What would you do? MIB vs loose dilemma.

[Taffeta]

So I have more or less run out of MIP space. I've been thinking that I probably need to go through my MIP ponies with a critical eye again, in order to make sure I have space for when I find the special grail MIP ponies. Two of those were recently added to my collection, and I just about squeezed them in, but it's becoming a bit tight.

So I have a dilemma and I would love to hear people's views.

I love newborn twins and have been lucky to acquire four mib sets over the years, plus some complete sets loose with original boxes from both the US and the UK.

Mostly, I wouldn't think of parting with any of my MIB twins, because I love how they look in box with all their toys. But here is the dilemma.

I have Tuggles and Toddles MIB, under their US name, which is more familiar to most of you - Sticky and Sniffles.

Now, years ago I bought this MIB along with Big Top and Toppy from a seller for a really low price because they were just there, basically. But because the names are different in the US, I didn't really connect to "Sticky and Sniffles", and thus ended up selling that set. I still have Big Top and Toppy and would probably never think of selling them, so it's interesting how much influence names and the style of box can have. In this case the style of box isn't hugely different from the UK one, but the names do bother me. I already sold a MOC "Sugarberry" for the same reason, even though it took me 15 years to eventually replace her with "Strawberry Fair", so this may seem a weird consideration, but it is a factor in my decision process.

In any case, selling that MIB set made me realise I actually don't have accessories for those twins, or those twins at all. So what ended up happening is that a few years ago I bought another set of MIB twins, also US box under names Sticky and Sniffles. This had a different colour seesaw in the set which at that time I didn't have at all, so I kept it. Also a charm, which I don't have loose. This is the set I currently still own.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Fortunately it isn't the hardest to find set of twins MIB.

Last year, I coincidentally acquired this set of twins loose with all (or most) of their accessories, including the same seesaw.

Now I have the dilemma. Do I keep the US boxed set even though the names jar with me and the packaging is US not UK (if it had a UK release, I prefer to get it over the US one) because of the charm and the seesaw, or do I sell it for space and keep the loose twin set?

I know the boxed one is worth more money but I am not planning to make my decision based on that.

In terms of the loose twins, I don't normally sell loose ponies when I get MIB, but in our collection here the ones we played with belonged to my sister, not to me, so these really have no overall emotional value to me.

What would you guys do?

[Aadra310]

I'd keep both sets but I also LOVE MIB twins.  I had Puddles and Peaks (not sure if they had different UK names- the blue ones!) as a kid and I want them MIB.  SO MUCH NOSTALGIA!  If you ever ran across a UK set MIB, then you could sell the US box one?  That's what I'd do but I've never managed to part with a boxed G1 pony so maybe I'm a little one-sided!  Or, sell it and buy a different MIB that you have more connection to? 

[Taffeta]

I'd keep both sets but I also LOVE MIB twins.  I had Puddles and Peaks (not sure if they had different UK names- the blue ones!) as a kid and I want them MIB.  SO MUCH NOSTALGIA!  If you ever ran across a UK set MIB, then you could sell the US box one?  That's what I'd do but I've never managed to part with a boxed G1 pony so maybe I'm a little one-sided!  Or, sell it and buy a different MIB that you have more connection to? 

All of this is great advice, thank you. The trouble with UK boxed stuff is that it is super rare. It's not even for sure that UK versions MIP still exist or have survived to now, because the market is so much smaller than the US one. US ponies MIP are often really beautiful, but I like to have those things that connect to my childhood, which makes it so much harder. We only had three of the six 1988 twin sets here, but I have never seen ANY of them in UK box on ebay. I've seen all of the sets from that year in US box over the years, but never the ones I'm looking for, which is why I think I'm so conflicted over these twins. It may be the only way to get them MIB. But I really don't like those names.

If one did come up, though, you;d bet I'd be after it like a shot. And sometimes I think ponies don't exist and then I find them in unexpected places, so you never know. I did sell the US Masquerade and I am selling the US Whizzer because I have the UK ones, so that would probably happen in that situation. Though it wouldn't help me when it came to space xD.

