The eternal question of MO collector ponies...

[Taffeta]

I have always felt this to be an impossible thing to discern, and it's a topic that comes up time and time again. But among some ponies I received recently is a full set of collector ponies. And when I was washing them this morning, I noticed how vivid their colours were compared to the ones I have and normally see here in the UK. The plastic also feels a little different and there is something uniform about most of them that I am of the opinion that they are probably mail order versions from one or other year. Also in the lot were other MO ponies including 2 birthflowers who appear on the same leaflet so I am fairly convinced.

The only one I am unsure of is Blossom because she doesn't quite fit the pattern of the other five. I think she might be from the year 2 set instead, it's hard to tell but there is something that the other five have between them that she doesn't quite.

I was wondering if anyone had Blossom from MO from childhood who could comment on that.

Although they are really mostly in amazing condition (which may be part of my surprise at their colour, LOL), four of them had horrible gel stuff in their hair. I have washed it out in all cases but it has done permanent damage to Butterscotch whose mane is starting to break and fall out. I thought I should get photos of them before she ends up bald, so here they are. The pictures do not bring out how vivid their colours are but right now I can't get into my cupboard to look for comparison ponies as there is a case and other ponies in the way.
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There were no MO collector ponies in the UK and these are the first I have had from America that look so different in colour from the ones I have but so similar to each other in their bold symbols, hair rooting style/length/thickness and the feel of the plastic.

So I think that's what they are.

I did not buy the lot for these girls but I will keep them as they seem like sisters to me. Even Butterscotch, even if she goes bald, poor baby - because they have always been together (all marked with the same owner mark on the hoof) and it seems a shame to split them up now. I wish I could have saved Butterscotch sooner :/ as the rest of her, body, tail, symbol etc is pretty much perfect, but :/ sometimes it goes that way.

[LadyMoondancer]

I have that same Butterscotch; as you say, her colors are very vivid.  Her hair color is not the same as most concave Butterscotchs I've seen (who have a more "brown-gold" hair color, whereas that one has "gold-gold" hair.)

Unfortunately I don't know the history on mine, but I've always assumed she's a mail order because I just do not see a lot of concave Butterscotches who are that color.

I will say that my childhood concave Cotton Candy, who was storebought Year 2, is the same color as that Cotton Candy appears to be.  Which doesn't mean she ISN'T mail order;  it may simply mean that the mail order was legit the same color as some storebought Cotton Candies.

Just bringing that up because for a while there was a rumor that all darker-pink Cotton Candies were mail orders, but I know from my childhood one that isn't true.

[Taffeta]

Just bringing that up because for a while there was a rumor that all darker-pink Cotton Candies were mail orders, but I know from my childhood one that isn't true.

I think my normal CF Cotton Candy is also quite a vivid colour, but there's definitely something different about them and I don't know quite how to explain it. With them all here together with such similarities in the hair rooting, colour vividness, plastic texture it makes me think that's what they are, though I am by no means saying they are the only option for MO versions as I think the offer ran more than one year.

When I can get to my cupboard again and it is not blocked by a sea of trade ponies I will try and find my Cotton Candy to do a proper check, but I agree with you that colour alone is not a decider. If it were just one of them I would probably have thought nothing about it, but so many of them with such strident features makes me think it likely. All except Blossom. I am not totally sure about her.

[Ponyfan]

My mom remembers buying Cotton Candy for me in the store. She looks to be the same color as the one in pictures but her eyes are blue instead of purple. She is a little darker than my other Cotton Candy also. For a while I thought someone had accidentally stuck a MO on her card but then I heard that the purple color can fade to blue. Maybe some ponies just ended up being a little darker due to batch differences?

Ponyfan

[Taffeta]

I think it unlikely that your pony faded, Ponyfan, if she's a darker colour in body and it's her eyes that are paler. And I'm not really arguing with the concept of batch differences. I've seen so many different ones esp. for CC and Blossom over the years that I know there are lots of those.

The reason I noticed a difference with these was the vivid colours, esp on Minty, but it's not the full rationale behind it. I'm really sceptical of judging a MO Collector pony, especially being in the UK where we didn't have them anyway, but.

I managed to get to my CF Cotton Candy. I can't access the FF ponies because they live in a carry case at the back and that would mean an evacuation, but it's this CF pony which I own which is a vivid pink colour (she is from here in the UK, from the 1984 set) that I want to do the comparison with because I think it illustrates a bit what I mean.

