentle, pretty, playful, sweet and close to nature. I don't need them to be "in your face". Haha.
As for Transformers... I love them too. But most of my favorites are not re-releases of originals but recreations vastly improved over the originals. I think that's a challenge when it comes to G1 ponies.
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They are collector-quality, completely molded "show accurate" figures. A lot of G4-only fans complained about the lack of show accuracy in the main line of toys, complained about "HasbrOCs" (toy-only ponies)
The term show accurate should be banned.
Did I mention how much I dislike the whole 'show accurate' whining associated with G4?
It's probably the reason I don't buy a lot of this stuff.
I'm with you on that. Plus if people really care that much, they can style the brushable's manes to look "accurate" to the characters in the show which is 100x more fun (in my opinion) than buying a big bulky plastic figure. I do like the Funko vinyls and I'm excited for them to make Rarity but I much prefer the brushables, small as they may be. They're a lot more fun and true to the spirit of MLP.
But clearly the molded figures - both blind bags and vinyls - are selling well if they keep making more and more of em and it's not up to me so eh! To each their own. I just wish Hasbro would start diversifying the main G4 line again.
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For the record: Transformers fans had to fight quite a bit for many years to get Hasbro to recognize that there were adult fans of the brand. Transformers also have the benefit of having Takara in Japan creating super-intricate molds (like the Masterpieces) for Japanese audiences. It is a lot easier and more cost effective for Hasbro US to import something that Japan has already designed and created than to go to the work of designing and creating it themselves. They'd have to feel the money is worth it.
MLP just doesn't have the Japanese presence or market that Transformers has enjoyed for so long.
Classics Transformers are G1 characters with modern poseability and more show-accurate looks. I don't know what a Classics Glory, for example, would look like. Ponies were very rarely poseable. Maybe dressed in highly detailed pony wear? That's about the only thing I can think that would "upgrade" a G1 Pony. And I'd totally shell out for a G1-accurate Glory dressed in "In the Designer Collection" or "City Kids."
My biggest concern is that when Hasbro did the reissue G1 ponies the hair quality and plastic quality was significantly lower than a G1 original. People are not going to buy remakes unless, like Transformers, they represent a substantial IMPROVEMENT over the original version.
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I like the show accurate ones. I don't see why the people who like the show and also want to throw money at hasbro shouldn't be acknowledged too. The funko toys are very high quality and very pretty I think.
I mean, I really really wish we WOULD get more 'hasbrOCs' because G4s have so little diversity and they have had even less lately. I see why one might dislike bronies (I've yet to meet anyone in real life who calls themself a brony that I liked..) but I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying the show and wanting to have some toys of it. The funko vinyl's are licensed anyway, it's not like it's costing hasbro anything to make them. There should, in theory, be nothing about the funko figures keeping them from making more toy only brushables and toys.
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They are collector-quality, completely molded "show accurate" figures. A lot of G4-only fans complained about the lack of show accuracy in the main line of toys, complained about "HasbrOCs" (toy-only ponies)
The term show accurate should be banned.
Seriously... :like: The term drives me crackers especially when it comes to the negativity associated with it.
I can understand that some people wish it...and fine, that's ok just don't complain when things aren't show accurate. Appreciate that there are show accurate releases already and those of us who dont care or dont want moulded manes or show accurate releases are just as entitled to our wishes as those who do.
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Before I start, let me quote Shiromisa...
The target audience for MLP is little girls. That has not stopped being a thing. Adult fans are incidental.
I have all my G1 wants (except Chiefs hat), all my G2 wants, all my G3 wants... and all my G4 wants including international exclusives!, but I'm so discouraged about Hasbro's latest release.
Which latest release are you referring to? The new Ponyvilles? The Chinese New Year Pinkie Pie? Or...???
You have all of the ponies you want....yet it seems you are still unsatisfied as a collector. I'm confused. Do you want even more new things? Or are you happy with what you have? I think that's what the issue boils down to.
Unlike their Transformers Line, Hasbro doesn't even known adult MLP collectors exist...
I'm sorry, what?
MLP Fair? Bronycon? Toy Fair? International Toy Hall of Fame? Comic Con? This site? MLP Collectors Guides???
What about the re-release of the original Mane 6? The re-release of the MLP movies on DVD?
I think these things are being overlooked with this blanket statement. Sure, Hasbro may not play a substantial role in these things, but they are MLP oriented and they do cater to MLP collectors. Perhaps not in the way all collectors would like...but it's going to stay that way unless Hasbro says otherwise.
Could it be that maybe I'm just looking at the short term? maybe the long term is where Hasbro's Adult Collectors get some love? Though I've been actively collecting for a few years and still have yet to see anything besides TRU "Collectors" sets...
