Variety of poses in G1 sets

[Lucky_Ladybug]

So I've thought off and on that it seems unusual that the first Twice-as-Fancy set featured two Ponies in not only the same pose, but a very odd pose (Sweet Tooth and Love Melody). Is it common for two Ponies in the same set to be in the same pose? I was thinking that normally, every Pony in a set had a different pose.

[Sprintex]

The six Merry-go-Round ponies in the set come in three poses, two ponies in each


Paul

[Baby Sugarberry]

I don't think the Merry-Go-Rounds serve as a good example in this case - they likely chose to do only three poses because the actual moulds needed to be recast for that line, and that's no mean feat, not to mention expensive.  Any mould with that many undercuts and detailing is going to be a real pain in the rear to get right.

That said, something like the Sweetberry Ponies were also completely redone and one to a pose, so that point is debatable.  It's not that unusual though, look at the first set of Rainbow Ponies, only three poses for the six there, the early earth ponies, one for the Dance n' Prance (again, probably due to technical reasons).

It's possible Love Melody or Sweet Tooth were originally going to be in a different pose, but the pose itself proved problematical for the application of the paint, so they chose to double up sometime between prototypes and production.

[emery]

I'm gonna change my post....

In looking at the ponies from year 5 they added 5 new poses that season. So I'm thinking that since those molds were being used and they decided to make sets of 6 they just doubled up on one of the poses instead of dragging out an old one.

If you look at the Princess Ponies that same year they are the same with 2 being in that same Love Melody/Sweet Tooth pose. There were only 5 Twinkle Eye and 5 So Softs that year though so they all had different poses.

[hathorcat]

The Princess ponies from the first year also have a couple of ponies in that same pose - Royal Blue and Starburst. I think the intention no doubt was for variety in pose within sets but with Y5 being the year Hasbro changed up the previous 2 earth/2 uni/2 peg pattern to more commonly [but not always] being 4 earth/1 uni/1 peg [or a similar disproportion always in favour of earth] perhaps these couple of sets were initially designed with a second unicorn and second pegasus. Then for some reason this was decided against and a new earth pose was used to fill the gaps? All wild speculation of course.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Maybe it has something to do with the molds being used more regularly for the other poses that had been around longer.  A brand-new mold/pose would create variety and lower the wear and tear on the existing molds.  I don't know, just thinking about it from a manufacturing point of view...

[Lucky_Ladybug]

The Princess ponies from the first year also have a couple of ponies in that same pose - Royal Blue and Starburst. I think the intention no doubt was for variety in pose within sets but with Y5 being the year Hasbro changed up the previous 2 earth/2 uni/2 peg pattern to more commonly [but not always] being 4 earth/1 uni/1 peg [or a similar disproportion always in favour of earth] perhaps these couple of sets were initially designed with a second unicorn and second pegasus. Then for some reason this was decided against and a new earth pose was used to fill the gaps? All wild speculation of course.

Hmmm, interesting thoughts! It reminds me of Baby Up Up and Away being a unicorn. I wonder if that could have been originally planned for the adult character.

[rtattles]

The Princess ponies from the first year also have a couple of ponies in that same pose - Royal Blue and Starburst. I think the intention no doubt was for variety in pose within sets but with Y5 being the year Hasbro changed up the previous 2 earth/2 uni/2 peg pattern to more commonly [but not always] being 4 earth/1 uni/1 peg [or a similar disproportion always in favour of earth] perhaps these couple of sets were initially designed with a second unicorn and second pegasus. Then for some reason this was decided against and a new earth pose was used to fill the gaps? All wild speculation of course.

*images all possible second unicorns and pegasi, or even hidden prototypes that we've never seen before*

[foalpatrol]

Two of the four cookery ponies are in Tootsie's pose. 

[MorningGlorysParadise82]

It's possible they choose molds based on how well that pose sold.
I think that's why I stick to the sets from the early years because they were evenly set 2-2-2. At least mostly.

I have seen box art that showed a pony as one thing but ended up another. So Soft 1st Ed is prime. Skippity Doo is shown in North Star's mold (I WISH!), but ended up being a rearing pose. Hipputy Hop is shown as a Unicorn but she got the North Star mold.

So I agree it could be possible Love Melody or Sweet Tooth started out as one thing and last second was changed to another...