Happy Halloween / Nightmare Night

NIGHTMARE NIGHT

What a fright!

Give us something

Sweet to bite!

Nightmare Moon above is from the favorites collection. I just felt like taking more pictures of her. However, fashion style Princess Luna is new.  I randomly happened across her at the local Walgreens and just fell in love with her. I am not overly fond of those wings, but I still think she's a pretty toy and she has very silky hair compared to Princess Cadence. 

Princess Luna is  posing with a little pumpkin I had around the house and with some gooseberries. I saw them for the first time the other day and thought they were really cool looking.

Happy Nightmare Night / Halloween!

Survey Says: Fluttershy Promo Card Wins

I few weeks ago I posted about the Everfree Northwest Exclusive Fluttershy Card (F38).
Well a while back Enterplay did a survey on their website and promised a limited amount of the same Fluttershy card to survey participants. I didn't really mention it at the time because I do not have very good luck with things like this. But I diligently printed out my email and put it with a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE)and threw it in the mail.

Then some pony collectors started posted that they had gotten their cards in the mail. I didn't get one even when other California ponies had, so I figures I was just out the cost of some stamps, not that big of a deal, they really must have been limited in quantity.

And then I happened to get a piece of mail with some very familiar handwriting on it.

Hooray, I now have two foil Fluttershy cards!


Of course with so many people getting the "exclusive" (we now know that these are generally not exclusive to a single convention) card it means that the supposed value of the card has dropped. I went to ebay to check out some prices and lately the range that the cards actually sold at was between $30-$60 with most around the $40 mark.


It's funny because I have "collected" several card series in my time, but I have never been a serious enough collector to drop more than $10 on a single card. But I have known collectors that are really into cards and would think $40 for a card is not very remarkable. Then I think there are some out there that think all of us pony collectors are crazy for even spending money as much money as we do on plastic toys!

Shout! Shout! Let it all out....

These are the things I can do without....

A while back Shout! Factory (the company behind the current My Little Pony DVDs) announced that they were producing an amazon exclusive MLP:FiM season one box set. The pony community showed their support with their collective wallet by heading over to amazon.com and pre-ordering the set. We fans had been saying for quite some time that we would purchase and support a DVD release and many people followed though, so much so that the set hit the #3 spot on amazon's top-ranking DVDs. Everything was good in the land of ponies and we were thrilled to find out that not only were we getting a box set, we were getting a box set with commentary and bonus material.

Now, I try to keep in mind that extras are just that - extra, a bonus or as they say "icing on the cake". Actually, let's run with that metaphor for a moment. As consumers we have grown accustomed to certain things. We have come to expect DVDs to have a certain number of features, like subtitles/closed captioning options, visually appealing and easy to navigate menus, and extra content/bonus material. I am probably not alone in saying I'd prefer my cake with icing, and in fact have come to expect it. The problem with the content of the box set bonus material is not so much what there is, as what isn't included.

Lauren Faust, the creator of MLP:FiM universe and director for the first season of the show and created the "bible" of sketches, designs, and guidelines for the show that help Equestria and its inhabitants feel organic and complimentary. (An example is pictured above.) It seems like the logical person to go to for season one commentary would be Lauren Faust, yet she is remarkably absent from the project and unhappy about the situation. Earlier this week she posted on Twitter,

"I'd say I'm excited about the MLP:FiM season 1 dvd except I wish so badly that I could have been included in the commentary."

At this point we do not know why Lauren is not included in the set. The Shout! Factory producer in charge of the release briefly vented his own frustration as well (his tweets were later deleted) saying,

"Great. Now I'm being blamed for not including something that should've been a no-brainer on an upcoming set. It was always on my list gang."

"Not everything can be included, no matter how hard we producers want them"

I hope this is not the case, but it very much sounds to me like Lauren was never contacted to be included in this production. This is a disappointment to not only her and fans in general (the pony community itself is very fond of Lauren) but I feel especially disappointing to the female pony fans like me. I don't understand how Lauren was not the top priority when it comes to the commentary and frankly it concerns me that the powers that be in charge of pony seem to be mostly male and just a little out of touch with both the male and female pony fans.

This issue has already been labeled "drama" with fans responding in a range of emotions, not all of them desirable. I personally do not advocate hate mail or harassing people who are investing in the MLP franchise. But I do think we should have to option to criticize, preferably if those doing the criticizing are doing so in a manner that is calm and for the purpose of discussing an underlying concern, not just for creating drama.