  I have realised that I am really bad at selling newborn twin stuff, though. Really bad. I find it so hard. I have two sets of Milkweed and Tumbleweed loose just because they LOOKED at me and I couldn't put them on my sale list. Twins are just so cute and I am totally compensating for the fact I never got Nibbles and Dibbles as a kid (although I REALLY WANTED THEM).

Puddles and Peeks didn't get sold here, unfortunately, because they are adorable. I think they are maybe more hard to find; they're the US only set from that year that I don't have MIB and the last time I saw them on ebay they were pretty pricey. I think it's because they are really cute as a set.

...Actually, maybe I don't even have them loose. I remember my sister fell in love with that twinset, so I think I gave the loose ones to her. Curses. Another twin thing to track down!

[Libelle]

But because the names are different in the US, I didn't really connect to "Sticky and Sniffles", and thus ended up selling that set.

I like to have those things that connect to my childhood

I can 100% relate to this! I would love to have Posey MOC, because it was my first ever MLP, but I would never buy the US or UK version MOC, because it would bother me to no end to have "My Little Pony" instead of "Mein Kleines Pony" or to have "Posey" instead of "Blümchen" printed on the card. The German card is the one I remember from my childhood.

We only had three of the six 1988 twin sets here, but I have never seen ANY of them in UK box on ebay. I've seen all of the sets from that year in US box over the years, but never the ones I'm looking for, which is why I think I'm so conflicted over these twins. It may be the only way to get them MIB.

I was going to say "go ahead and sell", however, if you've never seen the UK box available for purchase in all those years, it might be wiser to cling to the US box for now.

[Taffeta]

But because the names are different in the US, I didn't really connect to "Sticky and Sniffles", and thus ended up selling that set.

I like to have those things that connect to my childhood

I can 100% relate to this! I would love to have Posey MOC, because it was my first ever MLP, but I would never buy the US or UK version MOC, because it would bother me to no end to have "My Little Pony" instead of "Mein Kleines Pony" or to have "Posey" instead of "Blümchen" printed on the card. The German card is the one I remember from my childhood.

So glad someone else can relate on this. I reread my original post and was afraid it sounded like there was something wrong with US MIB, which there really isn't. Just all the US MIBs in the world don't remind me of my childhood, and so that's why it matters. I do love US MIP ponies too, but only for ponies not sold in the UK. And that box is super cute. I mean, look at the adorable little Big Top and Toppy on the front for starters. I love that box on Big Top and Toppy & Sandcastle & Shovels. It's really literally just the name for me. I sold that MOC "Sugarberry" based entirely on the fact that name wasn't what I grew up with, so I'm so glad someone else has those feelings too.

(On a sidenote, I am also looking for my first pony, Windy, on her UK vertical card. I saw her once but had no money at the time. Never since. I hope there's a Blumchen out there for you, and on the right artwork card, as Posey is so complicated. I did finally get that Strawberry Fair after so many years, so there is always hope)

I was going to say "go ahead and sell", however, if you've never seen the UK box available for purchase in all those years, it might be wiser to cling to the US box for now.

That is maybe the most conflicting thing for me. I did have this set once and sold it and for ages didn't mind that I had. Then when I was doing accessories, I realised my sister had the accessories for those twins, but not me. And then coincidentally the opportunity came up again to buy the US one, so I bought it.

I created the problem for myself really, because I probably had the accessories loose but sold them because I had the MIB. I had the same moment of idiocy with Baby North Star - had her MIB, sold her accessories, sold the MIB and realised I didn't have the accessories any more, so then had to find another MIB. And this MIB is US boxed too (the old one was Italian >< I regret selling that).

The UK stuff is so rare that it's really difficult. It took me 18 years or so to even find a partial backcard or box piece for the UK package. Fortunately it's the bit of the box that has the story and the back art and which is different fromthe US boxes, but it still is only a fragment. It's so hard to know what to do for sure.

I think if the UK one came up and I was lucky enough to snare it, there would no longer be a problem, as I could probably get the charm separately. But it is that whole doubt factor. Will I ever have a chance at this set in UK box, or should I just settle for the (admittedly lovely, but wrongly named) US one? The boxes are REALLY similar, especially from the front, so really, am I just being stupid over a name? In Sugarberry/Strawberry Fair's case, the cards and stories and such are TOTALLY different, but here the story is a slight edit and the front art is the same...