In my opinion...I think we should be happy with what we have. G1 through G4. If nostalgia really is bothering us as a whole community, then we should take up our pitchforks and torches and march to Hasbro's headquarters demanding an explanation of the dearth of MLP products.
Toys will always be for kids, generation after generation. Period. A select few of us collect the items for posterity, but most of the time, toys are kids things and are put away when we 'grow up.' The quality and characters will change as the years go on. It's inevitable and it's not within our control (unless we work for the entity which is in charge of designing the toys). If you dislike the toys as time goes on, there is no one stopping you from ceasing the collection of these toys. Or writing angry letters to the corporation.
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The term show accurate should be banned.
Did I mention how much I dislike the whole 'show accurate' whining associated with G4?
This!!!! This is part of why I find it difficult to get into the G4 craze. I'm glad Funko is making those figures for people who prefer the "accurate" looks. But it just doesn't seem to be enough for some. I hope Hasbro continues with the real MLP toys while Funko keeps releasing more figures for those collectors and fans so both groups can be happy.
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What about the re-release of the original Mane 6?
Whoa, did I completely miss this? I thought just Firefly was getting a rerelease (in miniature). I haven't heard of any other ponies being rereleased recently. I'm intrigued!
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What about the re-release of the original Mane 6?
Whoa, did I completely miss this? I thought just Firefly was getting a rerelease (in miniature). I haven't heard of any other ponies being rereleased recently. I'm intrigued!
There was a re-release during the 25th anniversary of MLP....
http://www.entertainmentearth.com/item_archive/items/My_Little_Pony_25th_Anniversary_3Packs_Wave_1_Set.asp
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What about the re-release of the original Mane 6?
Whoa, did I completely miss this? I thought just Firefly was getting a rerelease (in miniature). I haven't heard of any other ponies being rereleased recently. I'm intrigued!
There was a re-release during the 25th anniversary of MLP....
http://www.entertainmentearth.com/item_archive/items/My_Little_Pony_25th_Anniversary_3Packs_Wave_1_Set.asp
Oh, that! I thought you meant recently like this year haha. My bad!
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What about the re-release of the original Mane 6?
Whoa, did I completely miss this? I thought just Firefly was getting a rerelease (in miniature). I haven't heard of any other ponies being rereleased recently. I'm intrigued!
There was a re-release during the 25th anniversary of MLP....
http://www.entertainmentearth.com/item_archive/items/My_Little_Pony_25th_Anniversary_3Packs_Wave_1_Set.asp
Oh, that! I thought you meant recently like this year haha. My bad!
No worries!
I just don't understand what is meant by the OP. I honestly don't think collectors are purposely being ignored. I thought collections were built based on what is/was available, not necessarily based on what the consumer wants to be produced at a given point in time. If only sales worked that way...can you imagine? I want my chocolate ball with the prize toy inside from 1990 now!...oh wait, that's nearly twenty year old candy...nevermind...
Everyone gets rose colored nostalgia glasses, heck I do all the time. :) But that doesn't mean I am not happy with what I've got. *shrug*
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This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary.
There's a Firefly brushable being released?!
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This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary.
There's a Firefly brushable being released?!
Hard to say--it's with a little book, and sadly I think it's only going to be a dollymix pony.
With that said, I disagree with the post you quoted. Hasbro has marketed many things towards adult collectors lately--the SDCC ponies, the bejeweled Twilight, the CNY Pinkie--it's just that they haven't gone over well.
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This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary.
There's a Firefly brushable being released?!
Yes...click here...
http://www.amazon.com/My-Little-Pony-Firefly-Illustrated/dp/0762454156
:)
I don't know if more material will be released for MLP's 30th anniversary....we will see...
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This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary.
There's a Firefly brushable being released?!
Hard to say--it's with a little book, and sadly I think it's only going to be a dollymix pony.
With that said, I disagree with the post you quoted. Hasbro has marketed many things towards adult collectors lately--the SDCC ponies, the bejeweled Twilight, the CNY Pinkie--it's just that they haven't gone over well.
Yes, FiM themed products. While it is really cool, some of us have would like to see some G1, G2, or G3 stuff again. :)
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This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary.
There's a Firefly brushable being released?!
Hard to say--it's with a little book, and sadly I think it's only going to be a dollymix pony.
With that said, I disagree with the post you quoted. Hasbro has marketed many things towards adult collectors lately--the SDCC ponies, the bejeweled Twilight, the CNY Pinkie--it's just that they haven't gone over well.
