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Messages - Taffeta
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14701
« on: March 09, 2015, 01:07:58 AM »
Wow. Thanks for all the info taffeta! We greatly appreciate your historical knowledge.
I would like to point out several uk protoypes have been found that dont match up to their proto pamphlets. The mgr in my siggy for example is a uk prototype as well as a painting time pony that i have in my collection. Both dont have pamphlet proof of their existance but are documented to be uk prototypes. There is and has always been a trend to assign variant pose ponies of unknown provenance to the UK, largely because ponies got shipped here and sold in odd ways at the end of the line. Something being found in the UK does not make it native, either, based on the amount of international trade between us and Europe. The blue heart Dazzleglow is a good example of ponies being labelled UK without them actually being sold here. There are odd ponies like my baby susie and LadyG's baby billie for whom there are still more questions than answers; my only remark in this debate is that Hasbro were unlikely to commission a prototype for a UK release in 1986/7 when the pony already existed and when they wound up releasing one the same as the US. It isn't financially viable. If we are talking about a projected variation for the UK second release, timescale and the production politics of the time make it unlikely, since HK diasappears from feet around this time. It tends to be something continued by US pony releases and so if she is a prototype, I would suggest the logical point of origin to be the USA. There are still prototypes like the Princess Brush and Grow ponies in Fizzy's pose that have yet to emerge from the US despite being publicised in commercials and despite the huge number of US collectors. I would be just as sceptical of Sunny Bunch being a UK prototype even if she was bought from a seller here. Market stalls in the middle 1990s sold US release ponies likr TAF babies in barely marked packages and we have seen a plethora of odd Princesses here but all in US box. The UK is a production dumping ground, but that is quite different from it being a UK prototype unless there exists some uniquely UK proven photographic evidence to say otherwise. Hi Loa  I'm still alive
14702
« on: March 08, 2015, 04:01:51 PM »
LadyG poked me about this, I was at Linnie's Sheffield meet too and if that had been there it would have been discussed. I don't remember any other get togethers at the time cos there were not so many Uk people. Linnie's meet was also later than 1997. 1997 was the first year I was online and the only other Uk people I remember being around then were Sel and Lily. Sel and I met up a few times but there were no meets in the Uk that long ago so maybe it was a more recent meet and she's mistaken about timescale. Sundance in the Uk was always in the shy pose and I am fairly confident that if this is a prototype it isnt native to the UK because the photo ads for each of the 2 releases also show shy pose prototypes. I think scans of the comic ads are still on my site. Edit -here http://www.etherella.com/mlpmedia/advert_ms2.htmlhttp://www.etherella.com/scrapbook/advert_ms1.htmlBe aware that Uk promotional drawings did not always render pose so faithfully as the US ones so I don't read much into that...also the Uk first had Megan and Sundance after the USA and so a prototype here would be unnecessary. Finally, the year that came out was also a year when HK generally didnt appear on hooves or had been removed from the mould....my UK Sundance is in front of me and she is NC. So if she did get to the Uk and is a prototype, IMO she must have travelled. I have never heard of her before, though, so can't add any more than that...
14703
« on: March 19, 2014, 06:45:59 AM »
Instead of spending that amount of money to decard them, you'd do better buying them, ebaying them at cost and then using the money you make to buy a really minty loose pony with all accessories and still have cash left over for chocolate at the end of it  Either that or trading them for a bunch of really minty loose ponies that you really want. $70-$80 seems a pretty fair price for them MOC but as soon as they're off the card then they're probably only worth $20 which means you'll have wasted your money. Spending $80 on a loose Paradise, even in mint condition with card...is a tad extreme. She's not that rare a pony. I think it's awesome there are still places where MOC ponies appear, though. Thank you for sharing your pictures xD. I have dreams like that sometimes, so it's nice to know that somewhere in the world it really happens.
