PONIES.

I've always had the collector's urge, but it's been years since I found something that was both compelling to me AND readily available. (I wanted so much to collect things relating to the anime I loved, but merchandise was so hard to come by in the U.S. and shows went in and out of popularity so quickly.) My Little Pony not only has a current incarnation I love (complete with animation and toys!) but the older toys are findable and there's a humongous subculture dedicated to collecting and restoring them. I just want to go out and find yard sales and flea markets right now! Too bad yard sale season is mostly over until next spring ^^;;

I don't have a particularly compelling story for my history with MLP... I didn't watch the cartoon on TV or the movies when I was little (that I recall), but I did have lots of the toys, and I loved them. Perusing the interwebs for pictures of Generation 1 ponies, I keep coming across pictures and experiencing this bolt of recognition and love - I HAD that pony!

I've found a couple of Generation 3 (early-to-mid 2000s) ponies at our local thrift store. One is a McDonald's toy, Star Swirl, and the other is Cherry Blossom from a 2006 release (who apparently originally came with a hot air balloon toy!). I think this is a pretty good start to my pre-Friendship Is Magic collection :3



And, uh, speaking of Friendship is Magic (also known as Generation 4). I'm in utter love with the blind bag figurines, and the bigger ones with brushable hair are starting to grow on me big-time. As evidenced by our specially-made pony display shelves XD



(It's hard to get the whole thing in the frame, but the top row has crystal/metallic ponies, the bottom row had the "mane six" and other important cast members as well as the bigger toys, and the others are in rainbow order going clockwise. WHY YES, WE DID CAREFULLY CONSIDER HOW WE ARRANGED THEM, WHY DO YOU ASK?)

G4 blind bag ponies and used G1 and G3 ponies are going to be my focus at the moment. I haven't built much of a wish list yet, and I'd probably buy up any G1 pony I found that I could reasonably afford, but here's a short one - for my own reference and if anyone else is interested. The G1s I list are ones I can remember having owned.

G1
Moondancer
Gingerbread (Twinkle Eyed pony)

G4
Blind bag wave 1 (pink bags): Minty, Bumblesweet, Fizzypop, Lemon Hearts, Lucky Swirl, Sweetcream Scoops, Pinkie Pie (glittery), Twilight Sparkle (glittery)

Blind bag wave 2 (? Dark purple bags? European release only?): Any of them!

Blind bag wave 3 (purple bags with suitcase pattern): Lovestruck, Meadow Song, Rarity (glow in the dark)

Blind bag wave 5 (green bags): Any of them, but especially Princess Luna

Blind bag wave 6 (purple and blue bags): Any of them except Shoeshine, who we have. We found this wave at a Newbury Comics in Portland, Maine this past weekend - it was the first I'd heard of this set.

For those of you on my f'list who collect ponies, what do you recommend for cleaning them up? Soap and water? Baking soda? Will washing their hair with conditioner help with the frizzing caused by trying to brush out the tangles? And how do you feel about customization? When I first heard about customizing ponies, I thought it sounded like a really cool and creative idea... and then I explored some of the collectors' sites and came across a lot of hostility towards customization, based in a philosophy of preserving the ponies as artifacts. I wanted to get the opinions of people I trust, which is you guys <3