G1 'ole timer has questions about G4...

[therestornadosinmysoup]

Ok, I've been trying to knock out some more space in my brain for G4 info. I have been puzzled by the following-

Why are there little black serial? numbers under the feet of most regular store release G4's? Is there any significance to them? I have one Twilight Sparkle that does not have them, does that mean anything 

What is Taobao exactly? Do they make all the prototypes I see for sale/auction? Are they affiliated with Hasbro 

I do not have cable or satellite tv, so I have not seen any episodes of Friendship is Magic. Is it aimed at adults or children? Are there full episodes online somewhere 

 

[Radiance]

I have wondered myself about the little # on their feet, so can't help you there. But Taobao is like an auction site, but only in Chinese. I'm not too sure where the 'prototype' ponies come from but I suspect they are not sold on Taobao with Hasbro's blessing. They are probably factory seconds or something like that. Taobao has no affiliation at all with Hasbro as far as I know.

Friendship is Magic is a kid's show, but the humor can be appreciated by adults as well. The stories are cute and I do like some of the characters. The animation is nice, but a little bland IMO... looks like all the other animated shows being put out today, to me. I guess I just prefer the old, hand drawn & colored cell animation.

[Galactica]

1. The black serial number indicates the batch -  I forget how, but you can figure out when it was made as it includes a date somehow.

If a pony doesn't have one- it may have come with a set.  There is someone on here that knows exactly what the numbers mean- I forget who that was.

2.  Taobao is a weird cross between craigslist and ebay- factories sell their products directly to the Chinese market.  This guy (who is a QI type person) has some really interesting articles on the subject http://www.qualityinspection.org/china-factory-taobao/
http://www.qualityinspection.org/stock-lots-brand-copies/

The "prototypes" you see on ebay are indeed from Taobao- but they mostly are not prototypes.  SOme of them (ie White Celestia and a few others that were never made- were probably test runs and could be categorized as prototypes-  a lot of the others are mistakes, color tests, QC failures, and extra ponies that the factory made and decided to sell on Taobao instead of to Hasbro (read the article above)

3.  Friendship is Magic was aimed at children- but it's a lot more complex than most kids shows.  The creator is the same one that created Powerpuff Girls- and the characters are more like those characters-  spunky and flawed instead of simperingly sweet.   That's the appeal I guess.

You can watch the shows on Netflix or youtube.

[Domingo]

I can only answer #3: Yes. Friendship is Magic, the show, is completely family-friendly.

I do have to correct Galactica: the show's creator isn't the same as Powerpuff Girls. That was Craig McCracken, a guy. The creator of FiM is the guy's wife, Lauren Faust.

[PitterPatter]

Serial number, isn't it:

the first number represents the year (ie 3 = 2013)
the next three are the day of the year (ie 001 = first of january, there are websites that list these numbers for you)
and the last number may well be factory, but currently is always the same.

So my starswirl is:

20831 = 23rd March 2012 manufacture date

[GothMummy]

I am really glad you asked about taobao because I have been very confused about what it was!

I think FiM is like a lot of shows and films aimed at kids now, in that it has nods to the adult audience, it has jokes that the kids wont get etc. My children like it. I dont sit down and  watch it as such, but have seen a lot of episodes in passing as I put it on for the kids.

I want to know why G4 ponies have holes in their front hooves?

[Galactica]

Here's a link from youtube to what looks like all of season 1-  before they were on netflix, I used to search by typing FIM s1 (insert season) e(insert episode number)- so "FIM S2 E1" will probably get you close to the first episode of season 2.   I think the show is pretty good!  There are some really good episodes (although a decent number of filler/boring episodes too I'm afraid).


GothMummy - I think those holes in the feet are probably where the mold gets filled or maybe the area where something is inserted to keep the pony on an assembly as it gets painted.   But I don't know for sure.

[Violet CLM]

YouTube
Google Play
Netflix
iTunes

[Katika]

I thought the hole in the feet was to secure them on to certain accessories.  Like how G3s had magnets that let them "interact" with select accessories, the scooters and stuff with the G4s have little pegs (if I recall correctly) that let you "lock" them on. 

I could be off on this.  All that I know about G4s is that I decided waaaaay to late that I should start collecting them and am now desperately trying to catch up, lol!

[Stormness_1]

The carousel has pins that fit into the holes on pony and pet feet.

[GothMummy]

Ah Ok thanks. I only have the Wedding Castle and the hot air balloon and I couldnt see anything that the ponie's feet could hook on to on those playsets!

[shabbychicdee]

Ah Ok thanks. I only have the Wedding Castle and the hot air balloon and I couldnt see anything that the ponie's feet could hook on to on those playsets!

i think the feet holes hook into things like the train sets and cars, seem to be on most toys these days, all LPS have them too.
im not 100% if thay did this for g3 but they certainly did for g3.5

[Lady Starflower]

Here an old thread about the little black numbers: http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,333074.msg814161.html#msg814161

[hathorcat]

Serial number, isn't it:

the first number represents the year (ie 3 = 2013)
the next three are the day of the year (ie 001 = first of january, there are websites that list these numbers for you)
and the last number may well be factory, but currently is always the same.

So my starswirl is:

20831 = 23rd March 2012 manufacture date

Yes this is exactly right

[therestornadosinmysoup]

Ha! My 3 Lulu Lucks and Rarity with sparkle symbol were all made on the same day! Monday, May 16, 2011 Heheheh, that's cool