14704
« on: March 19, 2014, 06:32:40 AM »
Before I start I should make it clear that I don't collect G2, 3 or 4 with any real seriousness. I have some of each, some of which are in pictures, but my passion is G1, has been since 1984 and always will be. So forgive the G1 bias in the following post. About 300 of our ponies are also in storage in the attic where I can't get to them (hence why photos on the Scrapbook remains permanently stalled...grr), as are all of my playsets from G1...but the ones that are in my room...these are some (not great) pics I took of my pony cupboard to freak out an online buddy the other week... I'll apologise in advance fo the fact they're really not very tidy at the moment. Lack of space is a big issue ><. On top of my TV: visitors can't see pics , please register or loginI still have a very old TV. On top of it live my very first pony, Windy, also quite old now, at age 30 (I had her when I was 2  ) and the little G3 G1 figures. On either side of Windy are the two versions of Baby Susie - the normal one in Ember's pose and the rare variant in Baby Blossom's. I wonder if anyone found one of these yet or if mine is still the only one... My Pony Cupboard. There really isn't enough space in here for all of them, and the SS ponies/winged wonders live in a different cabinet. As I said before, about 250-300 ponies are in storage. If you spot any obvious omissions from sets, its those that are in storage at the moment. My sister and I collected as a team. It's her 250 or so that are locked away. I think right now the only ones of hers she has down are her first pony Fizzy, and Crumpet...but they're not in the pictures. It's not possible to see all the ponies clearly in these images, but see who you can spot anyhow: visitors can't see pics , please register or loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or loginThere are some variants in here. My first trade with another online collector was for Mimic and Best Wishes, which was done in 1997...and we never looked back from that point. My Mint in Package Ponies. I downsized this a lot so most of the ponies I still have are older ponies, or in UK packaging, or novelties like Meezing and Hummelchen and Baby Wuerfelchen. My favourites are old ponies in UK packages, particuarly those from my childhood on UK packaging, but that's hard to do... visitors can't see pics , please register or loginThe Cabinet visitors can't see pics , please register or loginYou can't even see the bottom shelf of the cabinet at the moment. My Grandfather left me this when he died. My So Soft Ponies live here (I have all the SS in here except Crumpet, who is my sister's) as well as my flutter ponies (all of the ones in here have their wings), the Summer Wing and Windy Wing Ponies. My 2 ceramic ponies are here too while I decide what to do with them. Been trying to decide if I should sell them for ages. They're Peachy and Cherries Jubilee. My G4 ponies. visitors can't see pics , please register or login I don't really go in for these that much, and these are mostly souvenir ponies to be honest. Rarity, Applejack and the purple pegasus whose name eludes me came from Porvoo, Finland, when I was there a couple of years ago, as did the moose they are sitting with. Starswirl, Dewdrop Dazzle and Pinkie Pie came from a daytrip to Lille while I was studying in London. The two tropical coloured ones were from Hamleys when I first moved to London for my MA. Rainbow Dash came to my MA graduation as my mascot, since I graduated my first degree with a G3 Rainbow Dash bought for me by one of my best friends. I like Sunset Shimmer because of her colour scheme, so I have a few versions of her. Twilight and Fluttershy came from other forays out. My G3 Ponies...in a box, somewhere xD. I also don't have a picture of my Dream Beauties right now. I think there's only one of these I don't have, because my sister fell in love with her (Skyflier?) and so I let her have it even though she doesn't really like them in general.) That's my pony collection, such as it is. Again, I apologise for the fact that, right now, they are not in a very displayed state
14705
« on: March 19, 2014, 05:59:25 AM »
I always find it fun when my students start talking about MLP too. Mine are older - 16-19 and doing an IT diploma - but for their flash animation two of the girls were talking about using Rarity and Rainbow Dash as their subjects and it ended in a whole conversation between them and me about how new ponies were influenced by old ones and so on. I still find it very weird that teenagers talk about MLP like it's a fact or normal teen life these days. When I was their age, I didn't really talk about my pony collecting because in 1998, it wasn't cool to like MLP. And now I have students with MLP desktop backgrounds and there's at least one student at college who takes an Applejack plushie everywhere. So your grade 3/4 students - this is where they'll be in a few years from now
14706
« on: March 16, 2014, 08:43:32 AM »
Anime actually changed my life. That sounds overdramatic but it's still true. Seven, eight years ago, I was getting back into my first ever anime, which was Tenchi Muyou. A friend from that community recommended I watch Fushigi Yuugi. It was the first anime I watched in Japanese, and it inspired me to learn Japanese. Now, seven years down the line, I have a Masters Degree in PreModern Japanese Literature, with a Distinction in Advanced Modern Japanese. I am teaching myself Mandarin, and saving up funds to go back to do a PhD on Mediaeval Japanese Warriors and their representation in traditional literature. I'm not of the school of thought that believes there's an age range for anime or manga. If you enjoy it, read it. I have a lot of series I like, and some I've got over, and some I'm still very much attached to. Saiyuki, Harukanaru Toki no Naka De, Saiunkoku Monogatari...Fushigi Yuugi, of course...and a bunch of others are series that I feel a close connection to. Especially Haruka - because if Yuugi got me involved in learning Japanese language, Haruka introduced me to the concept of Japanese history and the Genpei Era, an area which I now look at with a very academic eye, rather than a fangirlish one. For me, I don't outgrow things so long as they can open me up to new things. I now want to get into Japanese Academia. Without that encounter seven years ago, I dunno what I'd be thinking or doing now. I wouldn't be saving. I probably wouldn't have lived in London for a year. I wouldn't be able to read/speak modern Japanese to a fairly fluent level, nor would I have ever learned to read Mediaeval Japanese, nor would I have encountered the awesome people I studied with for that year while I was doing my MA, and I definitely wouldn't have a towering pile of academic books in Japanese about various warrior clans from 12th Century Japan. (You know, as you do). So anime and manga are probably things I'll never totally leave behind. I'm also a big fan of Japanese voice artists, so that helps keep me involved I don't think that it's something that's enclosed in its own little bubble - it just depends on how deep it infects you and where it takes you forward. I never watch anime in English now, and not with subs either if I can avoid it...because for me it's all part of the cultural experience, and the more I learn about Japanese history and culture, the more things I appreciate in the anime...