I don't feel as though the former are targeted at collectors though. Hasbro probably does know what collectors want its just that they financially most likely don't stack up due to the potential purchasing market. They have attended the fairs, they have designed the art ponies and engaged with collectors directly over the years. The SDCC/Fair ponies in G4 are targeted at the brony market. Sure they appeal to a lot of collectors too but I feel they are more for the wider G4 fandom. As for the Pinkie and TS, I suppose we can at least give them points for trying. However, having seen the popularity of their art ponies with adult fans, I have to wonder why not do more of this if they are really catering to the adult collectors market. Releasing G4 characters seems more about appealing to a wider audience.
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I'm sure Hasbro knows of its adult collectors. Back when G3's were still around Hasbro made the art ponies for their adult collectors and even stated that the fair ponies were for their adult collectors but I think that has come and gone. I'm not impressed with the fair ponies now and how they will appear in the future. As other people have mentioned, I don't think the adult collectors make a large enough percentage of their sales to be considered anymore. I know sometimes we see the retro shirts, even in adult sizes which is great but in my opinion it's not enough. Also, as other people have stated MLP will always be aimed for little girls but I'm sure even little girls get tired of seeing the same ponies over and over again.
Post Merge: October 30, 2013, 09:09:39 AM
This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary.
There's a Firefly brushable being released?!
Yes...click here...
http://www.amazon.com/My-Little-Pony-Firefly-Illustrated/dp/0762454156
:)
I don't know if more material will be released for MLP's 30th anniversary....we will see...
It would be neat if it was based on the G1 version, but it could also be a G4 version of Firefly but looks completely different. Like, hasbro had rights to the name but not the pony itself.
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This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary.
There's a Firefly brushable being released?!
Yes...click here...
http://www.amazon.com/My-Little-Pony-Firefly-Illustrated/dp/0762454156
:)
Omigosh yay! I can't wait till they get a picture up.
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This firefly brushable is the first thing for the adult collectors since the re-release of the first set of ponies in the line for the 25th anniversary.
There's a Firefly brushable being released?!
Yes...click here...
http://www.amazon.com/My-Little-Pony-Firefly-Illustrated/dp/0762454156
:)
Omigosh yay! I can't wait till they get a picture up.
There was a picture found on edelweiss not too long ago.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com/ProductDetailPage.aspx?sku=0762454156
The image is just a photo of a regular ol' Firefly who I imagine will look a little different in miniature, but at least we know it's G1.
They've added some illustrations to the page now too which were not there the last time I looked. Scratch that. They have a .pdf of the entire book it looks like. Click on the 'booklet interior' link.
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Wow! the book has got Lickety Split and other G1s! cool.
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Huh... anyone notice that the book has a G1 version of the "mane six": two unicorns, two pegasi, and two earth ponies?
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Sounds like the biggest thing Hasbro needs to do is simply more variety, and another thing that would be a big improvement would be to release each wave so they show up around the same time instead of scattered. What might work is a 'do not display until date' system, like fast food places do with toys. More stores would have the exact same items instead of sets kind of trickling into areas and scalpers buying up all the new stuff for ebay. Parents and children, as well as adult collectors, would appreciate that! No one would be upset with a wider range of ponies in the brushables size, and knowing someone posting about 'I found X in stores' would mean you could find it right then, too, would be awesome!
also, I know the funcos are considered to be collectables, and for adults, but to be honest, I have a hard time taking them as serious collectable pieces, with all their quality issues. The POP! figures may look silly, but the quality seems to be better.
I wish Hasbro would make actual high quality pieces, such as ceramics or high quality resins(like anime stuff has) rather than another line of plastic. The Hamilton figures were *supposed* to be high quality, but instead were cheap airbrushed figures with bad proportions and sticker symbols. :/ Also, those are why I DO NOT believe Hasbro lost the rights to the names of ponies...that set was only a few years ago, and those were sold under the names Firefly and Glory.
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I do wish that Hasbro would make some really cool retro high end stuff like they have done with Transformers and even Jem- but I think they probably did some market research, and decided it wasn't profitable.
Recall that they did a poll a while back, before the anniversary sets- as to how much pony collectors would be willing to pay for repro ponies. It wasn't high as I recall... and then they made the collector sets and many of us were disappointed with the quality (which of course was directly related to the fact that Hasbro didn't think (probably correctly) that people would pay more for them). So they probably didn't sell so well that they turned a very big (if any) profit.
It can't just be the number of vintage collectors- because there are a LOT- more than for many other vintage toys- certainly there are way more vintage pony fans than Jem fans, right? And yet now there is an ultra collector line of dolls just for adult Jem collectors (the Integrity dolls) - and no collector line of ponies.
