TAF babies -- what was Hasbro thinking?

[Haruna]

I was randomly mulling over this today: why did Hasbro make the twice as fancy baby ponies so different from their mothers? Obviously, Baby Sweet Tooth, Baby Up, Up, and Away, and Baby Milky Way are entirely different species from their mothers, and while the other three are the right species, there are some minor differences in their hair and eyes (Baby Sugarberry, for example, has purple eyes vs. her mother's blue eyes and dark pink hair instead of bright red hair). So do you think Hasbro made them different on purpose? Or did they mess up? Or do you have another theory?

(pictures can be found on Ponyland Press if you need a reference)
http://www.ponylandpress.com/specialoffer/babytaf.shtml

[mlp_loving]

I voted the last option. I honestly have no idea, however, I don't think Hasbro messed up. This should be an interesting topic. Regardless, I LOVE the TAF babies.

On second thought, it's possible they made them slightly different on purpose since they were only offered as MO ponies?

[Aadra310]

If you look at most series of ponies that were just 4 or 6 to a set, then all 3 "species" are represented- earthling, pegasus, and unicorn.   I think in this case, that 3 way split just happened to be even.  It also means they didn't need to have multiple poses like if 4 of them were earthlings.  I would guess 6 babies were chosen based on the fact that they are all different colors for variety and then somebody just slotted them into species!   So, perhaps a bit of all three choices!

[kissthethunder]

LOVE the taf babies I don't care if they're different species, I think it makes them unique

[Haruna]

I voted the last option. I honestly have no idea, however, I don't think Hasbro messed up. This should be an interesting topic. Regardless, I LOVE the TAF babies.

On second thought, it's possible they made them slightly different on purpose since they were only offered as MO ponies?

Maybe! I also love the TAF babies, definitely!

If you look at most series of ponies that were just 4 or 6 to a set, then all 3 "species" are represented- earthling, pegasus, and unicorn.   I think in this case, that 3 way split just happened to be even.  It also means they didn't need to have multiple poses like if 4 of them were earthlings.  I would guess 6 babies were chosen based on the fact that they are all different colors for variety and then somebody just slotted them into species!   So, perhaps a bit of all three choices!

Hmm, yeah -- maybe they were thinking, "we need two unicorns, two pegasi, and two earthlings." Of course, they "should" have made Baby Milky Way a unicorn if they were going to do that. But that makes some sense!

LOVE the taf babies I don't care if they're different species, I think it makes them unique

I do love them My OCD side wishes they looked exactly like their moms, but they are super-cute as they are. I actually need to post my brag about recently getting some (which prompted this post).

[sd_dreamcrystal]

Well since babies at the time came from a magic mirror (at least that is how the mythos went at the time I think) maybe the mirror was just having an imperfect day with these babies

Though I do not like the fact that some of them are first tooth x.x

[hilamb]

Ill go with hasbro trying something new.   I wish there were more TAF baby ponies. Baby Munchy would be so cuute.

[prancingstag]

I quite like the differences. Mom and clone-baby sets are cute, but a little weird when you think too hard. I enjoy some small changes... for babies without 'canon' parents I usually choose someone of similar colour scheme but with differences in pose and theming.

For Baby Sugarberry, the small differences can probably be attributed to the early years of MLP baby colouring - the babies being slightly paler/lighter versions of their parents. Baby Glory with pale lavender hair instead of royal purple, Baby Moonie with pink rather than red.

As for Milky Way, she is kind of a celestial pony and I think makes sense as a pegasi, winging through the night skies. G1 backcards' depiction of flight was open to all species of ponies but I can't help attributing wings to the flying stories.

Given the one uni was changed into pegasi, turning two of the earthies into unis makes the ratio even... nobody is particularly magical out of strawberries, candy, balloons and hearts. I suppose they chose the two more complex, rope-like symbols to put over the straight, flat earthie flanks, and the disconnected symbols to go over the uni pose with the turned head and shoulders.

[ladybastilla]

While most people have some form of resemblance to their parents, that isn't always the case. And even if we do, we are not clones. Has / was there some form of canon that this was different in ponyland? And if it went beyond colors and symbol to include subspecies, was there any form of official canon that unicorns / pegasus / earth ponies could not inter-mingle species-wise, or is that something we may have overlooked either as kids or adults? Something to consider: there are only 24 male ponies if you count US and UK boys (I may have miscounted, let me know) and none of those were unicorn or pegasus. Do we have any idea whether this was by design or just something that happened?

Of course, these are things -I- thought of. I have no idea whether they would have occurred to Hasbro at all.

... And the one time I don't read the thread the answer to all my rambling is already up there. Go figure. A magic mirror. All rightie, then!

[Taffeta]

Well since babies at the time came from a magic mirror (at least that is how the mythos went at the time I think) maybe the mirror was just having an imperfect day with these babies

Though I do not like the fact that some of them are first tooth x.x

The magic mirror was from the first UK pony comic . Not sure Hasbro US bought into it, ( the story is scanned and up in the comic page of my site for anyone curious)

I think it was partly design/productional, in that there was a gap in production between the TAFs and their babies...but also it was just easier to use three poses and split them by species. The only problem with that is baby Milky Way not being a unicorn, which is the only oddity for me with the design choices in that sense.

I suspect Hasbro didn't give species match much thought, though. And they are lovely ponies and very sought after, so I guess we don't generally mind either.

[Sukey]

I was randomly mulling over this today: why did Hasbro make the twice as fancy baby ponies so different from their mothers? So do you think Hasbro made them different on purpose? Or did they mess up? Or do you have another theory?

I think it is from daddy ponies! lol

[Moonbreeze]

What were they thinking...?

'How can we confuse people?' 

[ponyqueen]

I think they weren't paying attention... I don't mind that they aren't exact copies (eye color/hair shade) than their mothers, but it would be nice if they were they same species. Regardless, I love them all! So lovely! The colors! The symbols! The hair!

[SkyCakes]

Hasbro just makes interesting ideas come to life I guess. Maybe they weren't putting much thought but I don't really mind it makes the babies all that appealing to collectors.

[baby_gusty]

That IS weird! I think they tried something new and it wasn't that important to get the species right. But I totslly adore the babies and embrace the difference ;-)