14707
« on: March 16, 2014, 08:26:53 AM »
Ah, a UK related topic  I can reply, at least from the point of view of the SS/NSS element and variations. I'll leave the care and customising technique questions to someone with skills... Cupcake and Truly are complicated. They are grey areas, finding actual examples of the NSS ones is quite hard. I remember Joss (I think it was Joss) posting some images of Truly a long time ago, and then someone in (I think) Scandinavia had a backcard with a pony so there are some pictures floating around of the non-flocked ones, but I would guess that it's quite hard to tell them apart. Only with Truly, you'd see fur evidence in the hoof holes, probably. Cupcake...a lot harder I imagine. Though if you're in Scandinavia, which you seem to be, the likelihood possibly goes up of you finding a real one... With the others, the set were sold as "Movie Star" ponies in Europe or just part of My Little Pony here in the UK. Here's Shady MIP: visitors can't see pics , please register or loginI had Shady as a kid, and friends had North Star, Wind Whistler without flocking, because we didn't properly get SS ponies here. Shady is a very very different pink from the SS. Much more vivid. Much brighter. You wouldn't confuse the two. North Star and Wind Whistler - I think the non flocked are a more pastel body colour under the flocking (you see the problem with Cupcake? White pony...). Both are estimating the ss colour scheme, without the flock. Wind Whistler also has a slightly different symbol colour scheme. Not sure about North Star off hand. Posey, Cherries Jubilee...in the Uk at least, Posey from the NSS line has a magenta symbol. I think that this is quite similar to the SS version, though I haven't done a direct comparison. Cherries Jubilee - the NSS has naturally straight hair, and a dark symbol. You can see Second Edition Cherries Jubilee (1986 My Little Pony set, UK) mint on her UK card at the bottom of this page: http://www.etherella.com/scrapbook2/cherries_jubilee.htmShe is different from the original 1985 edition (known in the UK as Groom and Style) because she has not got curled hair and she has a paler symbol. You can probably see the comparison though. 1987/Movie Star Gusty - her symbols are not glittery, I think that the SS is more prone to being slightly cream colour, even deflocked, whereas I think Gusty is more pure white (though she can discolour). I feel like I forgot someone. Ah, Magic Star. Well, she's a whole other pose completely, so that's quite easy... OH! And Buttons. Buttons is a whole other problem as there are 2 versions of her. One has the same symbol as the SS and the other has a symbol more like that of Baby Buttons, with buttons and stars. Both were sold at the same time in the same packages so they belong in the same set - the reason for the variation is unknown. It's possible that one was designed for European release, with the more delicate symbol, and the other was from left overs that weren't flocked for some reason. Either way Buttons in the UK was always drawn with the more delicate Buttons and Stars symbol in comics and so on. SS ponies generally seem to be made of harder plastic - at least in my experience, they tend to be less squishy. This is the section for them from my site...youc an see some of the comparisons and whatever by clicking on individual pages, as well as the cards and stuff: http://www.etherella.com/scrapbook2/1987_mylittlepony.htmCupcake and Truly were sold on UK design cards, but were not sold in the UK. Paradise was meant to be sold with no flocking here, there's an advert for her, but she never was. There is a Brazilian one, but I think that's all. Lofty and Ribbon were also in our comics but not sold here without flocking either. None of the second or third sets of SS ponies were sold as deflocked.
