The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => MLP Nirvana => Topic started by: Ponyland on July 28, 2015, 02:34:03 PM

Title: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Ponyland on July 28, 2015, 02:34:03 PM: I think you remember her if I show you this pic:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/first%20shot%20my%20little%20pony.jpg.html)

Short story: It was me who won her! :accomplished: -yay!

When I saw the auction I immediately recognized her from my Hasbro Toy Fair catalog that I own and have drooled over for a long time. This catalog don't show the modeled and painted prototypes we can see in the TV commercial, but instead the ponies looks factory made.
Because you see, at first all the 6 little ponies where ment to have dots (not as a "symbol", but more like a decoration). This changed quickly just before they hit the stores in the spring 1983.

Before this change of the design happened, Hasbro needed to take pictures for the dealer catalog. And this is the picture you can see below. And most likely this picture was taken at Hasbro headquarters (Rhode Island), or in a studio close to it.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/Hasbro%20catalog%201983%20text.jpg.html)

The design process of making a pony is quite long. I have figured it out to be something like this:

1: The first concept drawings
2: 3D clay sculpture representation from the drawings (the first prototype)
3: Wax casting from the clay sculpure
4: Silicone mold from wax figure
4: Hard copy (solid body) made in the silicone mold (you can then make a few, and hand paint them too).
5: A steel mold is then made from a hard copy (very expencive last step)
6: A First Shot is made in the steel mold, refers to when the mold is tested before mass production. Color in the plastic and paintings can differ.
7. Mass production.

The Blue Belle you see here is a First Shot pony, made for catalog photos. And the one in the TV Commercial is most likely a hand painted Hard Copy pony.

And Here she is, First Shot Blue Belle :heart:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20liten%201%20text%20mindre%20gul2.jpg.html)

And with my Blue Belle FF pony (a bit of a color difference in body and hair).
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/Blue%20Belle%20liten%202%20text%20mindre%20gul.jpg.html)

Longer forelock (and the hair plugs starts higher up)
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20liten%203%20mindre%20gul.jpg.html)

Her upper eyelashes are shorter, and eyecolor is a bit different.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/Blue%20Belle%20liten%204%20mindre%20gul.jpg.html)

And did you notice the painted white podiums that the ponies are standing on.....?
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/Blue%20belle%20catalog%20text.jpg.html)

Blue Belle actually has white paint residue under her hoofs (how cool is that)!?
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/Blue%20Belle%20liten%205%20mindre%20gul.jpg.html)

...And... I actually bought another pony from the same seller at the same time, (because she was a FF pony and I wanted to examine her)!
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/Cotton%20Candy%20liten.jpg.html)

Longer forelock with the plugs starting higher up...
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/Cotton%20Candy%20liten%202.jpg.html)

Shorter upper eyelashes and a small eyecolor difference...
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/Cotton%20Candy%20liten%203.jpg.html)

And white paint residue under her hoofs...
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
(http://s90.photobucket.com/user/Norrskensljus/media/Blue%20Belle%20factory%20first%20shot/Cotton%20Candy%20liten%204.jpg.html)

...I think these two girls have been togheter from the start!
(And when the seller is from Rhode Island and list's 2 Flat Feet ponies at the same time, one of them being a strange color, the chance of them both being pre-release ponies isn't that low) :)

So, sorry it took so long for me to share! But I hope you will enjoy my pic's, and that we will have a nice and interesting discussion about this topic! :) I have more pre-production stuff in my collection that I will be happy to share with you all!

(And please, my ponies will not be for sale or trade for any kind of amount. So I kindly ask you to not PM me about that). ;)

Ponyhugs :heart:
//Tina
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: ClosetAvalanche on July 28, 2015, 02:53:18 PM: i can view pics for some reason :(
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Lady Starflower on July 28, 2015, 02:54:20 PM: Oh my GOSH!!!! How exciting that you not only got Bluebelle but Cotton Candy too!!! Wow huge congrats. I'm so happy that a collector here got them :heart:
Thanks so much for sharing :biggrin:
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Galactica on July 28, 2015, 03:02:34 PM: Very cool congratulations! I love prototypes :D
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Artemesia's Garden on July 28, 2015, 03:09:12 PM: This is fascinating, and a great bit of detective work! Thank you so much for sharing this. :) :cool:
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: pinkkittywinks on July 28, 2015, 03:19:58 PM: :cheer:

Thank you sooooo much for sharing pictures and all this information :heart:

Love pkw xxx
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Juliepants on July 28, 2015, 03:35:04 PM: Wonderful!!!

