Do you think FiM has ruined the toyline?

[Silver_mirror46]

i think the show has keep the toyline alive.
it introduced ponies to a new generation. cuz well our gen make up a much smaller percentage of the sales.
my niece for example doesn't care for all the other characters in the show. she likes the main six and a few other characters like the princesses and cherilee etc.

and think, yeah, the variety of the characters and merchandise have gone down, but i honestly don't think ponies would still be on the shelf it it wasn't for the show.

I agree with you 100%. I have a prediction that once G4 passes My Little Pony will go on one more and probably die off until a retro craze picks up again.

this ^^


I love the show, I watch it a lot with my highschool group of friends (they don't collect, they just like the show) and I think it did revive the hype with ponies

I think Hasbro is missing a HUGE opportunity in not paying attention to the background ponies and all these new characters we are getting, they only pick the most popular among the older fans and produce a couple versions of them... that's really really sad at most we get big vinyls (which are the awesomest things ever: perfect size, nice packaging, accuracy, etc... although not brushable) or the blind bag ponies which are... cute and fun to collect but they're clearly not enough to anyone, I want a big brushable big mac or the wonderbolts

To me the main problem with the regular ponies is the size, they're annoyingly small, even G3 babies are a little bit bigger i certainly don't want to pay the same ammount for a pony half the size of what I would've gotten few years ago

[Star Spark]

I don't think FiM, from a fiction standpoint, is the problem- plenty of other shows, including the past few Transformers series, The Littlest Pet Shop and even G.I. Joe Renegades, have managed to keep "new" characters in the main line along with a core cast. FiM is actually even set up better to do it- while the core characters from those other shows were largely isolated, and had to specially introduce additional characters for the toyline, FiM has  dozens of regularly appearing background characters that would make great brushables. I don't blame the blind bags, either- they're common in pretty much all major Hasbro lines now, and in many other companies', as well. It's Hasbro's management that's the problem. There's no reason to be endlessly releasing only the same few characters (and forcing them into the multi-pony packs) when it costs so little to make new characters- the singles only use three distinct molds as it is. It honestly feels like they just don't want a brushable line anymore- there are the blind bags and minifigure sets for the collector market, a ton of character merchandise for younger fans of the show, plus a lot of third market licensed stuff, and it's pretty clear this year that the Equestria Girls doll line is more important to the company than the main line that spawned it. The declining quality control all around makes it seem even more like they just don't care now- they seem confident that the brand can live off of licenses, impulse buys, and the success they feel EQG has/will have in the doll market.

[HollowZero]

Yeah, the problem now is that supposed the EQ dolls were the top selling fashion doll the year of Christmas in the US. So Hasbro sees dem dolla signs, and is focusing on the dolls instead this year.

But I think there's been one confirmed new "brushable"? One is better than none.

[Twilight Pink]

Yeah, the problem now is that supposed the EQ dolls were the top selling fashion doll the year of Christmas in the US. So Hasbro sees dem dolla signs, and is focusing on the dolls instead this year.

But I think there's been one confirmed new "brushable"? One is better than none.

Actually 3, Photo Finish, Octavia, and Holly Dash

[Snapdragon]

I think when it comes to 'things that are killing the toyline,' the cartoon itself is probably on the bottom rung of the ladder of responsibility. I'd argue that a lot of other things are killing the toyline (or at least making it less interesting and diverse) before I'd argue for the show being the cause. But I'm always open to new information!

[brittney_rochelle]

I will add that with the new FIM episode over the weekend, my little cousin (3) asked me why I didn't have a "sap fire sure" pony (because I gave her a cute photo of my set before I had to sell most of them for expenses).
She also asks on facetime why there isn't a Big Mac nearly every time he is featured.


When a 3 year old asks why a character isn't a toy, a character that has been featured in the show twice, and one that has been in MOST, Hasbro is doing something wrong.

[Aienhime]

No, the show didn't ruin the toyline. The show is great and has a large cast of potentially wonderful toys and playsets. Just imagine; Twilight Sparkle's library, Rarity's fashion boutique, the Canterlot castle... Not to mention the large amount of ponies they could have made.

But they didn't make any of those things. They are just re-releasing the same old ponies with uninspired themes and playsets. They could've done so much more, but they cheapened out. The castle we got, for example, was only the front of the castle, how can a child ever play with that? Compared to the older castles it's so cheap. They're also trying to please everyone with different kind of toys like the funko ones and the blindbags, which is taking away focus from the playful sized toys, which should be the core of the line. Such a shame.

[Ice Crystal]

Hasbro is lucky that the show is so popular with kids, otherwise this gen with its poor quality would have been a huge flop, I feel.

I agree that it's not FiM that's killing this line -- it's Hasbro. They haven't even capitalized on the show to the extent that they could.

[Roseprincess1]

I really have not had this problem .. honestly..
I have a few clones.. mostly pinkie pies.. and lyra and trixie cus i had no idea that they would be in the box set.
My two fluttershy's are in fact different... one has very dark hair one's got light.

as for the rest of my g4 collection.. theres actually quite a bit of variety.
I think the real problem isnt the constant re releases of the main six. its the fact that when a new one does come out shes bloody well hard to get your claws on...
case in point... i had to go through hell to get my paws on a minty and a rainbow flash.
i think the variety is fine i just wish it had better availablity.
as for the show its cute enough... i hope it lasts for a while.