But just what would a collector line of ponies look like anyway? Bigger ponies? Gemstones? Maybe that's the problem. The original design is just so great that it's hard to improve on it or make something designed for collectors. In contrast, there was a LOT to improve for Transformers and Jem...
Personally I'd love some giant G1 style ponies- extra fancy with lots of hair and even crystals maybe. Or an uber fancy flutterwing pony. But I don't see it happening....
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I would like some G1 re releases and some G2 (though the ladder probably will never happen), but people to also remember. MLP Collectors are not as big a fandom as Transformers and Hasbro is focusing on G4. At the end of the day it is a kids brand, but some more retro call backs would be really nice (and not just t-shirts like that Firefly one I got about a year back):) BTW, the reason I did not say G3 was because they are rather recent and we don't need re releases *YET*.
[mod edit ~ hathorcat]
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MLP Collectors are not as big a fandom as Transformers and Hasbro is focusing on G4. . .
Well it is possible that Transformers fandom is larger than MLP- but I don't think that's it. Like I mentioned, the Jem fandom is REALLY small and entirely adult based, and yet we have our own line of collectors dolls from Hasbro that has now been promised to continue for at least one more year. http://www.integritytoys.com/jemandtheholograms/collection-hollywood-jem.php
So it is not the quantity of the fans at issue. It must be something else. Like the belief that pony collectors don't want an expensive product aimed at the adult collector. Many collectors just say they want a re-release of G1s- but you can grab those on ebay for less than what it would cost Hasbro to make them for us again.
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So it is not the quantity of the fans at issue. It must be something else. Like the belief that pony collectors don't want an expensive product aimed at the adult collector. Many collectors just say they want a re-release of G1s- but you can grab those on ebay for less than what it would cost Hasbro to make them for us again.
I think that is probably the bottom line. Something about our perceived demographic says we don't want expensive collectables.
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So it is not the quantity of the fans at issue. It must be something else. Like the belief that pony collectors don't want an expensive product aimed at the adult collector. Many collectors just say they want a re-release of G1s- but you can grab those on ebay for less than what it would cost Hasbro to make them for us again.
I think that is probably the bottom line. Something about our perceived demographic says we don't want expensive collectables.
Yep, we are very comfortable with a toy in the $5-10 range. It's always been that way - if you account for inflation, a pony in-store cost the same in the 80's. Which works perfectly for most consumers - if they can't afford the Barbie, they get the single pony... 30 years of comfortable profits in this style have made Hasbro hesitant to try ANYTHING where they might suffer a loss. :) It's probably also why they are licensing so much out...
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OK.. this is probably going to tell everyone here.. how old i really am.. but...
I remember a time when both MLP and TF had died out almost completely. Liking either was the mark or a recluse or freak.
they actually had an episode of CSI when it first come out and marked an adult collector as a pedo that used the toys to
attract the attention of kids so he could harm them.
THIS is the reputation that collectors of both MLP and TF had less than a decade ago.
However now thanks to things like FIM and The TF : bayformers movies... its considered not only ok to be a collector of these things over the age
of nine, but something trendy and cool.
I think there could be some cool releases for adults only.. but i have to agree that i think the line is fine just the way it is now.
Rather than i think putting pressure on the company, I think we should just enjoy the stuff they offer now.
I collect both TF's and MLP's ( hasbro needs to give me stock!)
and I really dont know if i consider the re-release of predaking and new release of fort max coddling. Those things cost a small fortune! Preda king goes for 70.00+ and for max is almost 150.00+
:shocked:
Yah.. no...
its also like the fact giant talking twilight is almost 50.00+ too.
neither of these offers of Uber collectables get my attention.
And lately the tf l ine has been kinda lackluster for me. No good classics have come out and as much as i like the tf prime series ... the toys dont do anything for me.
So h onestly for someone who likes both... i think hasbro is doing just fine.
A lil more originality on both sides would be better.
but as an adult collector i think what they have so far is pretty awesome. :nerdy:
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they actually had an episode of CSI when it first come out and marked an adult collector as a pedo that used the toys to
attract the attention of kids so he could harm them.
Didn't CSI do this to furries too?
They really need to stop slandering groups of people.
I could easily see though about how collecting toys is "frowned upon" in society. People will just get so judgemental sometimes. I'm sure if everyone was more open to collecting that there'd be more of a demand for collector items.
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It is not like we are hoarders, or crazy. It is something that makes us smile and be happy. I think when most people are confronted with a childhood item, whether it be tv shows, toys etc., they all get hit with a smile of nostalgia.