Jules x
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: shelvesofwhimsy on July 28, 2015, 04:34:21 PM: Wow! Incredible find! Congratulations!!!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: nhal039 on July 28, 2015, 05:19:23 PM: how exciting, it was lovely to see her again.. well both of them :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Honeycomb on July 28, 2015, 05:44:07 PM: That's so fascinating!!!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Jadis4742 on July 28, 2015, 06:10:51 PM: Oh, congrats! Those are amazing ponies!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Princess Sparkle on July 28, 2015, 06:57:53 PM: Amazing work! These are definitely two gorgeous additions to you collection! :lol:
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Ember1 on July 28, 2015, 09:02:38 PM: Shes super neat. Congrats!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: LadyGuinevere on July 29, 2015, 12:34:20 AM: Oh how fabulous! Thank you for sharing sll th pics and information :bigups:
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: ickykitana on July 29, 2015, 01:11:42 AM: Stunnng pony :lovey: Fascinating story

Thanks for sharing xx
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: buddyboymama on July 29, 2015, 02:14:22 AM: Wow! Those are an amazing piece of pony history. Congrats on winning them, and thanks for sharing!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: daffodil101 on July 29, 2015, 02:51:14 AM: They're amazing!! So stoked for your win, and thanks for sharing!! Its lovely that they both came to you together :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Bibinettepony on July 29, 2015, 05:03:11 AM: Major congrats! they are fabulous and great story too!! ^.^ ^.^
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: LadyPinwheel on July 29, 2015, 06:20:34 AM: Oh! wow! This is awesome!! Congrats for having them! And thank you so much for sharing all this information with all of us!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: wizzer218 on July 29, 2015, 08:44:41 AM: O man so jealous... Congratulations!!!.... If you EVER sell please please keep me in mind...I remember her..I love her!!!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Ponyland on July 29, 2015, 10:33:50 AM: Thank you everyone!! :lovey:

Blue Belle here is my most treasured pony now, as I love history, design and MLP in a combination! ;) I hope to write a book about this someday (with loooots of pictures). A friend of mine is an art director, and I'm a designer myself, so we are talking about this project a lot. He has already written a book about Star Wars pre-production packaging stuff.
(his website if you are interested: http://dearpublications.com (http://dearpublications.com)) and it was him who told me about the design process of toys. The difference in the MLP and Star Wars design process is that ponies are hollow due to the manufacturing process called rotocasting (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotational_molding), and the steel mold looks a bit different because of that, otherwise it is pretty much the same.

I'm a member in a secret group on Facebook who specializes in pre-production stuff from the 70s and 80s (buy/sell/trade and learn). And I hope to find more neat stuff there, Star Wars and GI Joe collectors are good at digging stuff up. ;) I have been promised pictures of things already sold to drool over.
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: ponycake on July 29, 2015, 10:37:30 AM: I've always considered asking about the whole creation process of a toy pony, this was nice. A book would be even better. :) As would be an interview with someone from Hasbro on it, although I guess they had some people talking about it at previous fairs it seems?
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Ponyland on July 29, 2015, 10:45:24 AM: Quote from: ponycake on July 29, 2015, 10:37:30 AM
I've always considered asking about the whole creation process of a toy pony, this was nice. A book would be even better. :) As would be an interview with someone from Hasbro on it, although I guess they had some people talking about it at previous fairs it seems?

I hope to meet with someone to interview someday. That would be like a dream come true! :D Sweden is a bit off, but I hope to at least visit a fair. I have been drooling over pictures on instagram from the last one!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Miss_Pompon on July 29, 2015, 12:33:26 PM: Amazing !
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: hathorcat on July 29, 2015, 01:12:56 PM: She is stunning! Congrats on such an amazing couple of ponies :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Whippycorn on July 29, 2015, 01:56:45 PM: Wow!!! They are truly awesome! An amazing piece of pony history to have in your collection!!! :cool:
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: apanda0622 on July 29, 2015, 02:09:27 PM: Wow that is amazing! At first glance of the auction pic, I did not realize she didn't have her original symbol. I see the seller lives in Rhode Island too ;)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Lady Starflower on July 29, 2015, 05:58:10 PM: Do you have any info about the seller? Like how they came to have these two ponies? That would be interesting too.

