G4 Prototype Ponies - Yay or Nay?

[spookysage]

I'm just starting out collecting, so I'm solidly in the "wait and hope" camp. Maybe someday I can own a translucent pony or a G4 Minty off the shelf...

[svleonard]

I must say, I'm disappointed that this thread does not say "Yay or Neigh." A wonderful opportunity was missed there.

[cloud_weaver]

BrightIdea - I'm completely smitten with that Celestia!  Oh my...she's gorgeous!  I don't even want to know, but I must ask.  What's her going rate at the moment?

Hathorcat, I'm with you pretty much.  I may pick up one here or there if it's doable at the moment, but I'm honestly super scared that I'd pay $25 for a pony only to have her be $4 a few months later at Target. 

ETA - Sorry svleonard.    Just never got into the pony lingo too much. 

[Wishing Well]

The prototypes I want are the actual prototypes. Minty, Sweetie Blue, the Flower Girl Fillies and Glitter Wysteria. I have a Mrs Cakes and Lil Molasses, but they're so numerous that I doubt they're just prototypes.

[Cron Sacchariferous]

YAY for proto's! Teehee! :3 I think they add a little bit of spunk and flare along with the other 'originals'. I wish I had a few myself.

[BrightIdea]

BrightIdea - I'm completely smitten with that Celestia!  Oh my...she's gorgeous!  I don't even want to know, but I must ask.  What's her going rate at the moment?

Hathorcat, I'm with you pretty much.  I may pick up one here or there if it's doable at the moment, but I'm honestly super scared that I'd pay $25 for a pony only to have her be $4 a few months later at Target. 

ETA - Sorry svleonard.    Just never got into the pony lingo too much.

Hmm I would say white Celestia is one you have a better chance of bumping into. Nowadays, she sells for about $150 I think.

Its interesting how she appeared around the same time they were selling the error SDCC/fair ponies for last year. And she appeared with the same frequency as them, too!

[pyrodarknessanny]

i have 2 on the way

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blue tail cheerilee

and

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glitter wysteria

[Unicorn_pops]

I like how they've changed the eyes and symbols on wisteria. Makes me think she will be a release

[josiekat]

There are some that I would love to have, but I don't know how Taobao works, and I don't have the money for what they go for on ebay. Oh well....lol

[Galactica]

Yay!

I think the Taobao ponies like wingless Rainbow Dash and White Fashion Style Celestia, and the ponies that appeared in very small numbers (minty, the first round of glittery ponies, big-eyed, multi-hued hair SDCC pony) are the most fun for me because they were made in limited quantities- and my best guess is that they are marketing samples to give Hasbro or its customers (the Marts) an idea of how they would look before the idea was sold.  What makes them particularly fun is that the final product for many of these is so different than the original sample.    I try to collect these ponies when they pop up on Taobao- and have bought a couple of them through ebay or members before the prices skyrocketed. 

Of course, it's difficult to guess when they will change the design of something, which is what makes the Taobao game kind of fun   (ie I think given the numbers, we can all agree that we will see an official release of the Molasses and Mrs. Cake pony- but its harder to tell what is going on with the new wave of translucent glittery ponies...) 

The "Frankenponies" (like red-haired Rarity) are obviously just made from extra parts slapped together.  Even though they aren't as fun as marketing samples (or as rare) they are still fun-  I love red-haired Rarity!  Still- I wouldn't pay more than a dollar or two over the cost of a regular pony.  The ones with transposed symbols (ie the ones that were used as pony-meet exclusives) are somewhat more fun- since the seller can't "fake" the look-  all of these ponies could be color samples for all we know.  They are all pretty cheap if you buy them when they first come out on Taobao-  although the Taobao sellers appear to be becoming more canny about selling through ebay instead, where they can get better prices...

I bought some Funko prototypes which I know are prototypes- since they were purchased directly from someone at Funko (who makes it a regular practice to give away or sell their prototypes).  They often give them away at cons or sell them through Gemini. They aren't particularly special, but were neat when I got them since they preceded the official release.

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[cloud_weaver]

I *LOVE* the glitter ponies!  Are there a lot being offered at the moment, or are they somewhat HTF?

[rosierjay]

i think it would be cool to collect ones that are in the show, but not released yet...
mostly so my niece could have all the characters. i collect g4 pony via her.

[hathorcat]

I *LOVE* the glitter ponies!  Are there a lot being offered at the moment, or are they somewhat HTF?

Do you mean the little glitter blind bags? They were wave 4 and unfortunately most stores are somewhere between wave 5 and 8. However, some retailers do seem to have this wave still and they were available in such significant amounts you should manage to find them via here or ebay easy enough.

As for the glitter prototypes then at the moment they are very hard to find as we have only seen 3 or 4 of each of the black balloon Pinkie and Wysteria show up on ebay  to date and an even smaller number of the glittery mane 6 who showed up on Taobao.

[CarnationTwirl]

I wish I had even half a clue of how to navigate Taobao, but no.  And I'm not ready to pay the exorbitant prices set by ebay resellers either, so none for me.

[BerryPunch]

I would absolutely love to get g4 prototypes.... but like some others, Taobao is just to dang complicated for me    and some of them are pretty elusive