Taffeta - that looks just like the Entertainer I was in on Monday! Only difference is your Fashion Squad EQGs are in a box

It's sad that the most variety I've seen lately is the old stock Fashion Squads and some ancient G4s that have suddenly popped up at TK Maxx (the articulated ones? not sure what set these are, but Miss Pommel is one of them).

Look at the choice! You can get a little Sunny, a big sunny or a big sunny with wings! Wow. And is that maybe a poseable sunny as well? I can't believe it 

I think FiM's success was one of those miracle hits that you can't ever replicate. One of those "right place, right time" kind of things. Lauren Faust was a name most animation fans would instantly recognize - I know my reaction was "Ooh, Lauren's on this? Cool" when I first heard about it - I think that brought a lot of people in. I 100% think that the show coinciding with the rise of social media, and Tumblr's heyday, accounts for a lot of its popularity too. (I also think this is why Homestuck was such a hit, but that's going a bit off-topic... ) Something about it just clicked with that crowd and made it spread more than I think it would've otherwise. Plus the very simplified design/aesthetic/etc compared to previous gens makes it easier/more appealing perhaps to make fanart of? (horses are hard to draw - even stylized ones like G1-3... G4's very stylized, simplified designs are a lot easier in comparison. this isn't a knock on G4's style btw, just a comparison) people love a bandwagon, making ponysonas is fun and easy, I think that helped too. (I know what I mean but I'm not sure I'm explaining it well... I'm not sure how to put this into words :s)

But yeah, I'm not saying I think FiM would ever have been a flop, but I think the level of popularity it enjoyed was largely the result of everything falling into place at just the right time. I don't think ANY follow-up would ever have been as successful because of that.

I think the only way they might have succeeded would have been to rip up everything from FIM and do something TOTALLY different. It would've been a risk, but at the same time, establishing it on it own merits rather than as a comparative media to G4 would have been a better move.

I agree.

eBay really isn't the same as it used to be The days of detailed photos and descriptions are mostly gone, sadly. You do still get some sellers that put in the same amount of effort but a lot of them are moving to social media and such... it really sucks

It's not just you, Taffeta, I'm not a fan of most boy dolls either. I agree, it's the hair, or lack thereof. Neighthan's my favourite specifically because of his lovely long ponytail

Out of the ones listed in the poll? Blind bags, though I'd definitely have voted for G3 Ponyvilles and/or Equestria Girls if they'd been options ^^ I loved Equestria Girls, and Ponyvilles were such fun! I really need to get back to collecting those.

I love the G4 blind bags (not too crazy about the blind bag concept in general, but the MLP ones were cheap + had codes/windows so I didn't mind them), I just wish they'd used even a little of the creativity displayed in the blind bags, for the brushable line... the only thing I don't like about them is how much they took over G4 as a whole. :/ Well, that and the silly practice of splitting the waves in two for the UK after a while, that was ridiculous... took us forever to get the second half of the wave, and they'd always end up clogging up the shelves for months... never did see the last few waves because everywhere near me was still overrun with the damn Halloween blind bags +++ but apart from that, I loved the G4 blind bags - heck, I was just updating my wishlist for the ones I'm missing the other day- so they get my vote :>

Petites are a bit too small and fiddly for my taste... I like small things in general, but maybe not THAT small. Takaras just aren't my thing. And I've never cared for more realistic horse toys (colours aside :p) so Dream Beauties are out. I don't mind the Crossovers, I still want to get the Lite Brite pony, I just wish their faces hadn't been so... melty...

I feel kind of mean saying "16 y/o deviantART backstory" now I think it came out a bit more condescending-sounding than I intended - let me just clarify - I didn't mean to put down those sort of characters. I find Lenore's basic backstory endearing :B

The whole "Omg they can't name Robecca after Rebecca cuz their races don't match!!!1" thing is ridiculous. Especially since it might not even have been her idea (heck I'd put money on it NOT being her idea, I've noticed that's usually the case when a character's named after one of the creators/cast/crew/etc - one of the other crew did it as a homage). MH had quite a few characters named after members of the creative team.