14708
« on: March 15, 2014, 02:45:10 PM »
I am pretty sure I have Shell-Belle. I have just been through my G3 with a fine tooth comb with the intention of selling off some for space, but I have been scuppered by Ebay's limiting listings rule so haven't listed any ponies yet. Yep, I do. visitors can't see pics , please register or loginThat's her, right? Box is hers too. If you're interested, let me know and maybe we can work something out..? I don't have any of the others named on your list but all the images of my G3 are in that same directory (ebay_gen3) so feel free to look if there's anything else too. (I'm in the UK...)
14709
« on: March 15, 2014, 02:38:22 PM »
I even found Mimic at a carboot sale in the UK. Twice. Where she wasn't sold. So yeah.
I think part of the thing with Mimic is that there is an accepted value so people pay it. I sold one of those Mimics I found for $50 if I remember right, on Ebay...and that wasn't my price, it was Ebay's.
I still consider Mimic one of my favourite ponies. SHe was my first ever trade, and I love my Mimic to death. But whether she is or isn't rare has always been a question. I think she's rarer than some others, she's not as rare as she is supposed to be. But it might also be regional. Remember, she's not MEANT to be available in all areas, and she was in the animation, where others were not. It's quite an endearing cartoon. Plus I think that someone said once that in a set of Y5 Twinkle Eyes sent to store, there was one Mimic in a box whereas two Lockets, etc. So she is more rare than her set in terms of production. But a lot of it is collector affection, too.
Same goes for the Mountain Boys. Look at Ice Crystal vs Thundercloud. Yes, Thundercloud is probably more common because of his colouring, but Ice Crystal is not significantly more rare than Thundercloud to command such a wide price range (at least last time I looked at these two it was the case). Fans love Ice Crystal's colour scheme, so they bid higher, so his net value increases...and so on.
One more thing - Ebay is not a reflection of how rare or common any pony is on the general second hand market. People are more likely to list a pony they know is valuable than one who they know isn't. Mimic probably comes up more on Ebay than she is found at thrift stores, because she's easy cash when people are short of money and sell from collections. Same goes for most "rare" ponies. The market online and what is considered rare doesn't generally match the market in real thrift store or carboot sale terms.
14710
« on: March 11, 2014, 02:57:24 PM »
Everywhere I go I hear moans about this system.
So yesterday I was looking at stuff (complete other community, Jem items) and I found something that in conversion cost was about 3p below the threshold that Uk customs starts charging. And sure enough, there's the GSP charge of $13.06 slapped in there DESPITE the fact the auction price is below the threshold.
That's not paying UK customs anything, so obviously it's paying handling charges for Ebay's chosen people.
I'm really glad that a lot of sellers have been opted into this without having a choice in the matter. I've been buying and selling with the US since 98 and I remember getting frustrated with people not shipping to the UK but honestly, I'd prefer "US Only" auctions to "Shipping abroad with GSP" options.
So essentially it lets a seller ship an item without leaving their home, at the financial expense of the buyer who then has to pay customs duty, handling and commission for ebay, shipping cost - (every auction I was looking at for Jem had top whack shipping cost so no reductions there) and the item price?
I'm fine taking my chance with import duty. Kinda used to it by now. But I really don't want to pay extra so that a seller somewhere doesn't have to go write three or four words on a customs form and physically visit a post office. Maybe I'm just unsympathetic but over here, in general, you have to visit a PO to send anything, UK or otherwise, so it's pretty much the same. I also know most US sellers aren't like that, so that's why the prevalence of this disturbed me. But if it was an automatic opt-in, that explains tons. (I'm specifying US because far as I know only US ebay is imposing this).
Saw one auction where postage was $50 and import duty $102. I'd rather be charged import duty by the proper authorities at UK C&E, not by an auction site's estimation. It's like they choose your courier service then demand you pay for it on top of your postage charges - as opposed to giving you the right to have it posted domestic mail.
Hopefully it will prove so unpopular it will get phased out. I heard of one buyer in Canada who got charged customs fees on receipt as WELL as paying this, too - so it's by no means foolproof. And I've heard countless claims of items coming a week later than they normally would via the ordinary method, too.
Basically, if sellers don't want to ship out of country, then let them ship US only. It's fine that way. No reason why we international buyers should pay more money for a seller to make a wider profit if they're not happy to go to the trouble of posting the item themselves - and IMO after reading this thread I can see even less reason to wrap internationally friendly sellers up in all this silly red tape when it's really not necessary...
/end rant mode >.>.
14711
« on: March 11, 2014, 02:42:32 PM »
Stories are also often different between UK and US release. Just wanted to slip that in there. Especially later years where US has one story per set and the UK kept individual stories for each pony till about 1992.