[elish2]

as for the rest of my g4 collection.. theres actually quite a bit of variety.
I think the real problem isnt the constant re releases of the main six. its the fact that when a new one does come out shes bloody well hard to get your claws on...
case in point... i had to go through hell to get my paws on a minty and a rainbow flash.
i think the variety is fine i just wish it had better availablity.
as for the show its cute enough... i hope it lasts for a while.

Minty was a Costco exclusive and Rainbowflash is an international release, hence making them harder to find. The availability of ones that are not small release exclusives is overwhelming and the fact that you can only get the mane 6 makes it worse. Just because you add tinsel or rainbow paint to the same old same old does not mean you just made a whole new character, and I think that is what people are starving for. And while I guess that gives it some kind of a variety, it is a very minimal attempt at variety when there are no other characters to get....

[BigBrotherPony]

I think HASBRO is responsible for ruining the toy line, not the TV show.

In all honesty the TV show has been a huge success and should have in many ways expanded the opportunities for HASBRO to do some great things with the toys.

However they have done the complete opposite and wasted this brilliant opportunity, refusing to create differently posed beautiful brushables, rehashing a gazillion slightly different Pinkie Pies, and forgetting to make a single decent playset for several years, plus cheating out on pony hair so they all look half bald.

I am fed up with the terrible quality and the excessive number of vehicles tied to the line that have nothing to do with the show - ie. Rarity's weird carriage, Apple Jacks Truck, Pinkies car, Pinkies awful helicopter, Rainbowdash's scooter.... Why on earth did they make all of that nonsense instead of the glaringly obvious Celestia carriage !

Honestly HASBRO! Waste of a whole generation and a fabulous show!

Rant over

[HoustonCollector72]

Don't get me wrong; I love watching FiM! But I personally think the toyline has suffered because of it. Do you think without the show, we would have more brushables, and better playsets? Or do you think the show has made the toyline better, like all of the vinyl collectables and all the merch?

Without the show many of us would not be here today
G4 is not the best as far as toys, but there are so many other aspects that affect that, but the show ? nope ,I do not think that the show does any harm  to they toy line, there is so much we can have in it, but we have to appreciate what we have  and that is still ongoing ,that is how i feel about it, I would say lets enjoy what we have and focus less on  what the toy line is lacking off

[tinyblondie]

I feel like the vinyl collectables are only there to make more money from the Bronies, especially ones who may not feel comfortable buying a children's toy outright. That isn't hate against the collectable figures, I actually love them! Especially the Funko Pop figures.

I think if G5 has good toys then it will be safe to say that this was specifically a problem with FIM, but if the toys continue to be lazily designed and boring then we can definitely say that Hasbro just doesn't care anymore. Most of the G4 items that I personally like to collect are not even made by Hasbro anyway, like the Funko's and the Build a Bears.

[Aquatic Neon]

I feel like the vinyl collectables are only there to make more money from the Bronies, especially ones who may not feel comfortable buying a children's toy outright. That isn't hate against the collectable figures, I actually love them! Especially the Funko Pop figures.

I wouldn't say they are just for the bronies, definitely the main target audience which I appreciate them making something for adults and not just kids, they acknowledge adult fans exist. Funko ponies are everything I could ask for as an adult collector, I don't play with my ponies, or brush their hair, so the Funkos are everything that I could want due to their beautiful designs, amazing show accuracy, great amount of amazing characters, cutie marks on both sides, the exciting chase to find the glitters, all of it. I have kinda given up on hasbros "brushables" and fashion styles, I sold all of my fashion styles, because they weren't making any new characters and I just don't love them like I do my Funkos, now that they will have all those characters and more eventually soon so I didn't care anymore, thats just my opinion. As for the brushables I have got so disappointed in them recently for all the re-releases.. Funko is the only thing I look forward to nowadays. I realize this is a pretty extreme opinion on the matter, but to each their own right.

[ZamuelNow]

I am fed up with the terrible quality and the excessive number of vehicles tied to the line that have nothing to do with the show - ie. Rarity's weird carriage, Apple Jacks Truck, Pinkies car, Pinkies awful helicopter, Rainbowdash's scooter.... Why on earth did they make all of that nonsense instead of the glaringly obvious Celestia carriage !

  But I like the Pinkie Pie's Rainbow Helicopter.

As far as vehicles, the issue is the show/toy split.  On the show, they acknowledge that they're horses and pull carriages or carts.  I'm pretty sure we're never going to see anything horse drawn in the toys so thematically similar things wind up being actual motorized vehicles.  The carriage is probably supposed to be the one from the Grand Galloping Gala.  While it looked totally different, Pinkie has flown a helicopter.  I know Twilight's Princess Celebration Car is based off the Season 3 finale.  Sadly, this mindset is why we probably won't get a Celestia chariot.  Well, that and Hasbro being cheap since her size means the whole thing has to be bigger.