I think Rebecca privates her Instagram fairly often? I checked it back when they first announced Lenore (to see if she'd posted any more pics of her) and it was private, and I seem to recall noticing her account going on and off private before. Maybe she just goes private whenever there's a new release in general to stop from getting swamped with messages, I dunno.

I want to make a few things clear: Lenore is not a self-insert. She is an original character similar to the Off-White dolls. Nobody said "how are these supermodel characters gonna end up at Monster High?" They are one-offs like Lenore. They're just dolls, they didn't get diaries either, just a small fact sheet such as what monster they are and what their names are.
I think a lot of people got confused by the "brand new character for G1" thing and are now judging much harsher. G1 is getting new comic books and novels, it's not dead. So Lenore could make an appearance in those but I doubt it.

The Off-White dolls are collab dolls though, Lenore's a 100% Mattel-only creation. Can't speak for others but that's why she feels different to me... I was (pleasantly) surprised to see the Off-White dolls were given names, I didn't expect that (I thought they'd just be "Off-White x MH #1", a la Barbie), but to me they're just a separate collab thing like the Skullectors, or... I dunno, the Zombie Gaga doll from back in the day. They were made in conjunction with another company so they're never going to be "proper" MH characters, they're not going to show up in any future G1 stories or whatever. (unless the Off-White peeps want to do a collab there too, I guess, but... you get what I mean They can't ever be a proper/meaningful part of the canon)

But Lenore's entirely owned by Mattel, they could do whatever they want with her, there's no indication she *isn't* part of the classic G1 canon we all know and love. They could totally come out tomorrow and say "Hey, we're doing a graphic novel starring Lenore!". I think that's why she's getting a different reception (I guess would be the word) to, say, the Off-Whites. (NOT that the vile abuse you're describing is at all justified.)

I can understand fans being legitimately critical of adding new characters to G1 when G1 is essentially no longer the core of the line. That's not the same as being jerks, of course, but my own reaction was, but why does G1 need a new ghost character when it's not really an active toyline? Why should a collector care about a character that didn't exist in G1 enough to pay that kind of money?

Also this. It's weird to me since there's a good amount of G1 characters that *didn't* ever get dolls, so if they wanted to make a new character, wouldn't it have made more sense to do one of those instead...? Unless this is their way of seeing if people are interested in new G1 characters, I suppose... doesn't entirely make sense to me, but we all know companies work in their own, mysterious ways

The link works To post it directly on here you'd just need to put

[img][/img]
tags around the URL.

They're beautiful, thanks for sharing! I don't think I've ever seen a collector with the pram before :O

Honestly I really don't understand most modern social media things either. I feel so old saying this but much of the way The Youths interact is just baffling to me Most of it I'm like "I don't get it, but, eh, it's not for me, they're having fun, whatever" but all the toxicity and vile comments... I just don't get it...

The FOMO thing is also an issue. If the companies are so desperate to get something out at speed before people forget it exists, and people are so desperate to spend money without thinking about it...that's not massively healthy. Toys in general are stupid expensive now. But I don't know about this one.

Tbh I think this is always going to be a problem, to some extent, with collector dolls, just because they ARE collectibles. You're always going to have people buying them just for the sake of it and such. But I do wish the companies would at least *try* not to blatently feed into it so much :/

But I suppose it's more like, if you wanted to still do G1, Mattel, maybe go back to doing G1 and stop trying to scalp collectors on new characters that you didn't release when dolls were retail price point and not collectable treasures...

Agreed 100%.

"OMG YOU HAVE RUINED MY LIFE BY MAKING HER DRESS BLOO!"

And yeah lol, there is a certain irony in them aiming this doll at adult collectors and then giving her such a... basic? backstory? idk how to put it, I'm not trying to put it down, esp. since I do find it fine/kind of endearing in general... it just doesn't really fit in with most of the other G1 stories/lore/etc, I don't think. But then I suppose maybe they're aiming her less at people that care about that stuff, and more at people who just want a shiny collector doll to stick on their shelf MIB? I dunno.

Oooh FernMariposa, I love your Pony Wear collection! They all look so cheerful and colourful