People collect all sorts of things: Bugs, Stamps, Coins, porcelain dolls, spoons, plates, etc., but those are not looked down upon. Maybe people think it is childish to collect a type of toy, but don't most collections spring out from something from childhood?
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So it is not the quantity of the fans at issue. It must be something else. Like the belief that pony collectors don't want an expensive product aimed at the adult collector. Many collectors just say they want a re-release of G1s- but you can grab those on ebay for less than what it would cost Hasbro to make them for us again.
I think that is probably the bottom line. Something about our perceived demographic says we don't want expensive collectables.
Yep, we are very comfortable with a toy in the $5-10 range. It's always been that way - if you account for inflation, a pony in-store cost the same in the 80's. Which works perfectly for most consumers - if they can't afford the Barbie, they get the single pony... 30 years of comfortable profits in this style have made Hasbro hesitant to try ANYTHING where they might suffer a loss. :) It's probably also why they are licensing so much out...
Now if only they'd keep GIVING us single ponies! Ugh.
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^ "single non mane six ponies worth collecting".
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Reading through this thread, I realized how surprised I am that Hasbro didn't do anything for the 30th anniversary! I remember there being special stuff for the 25th, and that was only a few years ago.
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So it is not the quantity of the fans at issue. It must be something else. Like the belief that pony collectors don't want an expensive product aimed at the adult collector. Many collectors just say they want a re-release of G1s- but you can grab those on ebay for less than what it would cost Hasbro to make them for us again.
I think that is probably the bottom line. Something about our perceived demographic says we don't want expensive collectables.
Yep, we are very comfortable with a toy in the $5-10 range. It's always been that way - if you account for inflation, a pony in-store cost the same in the 80's. Which works perfectly for most consumers - if they can't afford the Barbie, they get the single pony... 30 years of comfortable profits in this style have made Hasbro hesitant to try ANYTHING where they might suffer a loss. :) It's probably also why they are licensing so much out...
Now if only they'd keep GIVING us single ponies! Ugh.
:like: this so much I dont even have enough nodding smilies to agree :P
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^ "single non mane six ponies worth collecting".
yes!
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^ "single non mane six ponies worth collecting".
Yes!!!
Reading through this thread, I realized how surprised I am that Hasbro didn't do anything for the 30th anniversary! I remember there being special stuff for the 25th, and that was only a few years ago.
I can't believe they did nothing! The 30th anniversary is *little* more important then the 25th.
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My guess is that the 25th Anniversary ponies just didn't sell very well.
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And I will admit I am in a royal huff over the lack of 30th Anniversary anything.
I agree. I got so excited when I realised it was the 30th anniversary.... Then nothing. Big let down! :cry:
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Interesting thread.
I, too, am one who is happy to purchase the "non collector aimed" $5-$10 toys, but would prefer to see more single-pack variety (like that little spurt that included Feathermay, Snowcatcher, and several other non-mane six). I do not expect any toy company to cater to adult collectors... In fact, to me, being a collector means finding what's out there, deciding what you like, and going after those (unless you're a completionist of course heh), not dictating what needs to be out there (mind you, I won't complain if they listen to our wish lists, though!!).
I appreciate the attempt they made with the new ponies coming out that have a TAF-y look to them, although I find them a little garish (compared to the beautiful G1 TAFs); they're still a nice change from the norm.
And I dearly, dearly miss the art ponies and the MLP fair having its own exclusive. :cry:
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As with a couple of others here, THIS adult collector would be satisfied with a wider variety of single pack brushables- I feel like they had the right idea early on with rotating the mane 6 among waves of new characters, then they just sort of... stopped. Pretty much the only way now to get non-Mane 6 brushables is by buying sets that almost inevitably include at least one of them, anyway, and frankly I just don't have the money anymore to be dropping $15-35 just for a few new characters and a bunch I already have, so I've essentially stopped collecting. I'm not looking for high end stuff, just NEW stuff.
In regards to MLP vs. other lines like Transformers and G.I. Joe, though, I think an important factor is the continuity of the characters and mythos- TF and Joe have, for better or for worse, become largely tied to the same characters and scenarios they had in the '80s, which helps attract adult collectors who want a "modern" version of Wheeljack or Lifeline or some other classic character, but can still make a compelling toy for kids, too (well, maybe not Lifeline, but I like to think as a kid I'd at least have appreciated his array of miniature medical accessories.) MLP seems to almost willfully ignore everything pre-G3 in its main line, which prevents that sort of integration of a secondary "adult" market into the main toyline. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'd love to see G4 versions of classic characters like Moondancer (who already has a G4 equivalent in the comics to go with her name drop in the show), Wind Whistler and Mimic- might even be willing to buy one of those expensive sets to get them. :silly: