-Do you collect all products or just a specific variety/generation?

bit of both, really. I have every generation on my shelf, but my favourites are G1s. I just buy what I like, regardless of generation. I reign it in a little and focus on G1/3 because otherwise I would have no room in my house.

-What sort of lines of pony products do you collect?

I love the weird merchandise. I have an apron, stickers, mugs, that sort of stuff. I'm looking for a radio, and the records/casettes at the moment. I'm a record collector, so having a pony record would be a nice crossover.

-Is there a specific pony or ponies you have an army/armies of?

I have a rainbow dash army, but I only add to it in small amounts. It's not huge, but it's not tiny, either. I also had a Gusty army, but I haven't added any more to the three I have. There are so many common ponies I don't have, I love the idea of armies, but with the ponies I would want to have an army of rising in price, I don't see the point when I could just buy different ponies. One day I'd love to have a custom Tex of each generation and made a Tex army.

-What do you find to be easy/challenging about collecting ponies

It's easy to find ponies I like and don't have, very easy. It's also very easy for me to buy ponies if the price is right. On the other hand, I'm pretty tight, so it's hard to find a price I'm happy with. And it's also hard to let go of ponies.

-What tips would you offer people starting their pony collections

Make a list of the ponies you like, look at the styles and types you like. Figure out what you want to collect, or you'll end up like me. It looks like my collection is neat, but I have two bins of G3's under my bed to sort through!

Me! I get really, really bad hay-fever, and I can't go outside if I don't take medication in the summer/spring. I much prefer the cooler weather of Autumn, and being able to go outside is a bonus! Saying that, I am going on holiday, and I like the long holidays. So summer is good in a sense. I just much prefer Autumn.

I went to a church sale several years ago. I wasn't from the area, just stopping by, and saw some lady had a pony. I bought it, along with some playmobil lion - I like lions - and it cost me a few pounds. Not much. She asked if I was a collector, and usually I say no to avoid situations like this, but my younger sister who was very little at the time said "yeah!" I didn't think much of it, and the woman said that she thought she had another pony on her. Excited, I wait around and she pulls out a G3.5 Pinkie Pie and a G3 meadowbrook and a handful of accessories. She wanted 7 or 8 pounds for it, and to me that seemed like waaaay too much.My dad asked if it was a good price, and I didn't want to say anything rude, so I shrugged. Of course, now I realise that was a chance to talk her down a pound or so.I didn't see it like that at the time. I bought the pony. She was in lovely shape, mint out of the box it seemed, but I use her as a reminder that I need to think before I buy.

I guess a pretty different situation to what you're experiencing, but I can relate. It sucks that this woman took advantage of you. I don't want to be cheated again, and I haven't admitted that I've collected since.

Bowtie! I'm not very fond of 'bland' ponies, I prefer some with brighter colours. She always seemed a little bland for my tastes. But I got her - and her baby - and stuck them on my shelf. They're actually really cute. I fell in love with her colour scheme, the blue and pink work so well together. I'm a sucker for ponies with freckles, and her pose is really sweet, too. I love Bowtie so so much.

Oh, man, this is great! The expression is great and you nailed his hair! I'm a huge fan of Rammstein, lol.

That was a really interesting video, thanks for posting!

I'm not too sure, actually.

I've always collected things, from a very, very young age. I used to - and still mildly - collect Beano Annuals. I had thousands of the comics, buying them every week, but there were so many, and then I discovered the annuals. Only the really old ones from the '30's had massive value, so I could go to carboot sales and cart four or five away from someone for as little as 20p! I read them constantly, had plastic sleeves for them.

When that obsession waned, it was shared with pokemon, then sonic the hedgehog, doctor who, sherlock holmes, attack on titan and many other things I'm probably forgetting.

As I child I always had to be collecting something. Had to be obsessed with something. It was just part of who I was, and still am today. It got to the point that my father used to carry a list of all the beanos I didn't have, just in case.

Ponies is just another obsession, I guess. It isn't even the longest lasting - Pokemon lasted for 7 years, as did the beano. It's just another of my quirks. I always have collected things, so it just so happens that it's plastic ponies that are older than me. I might stop, I did fall out of it for a year or so recently, but I'll never get rid of them. I still have my Beanos and my pokemon games.

Maybe ponies are a return to my childhood obesssion of collecting? I can't quite be sure. They make me happy, though, so I'm not too fussed on the how or why of things