My Little Pony - For the Vintage Collector Quiz

Answer: Earth Ponies

In 1982, the first six ponies were released by Hasbro; Cotton Candy, Butterscotch, Blossom, Snuzzle, Minty, and Blue Belle. All six of these ponies had the same body type, devoid of fins, horns and wings, which led to them being labelled Earth ponies.

As each of these ponies was re-released in later years, finding a true original pony has become quite a challenge for new collectors. Nevertheless, one only needs to take a look at the pony's feet in order to see whether or not they have found a genuine original.

Indeed the feet of the original six ponies (released in 1982-83) are pretty distinctive. Unlike their descendants (1983/84 onwards), who were made with concave hooves, the 1982/83 ponies have hooves which are flat, and have circles imprinted on them.

Answer: Sea Ponies

For many little girls, the release of the Sea Ponies changed bath time forever. Made specifically with bath time in mind, Hasbro's Sea Ponies were made up of the head of a pony, and the body of a sea horse. Unlike other My Little Ponies, the Sea Ponies had no symbols on their bodies, and they came with their own seashell homes, which could be attached to the bathroom wall. They also had weights in their tails, which helped them to float upright in water.

In 1984, Baby Sea Ponies were introduced, and were sold with their own individual floats, which they needed in order to stay upright in water. These floats have always posed problems for Sea Pony collectors, as they were easily lost, or mixed up other floats. As a result, more often than not, collectors are forced to purchase a Sea Pony separately, and then spend time tracking down its matching float.

Answer: True

An ongoing debate between So Soft Pony collectors revolves around the origin of various So Soft Ponies. Some claim that this collection was never widely sold in the UK, while others claim that only certain So Soft Ponies made it into the UK market. Whatever the truth, So Soft Ponies were definitely sold in the US, and are also widely collected by UK My Little Pony Collectors.

So Soft Ponies were covered in fur, and generally came in lighter colours than their predecessors. They were sold with their own scented sticker, ribbon and comb. Although the majority of So Soft Ponies were released in 1985, six more entered the market the following year. The value of these six ponies is increased if they can be found with their original cards and inserts. Although this is also true of most other ponies, these particular six ponies are rather special, in that the pictures on their cards and inserts do not match the ponies in question. In fact their cards and inserts often show the wrong hair colour or pose, and sometimes even the wrong pony. Their worth is increased as a result.

The first generation (G1) of So Soft Ponies was limited to adult ponies, and no So Soft Baby Ponies were made until 2004. However in 1986, Hasbro did release the Soft Sleepy Newborns, but, (despite their misleading name), they were not covered in fur, and had hard vinyl bodies instead.

Answer: False

On the whole, most of the ponies released in both the US and the UK shared the same name. However there were some exceptions. The 1986 collection of Baby Ponies with First Tooth contained one such exception. Of the six ponies released, all but one was known by the same name in both countries.

The exception was Baby Tic-Tac-Toe, who was known as Baby Noughts and Crosses in the UK. Another variation occurred in 1985's Twinkle Eyed collection, which contained Sweet Stuff, who was named Sweetie in the UK.

Answer: Majesty

In 1983, Hasbro released the Dream Castle, which contained a pretty unicorn pony named Majesty. Majesty was a white pony, with blue hair, complete with a white streak, with a group of glittery flower-like symbols on her hips. Together with Spike, a small purple, green and white baby dragon, (who was also included with the playset) she ruled the Dream Castle.

Indeed up until 1986, the Dream Castle was sold with both Majesty and Spike, but after that, only Spike remained. For from 1986 onwards, Majesty was only available for purchase as a Playset Pony.

Answer: The Grooming Parlour

The 80s My Little Pony phenomenon spawned numerous individual ponies, pets and playsets, all of which (with only a few exceptions) are relatively easy for collectors to find. However it also produced numerous sets of clothes and accessories, which, can on occasion, turn into a nightmare to track down.

Indeed while most of the Pony Wear shoes produced in the 1980s were simply plain white, Hasbro also produced some unique, brightly coloured ones, which are much harder to find. For example, the 1984 Party Time outfit was released with yellow bow shoes, which are far more difficult to find than their white counterparts, simply because fewer were made.

In addition to this, each pony was made with four hooves, adding to the difficulty of finding a matching set. Meanwhile another coveted clothing accessory is the pink and purple pom poms which make up the 1984 Pom Pom Pony outfit. Such items were easily lost or broken, which makes them extremely valuable to a collector.

Answer: Bushwoolies

When the Princess Ponies were first released in the US, in 1986, they came with small figurines called Bushwoolies. The Bushwoolies were short, stout figurines, which came in a variety of colours, and wore little hats. These companions were never sold in the UK, but are, nonetheless, collected by UK collectors. Princess Ponies were sold in the UK, but they all had different names to their American counterparts.

They also had different companions, which came in the form of different coloured baby dragons, who were very similar to Spike. Unlike Spike, however, these baby dragons are extremely difficult to find, and can command a high price on auction sites such as ebay.

Answer: The fragility of their wings

Although the Summer Wing Ponies did come with some accessories, the fragility of their wings is by far the main reason that collectors now find it difficult to find them in pristine condition. Their eyes were not of the Beddy-Bye variety, and were painted on like many of their predecessors. Each individual pony was sold with ribbon and a hairpin, and had a symbol which featured a bird or an insect.

Answer: Adventure Boy Ponies

In 1986 Hasbro released its first set of male ponies, in the form of the Adventure Boy Ponies (known as the Big Brother Ponies in the US). These ponies were easy to distinguish from the female ponies due to their size and Clydesdale hooves. Like the female ponies, they too came with accessories, but instead of ribbons, they were given bandannas, and instead of brushes they received hats.

In the UK, nearly all of these ponies were given different names to their US counterparts, and all are highly collectible, as collectors struggle to find them in mint condition.

Answer: They were scented ponies, whose scents matched their symbols

The Candy Cane ponies each had a different scent, which was meant to match the symbol on their hips. Although some scents, namely Molasses', was quite successful, others were not. Nevertheless, these ponies were also known for their beautiful hair, which was perfectly curled. Over time, their scents faded, but did not disappear completely, especially if the pony in question was well looked after. From a collector's point of view, it is finding one of these ponies with their hair intact and well looked after that is the challenge, as they are, more often than not, found with their hair cut or brushed into frizzy waves.