And the FactFile which was released in the UK has a lot of UK backcard stories for ponies years 1-4/5 (with a few that are abridged US stories for the ones not sold here...)
14712
« on: February 19, 2012, 07:15:09 AM »
To think, the Mountain boys cost about £5.99 when new....
In my case, rather than go back and buy a whole ton of stuff I didn't have, I'd rather go back and make sure I didn't throw out things like my MB pony cards and kept all the bits and pieces that I lost.
My area was really poor for ponies, but I guess that if push came to shove the two things I'd want to bring back from the UK of the past are Princess Pearl and Fiery MIB and Nibbles and Dibbles MIB, just because I wanted them so much as a child...
The other MBs would be tempting, too, but I think I'd rather have what I threw away than a bunch of new stuff otherwise...
The geek in me would also want to take a notebook and pen and make copious lists/take photos of everything that was available where and when to settle a lot of age old questions about Hasbro's distribution...
14713
« on: February 18, 2012, 05:50:38 PM »
And Taffeta, no twist- and there's much you didn't know about it, and probably more that's been forgotten- which is a good thing. [SNIP] If you really want to know, I'll write it out for you in PM.
PM appreciated and responded to. It clears up some things but not others - and I guess there's stuff you weren't aware of either, so. As you said, hopefully in the past, though, now...its a long time ago. Incidentally, I googled, and the MOC Mimic site is still accessible...not sure if I should link to it here xD but if you google, you'll find it.
14714
« on: February 18, 2012, 04:52:03 AM »
Wow...I just realized...if I was 16 when I got into online pony fandom, and I'm 32 now....I've been part of the online MLP scene for half my life.
I was coming to the same kind of realisation earlier this week - I'm 30 on Thursday, and I made my first forays online at fifteen...that is quite a scary thought ><. What's really interesting about this thread is the number of people who have changed their name. I know most of the old names of people but wouldn't have realised who they were because of the new ones. Mainly because of ponypeople mailing list perhaps..? Surfstar, I totally remember you as TAF Seashell xD. And Mysteagic, I remember you as Rainribbon too, as well as the Ryou-ouki thing for some reason...maybe because I saw Tenchi Muyou around that time too...hrm. Taffeta! I remember looking up to you so much back in the day haha. I used to think you were some MLP Goddess.  You still hold that image to me to this day! Yeeps o.O. I guess you didn't read too many of my rant posts then >.> I was pretty well known for typing before speaking and for rushing into situations. I was too young, too naive and gullible, and hadn't been diagnosed autistic yet, so I could be pretty high maintenance and I did get manipulated into situations without realising until MUCH later what had actually taken place. Learning curve, ne... It's really nice to be remembered, though, especially fondly (rather than as that brat who typed too much, which I think is how most people saw me back then xDD). *gives cookies* =D. What I loved most about being around at that time was being able to be involved in the "international discovery" of the UK MLPs, which is the same kind of thing the Nirvana experts are involved in doing now. Discovering "new" pony variations, and helping publicise those to the rest of the pony comm was something I was really passionate about doing...that and actually being able to obtain for the first time ponies I'd grown up knowing about but which weren't sold over here. I'd like to think that even if I ranted and was tactless and sometimes did stuff people didn't understand, I did something positive with the UK pony info at least. I must try and get the rest of the scrapbook fixed up when my course is done, too. Of course, it would help if my webhost hadn't taken down a bunch of the new stuff I added last Sept without warning...sigh... Incidentally, ponypeople mailing list is still so ingrained into my memory that I still call pony collectors "ponypeople" even now...
14715
« on: February 17, 2012, 04:24:15 PM »
Oh welllllll, that Church of MOC Mimic was a joke that came out of Ponypalooza. And the long and short of it was that Icefeather (who made the Mimic thing as a joke) and Taffeta didn't get on well Erm...pardon o.O. How did I get into a discussion on the MOC Mimic? Sugarberry, you seem to have got your history in a twist. Icefeather and I fell out because she wanted me to take Italian ponies off my website and I didn't see why I should. I didn't really like the methods she used to try and get me to concede, and that was why we initially fell out, at least as far as I know. She may know different...but it was a long time ago, and honestly, it had such a deep impact on me for various reasons that I'd rather not drag it up again now. It definitely had nothing to do with the church of the MOC Mimic, though, of that I'm sure. I remember telling her I thought the idea was silly, but I don't remember getting involved in that fight. The pony hierarchy was pretty imposing if it wanted to be. I'm pretty sure I wasn't a part of it, though...at least, not in an influential sense.
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