Spoiler

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There is a difference with the hair, as I mentioned before - there are shorter forelocks and the hair is silkier and the way it is rooted is the same as with Minty, Butterscotch, Bluebelle and Snuzzle (though as I said I am not convinced Blossom belongs with them). The plastic is distinctly different as well, this is really hard to photograph but it isn't just the colour, but how it feels as well. They are all firmer than any CF version or FF version I have had through my hands (but this is not a plasticiser issue kind of going hard). The symbol print is more defined on the new addition and the print is not the same as the store one, either. With CC this is quite incidental but it is noticeable on the others where there are very vivid symbol colours, especially on Minty and on Snuzzle.

[Ponyfan]

I see what you mean. That's about how my childhood one looks next to my other one.  Here's a close up of the eye on my Cotton Candy.

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I didn't even know that Cotton Candy was supposed to have purple eyes until someone mentioned the eyes on mine were the wrong color.


Now that I've seen comparison pics I don't think that is due to batch differences.  

Ponyfan

[kitkatvintage]

There was a set of the 6 Collectors Pose mail order ponies that was released slightly later in the line (late 80's or possibly very early 90's) in a Canadian mail order brochure. I believe they have more vivid colors & possibly some other slight differences to the standard early mail orders.

FantasticFirefly gave me a heads up on the existence of this set awhile back, but I don't own any. I'll send her a message & maybe she can chime in with more first-hand knowledge & specifics.

[LadyMoondancer]

Cotton Candy's eyes are sort of between indigo (purpley-blue) and purple-purple.  There are definitely some eye variations in between those colors.    My childhood one has the same color eyes as yours, Ponyfan.  If I described the color, I'd say it's purple.  But some people see it as a blue.

[Taffeta]

There was a set of the 6 Collectors Pose mail order ponies that was released slightly later in the line (late 80's or possibly very early 90's) in a Canadian mail order brochure. I believe they have more vivid colors & possibly some other slight differences to the standard early mail orders.

FantasticFirefly gave me a heads up on the existence of this set awhile back, but I don't own any. I'll send her a message & maybe she can chime in with more first-hand knowledge & specifics.

That's interesting. I had wondered whether they may be a later MO release some years after the ponies were in stores. The big issue with telling that for sure is that North America still had ponies made in HK right through the line, whereas in Europe there was a definite change to China later on and the later rerelease of Lemon Drop here with the 2nd stable is made in China. These girls are all made in HK and the hoof stamp of both Cotton Candys above is exactly the same :/

I definitely think they are different, but I am leaning towards maybe Blossom being a store bought one and then someone getting the other five via mail order to complete the set at a later date.

[Skeen]

I was wondering why Blossom would be different, and then I thought maybe she was a storebought with the brochure included that gave access to buy all the others MO? 

[Taffeta]

I was wondering why Blossom would be different, and then I thought maybe she was a storebought with the brochure included that gave access to buy all the others MO? 

Today's been kind of a mad day so I only really looked at them again this evening when sorting out the ponies from the lot that I am keeping and those I am not and I noticed that now dry and properly groomed, Blossom's hair does look like the others. She has the same kind of forelock, so perhaps she is part of the set after all. There were other year 2 ponies in the lot, though - AJ and Bow Tie - so it's not impossible someone had these as a child and then wanted the others later.

Right now though I think she goes with them. I haven't had a chance to compare her with my loose 1984 Blossom though.

[LadyMoondancer]

I'm pretty sure the collector ponies weren't offered as mail orders until 1986, Year 4 in the US.  Their first brochure was with SS Satin 'n Lace, the Birthflower ponies, Baby Lucky, and the Pretty Parlor (minus Peachy).

As far as I know, Hasbro never offered a pony as a mail order at the same time as it was in stores.  They always played up the "Not available in ANY STORE!!!" aspect.  (Although they did release some mail orders in stores later, like the Sparkle ponies, lol.)

Here's a picture of the brochure:

https://goo.gl/images/2zSQWv

https://goo.gl/images/jt2Q6q

(The "Pony not included" is in reference to the Pretty Parlor.)

Since you mentioned there were also Birthflower ponies in the lot, I wonder if this was the mail order deal they got the Collectors ponies from.

[Taffeta]

There are also 2 birthflower ponies in this ebay lot, making it logical they all came through that method. The differences in features make it seem like they have been remade for the offer rather than being in constant production.

[Artemesia's Garden]

They are stunning! Bluebelle and Minty are just wow!!

[Taffeta]

They are stunning! Bluebelle and Minty are just wow!!

I know. Minty's colour when I took her out of the box...there was a FF pony in the box as well and the difference was just so obvious that I began thinking about this as a possible explanation. Either way, whatever they are, these are hands down the nicest Minty, Snuzzle and Bluebelle I have ever had. And I would say that about Butterscotch except that her hair is too delicate even to touch and will probably all break and fall out the moment I try and put them in storage :/

But they are lovely either way, so I will keep them as a set and await the day one day in the eventual magical future where we have a time machine to go back and check these fiddly details...