I found the 40th anniversary Collector ponies at Toys R Us in Canada today. The boxes are cute but the ponies are the same as 5 years ago.
I found the 40th anniversary Collector ponies at Toys R Us in Canada today. The boxes are cute but the ponies are the same as 5 years ago.So they don't have the "40" symbols that were shown in promo photos after all? Damn, that's a shame - I know a lot of people thought they looked tacky/lame, but I liked the altered symbols - okay, they WERE silly looking, but I appreciated there being some obvious way to differentiate them from the previous BF release. :( I wanted to get 40th Cotton Candy to add to my CC army.
Three of the four Celestial Ponies have listings on Amazon now (not active yet though). :) Though they are using pictures of custom ponies for some reason (maybe as placeholders while the "real" photos are finalized?) so just be aware that the poses and colors may vary from the finished product.
Although only three ponies are listed, the description confirms that it's a set of four ponies. They are listed at $14.99 USD each. :) I have heard that this set will be sold in Fall 2023. But in any case it appears it is definitely going to come out!
That's disgusting :/
Plus it's just stupid and misleading, aren't Basic Fun's version in different poses and such? It's gonna be the Running Press Firefly thing all over again... but yeah... very Not Cool of them to steal a custom photo :(
yeah, I was wondering if it was an error on Amazon's part too - or if maybe whoever put up the listing just googled for an image and used it without bothering to check if it was what they actually wanted it - sad to say it wouldn't be the first time I've seen THAT happen.
I'm not necessarily blaming Basic Fun for it; like Flitter I was wondering if it was a case of "we were using this for inspiration/a general proof of concept/etc, and whoops, it got put into the wrong folder and now Amazon have it". which if that's the case... I'm not annoyed that they've *seen* the customs, you know? hell, if I was at BF I'd probably have gone looking for fan interpretations of the designs too - see if there's actually interest in them being made, get some inspiration, etc... I'm just annoyed Pandabear's photo wound up on Amazon! :/
Then again, I've seen Amazon use a place holder photo of a beauty product for an upcoming Transformer toy.
Then again, I've seen Amazon use a place holder photo of a beauty product for an upcoming Transformer toy.
Really? :wow: I rarely use Amazon so I didn't know that this sort of thing happened. Is it a regular occurrence?
Love pkw xxx
It’s possibly more someone at Amazon’s fault than Basic Fun.
I’ve been seeing that a lot with Rainbow High lately that early classified mock up images are being posted as listings months before release date. Even with obvious watermarks across them. That image might have been something they showed retailers as an example of what they were trying to do or used as a reference to show their designers the idea. Still bad to steal but I bet that wasn’t intended by basic fun to be used in that listing at all. The customizer it right to be frustrated but the Celestial Pony designs are Hasbro’s. So, for her to say that BF’s designs are too close to hers is a little unwarranted imo because, like her and BF are using the same source image. I’ve seen the Basic Fun protos in a video and don’t really see them as exact copies.
It’s possibly more someone at Amazon’s fault than Basic Fun.
I’ve been seeing that a lot with Rainbow High lately that early classified mock up images are being posted as listings months before release date. Even with obvious watermarks across them. That image might have been something they showed retailers as an example of what they were trying to do or used as a reference to show their designers the idea. Still bad to steal but I bet that wasn’t intended by basic fun to be used in that listing at all. The customizer it right to be frustrated but the Celestial Pony designs are Hasbro’s. So, for her to say that BF’s designs are too close to hers is a little unwarranted imo because, like her and BF are using the same source image. I’ve seen the Basic Fun protos in a video and don’t really see them as exact copies.
But at that toy show, two of Basic Fun's Celestial ponies were in the same pose the customizer chose for the ponies. To me that's a very close match which wasn't necessary. Because the concept art from Hasbro is just drawings showing the ponies in non-existing poses, right? So I can understand the customizer is upset not just about their pictures being on Amazon but also about the Basic Fun ones being so similar.
Now if they were knocking off a fan-original design... Like if they made a pony that was "very close" to (say) Flufflepuff.
I do wonder who was at fault for the initial mixup (you would have had to EDIT those photos to get the stock images used as placeholders...)
I do wonder who was at fault for the initial mixup (you would have had to EDIT those photos to get the stock images used as placeholders...)
Yes, that was my question too, it's not like they just did a quick copy + paste... >_> And I'm a bit confused which one's Nova and which one's Aurora, given they're still using the stolen pic for Nova and they both have the same design.... argh x)
The video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UFV-jemW24&ab_channel=xCanadensis) has so much GREAT info, seriously watch it if you have a minute!