Also if you write a book that'd be soooo awesome and interesting!! I would definitely buy it ;)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Ponyland on July 30, 2015, 02:38:46 AM: Quote from: Lady Starflower on July 29, 2015, 05:58:10 PM
Do you have any info about the seller? Like how they came to have these two ponies? That would be interesting too.

Also if you write a book that'd be soooo awesome and interesting!! I would definitely buy it ;)

I wish I had more information. The seller sells lots and lots of stuff vintage stuff and toys, so I guess he just stumble upon things and have connections. I wanted to ask him lots of questions about the ponies, but first I wanted to know that they where shipped out before I started digging (as I really don't trust non-collector ebay sellers when it comes to making profits ;) ). And just a day after the pony got shipped out to me I got a message from the seller saying that he wanted to buy the pony back as he had been contacted by another buyer who missed the auction. He offered me $1000 for the pony... I'm guessing he got a really high offer for the pony. Lucky me the pony wasn't in his hands anymore, and it arrived safely! Otherwise I truly believe that he would have canceled the transaction claiming the pony got lost or something. :)

I felt a bit awkward to talk to him after that though! :huh:

I don't want to blame the other buyer who tried to make an offer, as I can be someone from here (who didn't want the pony to go missing in a obscure collection). :)

About the book, it would be so awesome to be able to share the MLP history with everyone! :blush: I do believe that this Blue Belle belongs to everyone in the pony community and shouldn't be hidden away! (And a book with gorgeous pictures will last hundreds of years, much longer than the ponies -if you don't drool to much on it ;) ).

Poor Cotton Candy already has a lot of brown marks from plastic breakdown, who knows how long she will last... But she will look great on a picture! Blue Belle is perfect though (just some slight yellowing from age)! None of them have any play wear. I will keep them in a cool and dark place with controlled humidity to preserve them. :)

I will borrow my college's studio and a really good camera, when the next semester starts, and take better pictures. My camera isn't that good.. :P
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Lady Starflower on July 30, 2015, 05:55:20 AM: Oh wow. Yeah that would make talking to the seller really awkward. Good thing the ponies were already in the mail! No doubt the seller would have cancelled the transaction. Glad they arrived safely to you.

A book is such a good idea, how exciting :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: lunar_scythe on July 30, 2015, 11:32:10 AM: congrats! I saw that auction and was watching it, but she went out of my price range. :) Glad it was someone from here who one her!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: baby_gusty on August 02, 2015, 10:43:16 PM: So interesting and fascinating! Thank you for sharing!! :)
I really like the doted version better than the symbols they got later on, looks more like real ponies :heart:
Huge congrats to both of them!!
Oh, and I guess you'll make some replicastand for them as the ad shows? ;)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Starfall on August 03, 2015, 12:29:44 AM: Thanks for sharing with us Ponyland!

I love learning about the steps before mass production - it's hugely interesting!

So glad that these ponies are saved for history.
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Callista11 on August 03, 2015, 02:20:02 PM: Congrats!! She is amazing!! :heart:
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Ponyland on August 04, 2015, 02:29:11 AM: Thanks again everyone! :lovey:

I'm so happy that I finally was able to show her and share them with you all! And that you like to hear about the design and manufacturing process! I'm a bit of a nerd about those things! :blush: :lol: I wish that I could own a original master mold to have on display beside Blue Belle. That would have been the coolest thing ever! :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Cide85 on August 04, 2015, 04:20:25 AM: She is very very pretty. ^^ Thank you for sharing and congrats!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: buttonso on August 04, 2015, 05:03:06 AM: That's so cool!! Thanks much for sharing, I love learning stuff like this! :biggrin:
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Tilly on August 06, 2015, 12:48:44 AM: They are wonderfull, thanks for sharing!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: WishBear on August 15, 2015, 01:32:20 PM: This is all so super interesting! Thank you for sharing. May I ask, did you have to pay much for Cotton candy, or were you the only one that realized that it might be a proto too? :D
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Ponyland on August 15, 2015, 01:37:17 PM: Quote from: WishBear on August 15, 2015, 01:32:20 PM
This is all so super interesting! Thank you for sharing. May I ask, did you have to pay much for Cotton candy, or were you the only one that realized that it might be a proto too? :D

She was a BIN of 10 dollar (I think, or maybe 13 dollar). I bought her after I won Blue Belle when looking trough what else the seller had. So none else had notised her. :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Lady Starflower on August 15, 2015, 08:04:25 PM: People probably thought she was just a plain old Cotton Candy lol
Good eye ;)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Taffeta on August 20, 2015, 10:41:18 AM: She's really pretty, congratulations. ANd she's really gone to the best home, since you're so interested in all of that stuff and will dig out all the bits of her story for everyone to share, rather than just put it on a shelf somewhere and ignore her.

