What is a nirvana?

[Tracks]

As the title really?  I've not heard of them and wondered just what they were please

[moving from nirvana sales to the nirvana forum love pkw xxx]

[Jorgito93]

For me they are variants of ponies we know from other countries than US and UK.I also think there needs to be a physical difference between the normal US pony and the variant,not just the printing on the hooves, but that's my personnal definition.Others may have a different definition of who is a nirvana and who isn't.

[otocolobus_manul]

Back in the g1 days, Hasbro gave the MLP license to several toy-producing companies across the globe to make ponies. Some of these foreign-made pony variants that look almost exactly like their standard US release (like Italy or Spain) or nothing like them, distinguishable only by symbols (like Colombia or Argentina). Some of these can be very rare and expensive - like Japanese or South African ponies, which can go for thousands of dollars! - or cost about the same as standard releases.

There are also ponies that were made in China but only sold in select European countries. Generally, from what I've seen, these aren't counted as nirvana, but rather Euro ponies.

So basically, nirvanas are ponies made in countries other than China sorry for the incoherent rambling and any business specifics I got wrong.

[Artemesia's Garden]

My collection has USA, UK and Euro ponies but no nirvanas.  I have come across a couple of Italians because they are very common but I sold them on as I don't collect them.  OK I just told a lie, I forgot I have a Dutch pony called Green Baby Schoolbag that counts as a Nirvana, also the German version of Sweet Clover that I think also counts as Nirvana.  If anyone could inform me that'd be great!

Here is the Nirvana Gallery to give you an idea...
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,378632.0/topicseen.html

There is a recent thread about it

[pinkkittywinks]

This thread will be helpful for you as it explains everything you need to know about nirvana ponies

http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,283451.0.html

Love pkw xxx

[Ember1]

I would also consider prototypes and unofficial releases to be Nirvana ponies. and they are in the nirvana gallery as well.

[Tracks]

Thank you all - you learn something new every day!

[Artemesia's Garden]

Yup, looks as though none of mine are because they were made in the same factories as the standard releases.

[pinkkittywinks]

Yup, looks as though none of mine are because they were made in the same factories as the standard releases.

They are regional specific releases like the Mountain Boys

They were put under the nirvana umbrella when the term was first coined since no one understood about the releases.

This goes for the German Rainbows and Princesses too.

Love pkw xxx

[Taffeta]

I genuinely don't think that the peach Sweet Clover can count as a Nirvana when she's more common than the pink version sold in the UK and Greece...I think they're just variations from one another and that's all. Sweet Clover seems to have been more popular over on the continent - she got next to no publicity here and that's probably why she's rarer; our adverts even have the German one in, so I'd say she was mainstream.

I don't really like the Nirvana term, though. I think it's too vague with too many definitions. Didn't like it when it was created xD don't like it now. Sorry, Arena xD.

[pinkkittywinks]

No need to be sorry Taffeta

A lot has changed and our knowledge has vastly increased since the term "nirvana" was coined

Love pkw xxx

[lunar_scythe]

I tend to think of it as meaning 'non-US ponies that are not made in the same places as US ones, and/or variants of a known pony' so if a pony is made in Hong Kong or China, they don't count *unless* they are also in some way a variant(like the Dutch ponies, the Thailand made boys, etc.)
Though any more, I usually just say non-US or variant, cause I'm not sure it's polite to use a term only people on here will 'get'.

[daffodil101]

I am a tiny bit confused about Nirvanas I have to admit!

I think technically, they are alternate versions of original characters.  So UK ponies like Jewellery Babies or Tales Ponies are not nirvana because they have unique symbols.  Non-so-soft ponies and the Starlight baby ponies tend to be referred to as UK versions rather than nirvana, although technically I guess they are nirvana, if you're counting the US releases as the primary characters.

I think all of the Dutch ponies are nirvana because they feature the symbols of existing UK ponies.  Original German ponies like the Nesthaeckchen babies by that definition would not be Nirvana as they have original symbols.

However rare ponies from countries other than the US are often seen as Nirvanas in practice.  I would consider the Nestie ponies nirvana; if I was looking to buy or sell them I'd go to the Nirvana sales page.  Basically any pony which is rare and from another country, regardless of being a variant or an original character comes under the Nirvana umbrella.  While say Mountain Boys and Jewellery Babies aren't *technically* nirvana, they would tend to be discussed on the Nirvana forum and sales board rather than with general ponies.

Any thoughts?

[LadyGuinevere]

Standard release UK and European issue ponies have never been part of the Nirvana umbrella though, even when a variation on a US character. Partly this is because they were fairly widely released, even if that release did not release the US/Canada.

Rare is a very subjective term and can come and go. Not all Nirvana are rare. The vast majority are made in countries other than HK/China, but there are still humongous differences in rarity

[Pierlala]

I was wondering the very same thing. I'm quite new on the forums but I always wondered what Nirvanas were. So, Dutch ponies are Nirvana as well? In that case I have one!