Yeah, I think the write-in campaign to Basic Fun a few years ago is how they learned about the Celestials! In the video the Basic Fun rep said something like "We are listening when collectors, people who love the brand, write us notes". Huuuuge thanks to everyone who wrote in, the community really made this happen! (Well, the community plus Basic Fun!) BIG THANK YOU to everyone who wrote in! We did it!
The girl making the video also mentions that, even though she had a press pass to the event, most companies simply would not let her in their booths and some were rude about it . . . but Basic Fun welcomed her in and gave her a tour and were nice. Which is an attitude that goes well with MLP and Care Bears. <3
The Basic Fun rep talked about how they are planning on Amazon being the main distributor, but the Target buyer hadn't come buy yet so possibly they would want them too.
The Celestial pony box is a very early mock up, so early that it doesn't even have pictures of ponies on the back. But this is what the side looks like:
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So, I don't think the finished box will show the white pony four times (unless they REALLY want you to collect only her, lol), I think those are just placeholder pictures. To me this suggests they will release the entire set of four ponies.
Here's the front of the box, isn't it lovely . . .
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How do you see the pics on Amazon? I tried looking them up using anything I could think of and nothing comes up when I try (Lots of Basic Fun pony stuff does, just not these). I wanted to see if the ponies have their names in the listings or if they all just say Celestial ponies.
Ponyfan
Nice to finally see stock photos!same here, i was thinking the same, tinsel in hair, pearl on body, i would put glitter on the head thingy's.
I don't hate them, but I do think they're much more boring than I would expect for such an anticipated release. The manes are way too short and I think the colors should have been a little lighter, maybe a pearl on the body or tinsel in the hair. A little sad the Flower Fantasy Ponies were cancelled in favor of these!
Still getting them, but definitely will be rehairs for me!
Also, why are the white one's marking so invisible lol? Much preferred the blue swirls on the prototype.
The only thing that maybe isn't is the names, which may have been taken from collector customs,
It really does worry me that this might have far-reaching repercussions. Hasbro are honestly VERY easygoing and generous with us (I don't think "generous" is quite the word I want, but I can't think of a better one x_x) when it comes to customs. I mean, they have to know about HQG1C by now. The only time they've EVER stepped in is when things start affecting them. Like that G4 fighting game that got shut down, I think the consensus there was that that was getting too "big" for a fangame? And I believe back in the day they asked Aikarin (I think?) to take down some of their custom images because they were toeing the line too much - IIRC they didn't even have a problem with the customs in general, they just didn't like the ones that were in custom packaging, since that was deemed too "close" to Hasbro's own product.
They've always been happy to let our customs and other fanprojects coexist with their official stuff... I really hope that doesn't change. This just feels like poking the hornets' nest IMO :s The indirect call for a boycott in particular stood out to me. These are Hasbro's designs!!
And just to reiterate, I am and always have been wholeheartedly against the use of PB's photos, that's just not on at all. But everything else, sorry, I just see more harm than good coming out of all of this.
My understanding the the C&D letter written by Panda to BF is the unauthorised use of her photographs on Amazon. This is summed up at the end of the letter written by Panda under "Artists Expectations". The likeness of two of Panda's customs to the two made by BF is a "furthermore", rather than the main focus of her letter, which is the unauthorised use of her photographs.
Love pkw xxx
When the toy fair pictures were first revealed it was Panda's interpretation that came to my mind, the fact her actual customs and photos were then used as stock images over multiple online stores made it all the more obvious. Technicalities aside, I don't think it's ok to use her photographs in any capacity without her permission and I'm glad she's done something about it 👏Honestly, I think the blue pony in that pose looks a lot like the original artwork and it makes sense if more than one thought of it that way because there aren't a lot of ways to interpret it: http://mylittlewiki.org/w/images/4/41/Fairy-bright-ponies.jpg
Meanwhile the limited molds argument sounds like a stretch to me when they had no trouble reproducing the Bubbles pose, Moondancer pose, or Fizzy pose which are unlikely to be used again in the future.
My understanding the the C&D letter written by Panda to BF is the unauthorised use of her photographs on Amazon. This is summed up at the end of the letter written by Panda under "Artists Expectations". The likeness of two of Panda's customs to the two made by BF is a "furthermore", rather than the main focus of her letter, which is the unauthorised use of her photographs.