I never heard of a seller who would try and buy back an item after selling it. Thank goodness he had already shipped it. I am absolutely not a fan of the people who think their collections > everyone else's and so they don't have to obey Ebay rules or respect the wins of other collectors. Wading in with a big offer for a closed auction is a bad thing to do, so I hope it wasn't someone from here.

Either way, you got your pony (and maybe another bargain!) so it all ended right :D.

Do write the book. And then write one on Swedish ponies. Promise. :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Carrehz on August 20, 2015, 02:34:12 PM: omg, they're amazing!! I think I like Bluebelle better with dots instead of stars, so pretty! Congrats on getting them both :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Dusky on August 23, 2015, 02:03:36 PM: This is so cool! And congratulations on getting them both. :D
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: achab1984 on August 25, 2015, 07:50:07 PM: She is very pretty! :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: shabbychicdee on November 01, 2015, 01:33:00 PM: oh wow im so so glad i found this post, some times i run out of time to venture over to the nirvana forum so this was a great find and really made my day.
this is truly exciting and very interesting, stories like this makes the arena a great place to be ;)
however i truly think this post should take some time over in the Corral part of the arena to be shared with lots more members here as i lot of us don't think to go the nirvana forum at times, hope you dont mind me saying.

so many peeps there would really appreciate the hybrid and prototypes stories and picture :biggrin:

btw i do really love the cotton candy spots. omg just imagine owning the whole set. wow. anyways you are very lucky and well done. huge congrats. my dream would be to be able to own such a thing like this one day.
i love this kind of thing, it was so exciting to hear of the collector pose sundance and the french blue belle. now this is really awesome.

anyways please mods can this share some time over in corral :D
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: mlpkatie on November 03, 2015, 03:22:53 PM: I have no clue what to say, i am just in a :shocked: and :dribble: mix
That is so cool, what great ponies to have in your collection!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: pinkkittywinks on November 04, 2015, 11:59:30 AM: Shabby I understand what you mean, it's such an exciting find! It really does show us a special part of pony history as well as the process used to create ponies :)

Please don't ever be shy about posting in the nirvana forum ^.^ I know it may seem exclusive, but everyone is welcome :)

There are often discussions about prototype ponies here, I think perhaps this subject gets discussed here more than in the corral :bigups:

Love pkw xxx
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Crystal-Sushi on December 30, 2015, 04:20:12 AM: Ponyland, if you were wanting to buy a G1 pony mold, there is someone on this forum (which I frequent) selling two G1 head molds (steel molds?); http://ghostofthedoll.co.uk/Forum/index.php?topic=4263.0 I just thought you might be interested :)
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Lady.Arachnia on December 31, 2015, 01:07:12 AM: Wow!!! This is so cool!!! And I'm happy also that a Pony Collector owns these, they belong to the Pony History!
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Diamond on January 02, 2016, 04:42:01 PM: Huge congrats, it is always awesome when a collector who likes to share gets something special like this gal and her buddy.

We where lucky enough at the first MLP Convention at the Hasbro headquarters to get to see the original mold for the Collectors Pose ponies. They also described the process and showed how a pony would have been pulled from the mold.
Title: Re: Blue Belle factory First Shot pony (huge post)
Post by: Tulips on January 04, 2016, 05:10:31 AM: These are some pretty special girls, congrats on owning such spectacular parts of pony history. :biggrin:
As much as I would love to own such treasures myself I am glad they are with a collector such as yourself.

Quote from: Crystal-Sushi on December 30, 2015, 04:20:12 AM
Ponyland, if you were wanting to buy a G1 pony mold, there is someone on this forum (which I frequent) selling two G1 head molds (steel molds?); http://ghostofthedoll.co.uk/Forum/index.php?topic=4263.0 I just thought you might be interested :)

I actually saw these go to auction on eBay some time ago. The earth pony mold sold, the unicorn did not at the time but may have by now. I remember that the earth pony is owned by a prominent collector but can't remember who...
edit: MustBeJewel owns her. :P
I have always wondered what happened to the unicorn.