Love pkw xxx
Yeah, but it was unwise to include it in the letter.
And she has directly accused them of stealing in her IG post and in this thread - which gives broader context to the letter, and is accessible to literally anyone who might look for it.
Meanwhile the limited molds argument sounds like a stretch to me when they had no trouble reproducing the Bubbles pose, Moondancer pose, or Fizzy pose which are unlikely to be used again in the future.
Only the concept art seems to have been produced but never the actual ponies. They are often referred to as the Celestial ponies, but Hasbro's trademarked name for the set was the Fancy Swirl ponies.
We also don't know how many poses BF went through when trying to settle on their versions of this set. Did they try with Bubbles or Bow Tie poses?Oh man, Celestials in these poses would be amazing, though.
I made the Celestial ponies tooI love that you made them shimmery!
When the toy fair pictures were first revealed it was Panda's interpretation that came to my mind, the fact her actual customs and photos were then used as stock images over multiple online stores made it all the more obvious. Technicalities aside, I don't think it's ok to use her photographs in any capacity without her permission and I'm glad she's done something about it 👏
Meanwhile the limited molds argument sounds like a stretch to me when they had no trouble reproducing the Bubbles pose, Moondancer pose, or Fizzy pose which are unlikely to be used again in the future.
It does look like Basic Fun are the ones that sent out the stolen photos - the C&D letter included a photo of an advert that BF sent out to a UK stockist and that had PB's customs on it too. Although I'm not clear on if that advert was actually sent out to buyers or what... I'm a bit confused as to where that comes into it to be honest. But it does seem that it's not just Amazon that had those photos, anyway.
Other than that I agree 100% with everything you said LAW!
I feel like given BF had their own image mocked up for the toy fair, it wouldn't make sense to use something that looked drastically different to promote specifically the white/blue pony with pink hair. It would be a design step backwards which seems odd.
The issue has been solved, but the result is none of your business at all. I know how to react here properly too in the future so please stop "worrying" about my health.
Raising that concern wasn't creating drama or overreacting
hindsight moralising is disingenuous.
but I don’t love seeing folks speculating a potential Hasbro blowback situation where we (as a fandom) blame anyone but Hasbro. If Hasbro shuts down a collector… I’m not on Hasbro’s side there, LOL.
I honestly don't think anyone posted here (on either side of the debate) with any ill will towards anyone. I think everyone wanted to do the best with protecting BPC and the wider community, with raising red flags and risk, and that subsequently discussions around some of those issues became more detailed.
How does it not look like you’re casting blame on PB if the conversation of “potential backlash from Hasbro and BF as a result of this C&D” is happening in parallel with arguments about whether or not she is wrong for accusing them of stealing her work (a debate that, from my perspective, was way less polite to PB than it should have been)?
I don’t want people reading to think we’re simply going to toss them under the bus if this happens again, to make sure we keep Hasbro/BF happy so we keep getting new ponies.
Well sure, if you go into threads assuming bad faith, you're gonna see that. *shrug*
Honestly I can't see any of what you're getting at, sorry. I thought the conversation was perfectly civil and fair... heck I'd have been the first to speak up if I thought anything was toeing the line. A lot of the discussion didn't even directly mention/reference PB, and when she WAS directly mentioned it was almost always with the sidenote of support for the photo thing. Serena, you didn't even speak up until after the situation had apparently been resolved this morning - if you have such strong feelings on the subject then why not say something earlier...?
Heh, I thought you didn't want us speculating on potential repercussions this thread could have? :P
if you have such strong feelings on the subject then why not say something earlier...?
I'll just say again that I wasn't "tossing anyone under the bus"
once again I 100% supported the photos being taken down.
Do I think the accusations of theft were silly, yes, do I think a C&D was a major overreaction
and more likely to lead to Very Bad Things
(again- I was worried it could come back on Pandabear herself - you keep painting this narrative of "you guys only care about new ponies!!" and I have no idea where you're getting that from??
Let's not screw up future releases for the rest of the community by throwing a hissy fit over designs that were copied from official art. Because that's rather hypocritical and frankly it would make us look super ungrateful.
I hope all of this doesn't scare Basic Fun off from making more original characters later.
I was impressed at how civil and thought-out the discussion was up to this point.
But at the same time I admit I disagree with the notion of deleting the last few pages. To me that smacks of censorship, thought control, etc. How does that saying go... "those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it". The idea of just pretending the last few pages didn't happen doesn't sit well with me.
And that's all I have left to say about this