That being said I think it is fair to criticize Shout! Factory for their lack of communication considering the upcoming release. I understand that we can't get "everything" but it is my firm belief that 1. Faust should have been a top priority. 2. The fan community can only accept what we are told, and thus far we still do not know why Lauren was not included and 3. this needs to come before we see information that is little more than a complaint about customers' desires as opposed to information.

Blind Bag Wave 4: Complete

Well I've now opened and posted the entire wave 4 blind bag set. I hope you enjoyed the ponies! I know I loved taking the pictures and it was fun to only focus on one pony at  time instead of a whole set. That being said I hope to hear information on a new wave soon!

I'd love to hear from the readers too. Did you see a pony that stood out to you? Did you ever totally disagree with my opinion on a particular pony?

Season 3: Premieres November 10th!

Pony fans have been waiting for a season three premiere announcement for quite some time now. I dare say that some fans have been more patient than others, but we are all excited to finally have word about the new season. I guess I am saying that November 10th (10:00 EST) can't come fast enough, especially for someone like me who generally dislikes spoilers. I am so very tempted to click on all the (officially!) spoilery videos and images.

This season I am dedicated to writing something about each episode, so I can't wait to get started!

How about you dear readers? Have you looked at all the spoilers yet, or are you holding off until the premiere?

Blind Bag Wave 4: Day 24

Sparkly Clear Rainbow Dash - Wave 4 # 19

The final member of the "mane" six, Rainbow Dash finally appears. It's funny that she is the very last pony to be opened as she is always concerned with speed and being first. Like many of the other "mane" six figures in this set, this specific figure does not look significantly different from the crystal rainbow set. I do however like how her photo came out. I adore the translucent pegasi wings on these figures.

Error Pony: Andromeda

Another factory error/prototype/hybrid pony has arrived from China. This pony is a mix of Lyra's coloration (minus the eyes) and Sunny Rays symbol. 

The hardest thing about these error ponies is naming them. The minty green and the sun symbol gave me trouble at first but I thought since there are three stars a constellation name might be pretty and Andromeda was born!

Here is a side by side comparison of Andromeda and Lyra. You can see the body and hair are the same, but the eyes and symbols are different.

Blind Bag Wave 4: Day 23

Sparkly Clear Twilight Sky - Wave 4 #17

I adore this stallion! He shares a theme and symbol with Twilight Velvet. I think they are some of the best looking blind bags and as I have liked a majority of this set that is saying something! I really hope we get a brushable size of the Twilight Ponies. 

Blind Bag Wave 4: Day 22

Sparkly Clear Rarity - Wave 4 # 14

White unicorns are so lovely and Rarity is no exception. I thought at first that this version was a little pinker than the crystal rainbow set but they actually look exactly the same.

Everfree Northwest Exclusive Fluttershy

When enterplay first announced my little pony trading cards I was quite excited, imagining a pokemon-like trading card game. It turned out later that the cards were not actually a game, but trading cards. I didn't preorder any or look for them in the stores as I remembered the days of anime trading cards and not having anyone to trade with.

Of course the cards were a big hit and the company ran out of stock. I only ever found one package in my target and someone had scrunched it up so the cards were all creased. I was lucky enough to be gifted duplicate cards by Starry Night and Apple Cider over at Bronyville. My mom found a few packages in Ohio as well so I wasn't completely cardless.

Then I learned Enterplay would be giving away a special foil Fluttershy card at Everfree Northwest (F38). A similar card was given away at Bronycon and goes for $150-200 on ebay. I asked my friends that were going to try and get me a card, but I knew my chances were slim.

Then a brony named Nemo that didn't collect cards told me I could have his card. I am super grateful that he gave me his card, but I didn't want to not give him something in return, so I traded him a TRU exclusive glow in the dark Zecora.

All I can say is thank you to everyone that has been so generous to help me get some of these pony cards. I could not have done it without you!

Blind Bag Wave 4: Day 21

Metallic Shimmer Applejack - Wave 4 # 18

The final metallic special edition pony appears. Apparently it is difficult to photograph fake gold ponies as she looks a bit more appealing in person, maybe too appealing, why is it I feel like I've read about a golden apple causing trouble before?

Blind Bag Pony Wedding Set

Another set of the royal couple has arrived from Ohio. These are blind bag sized ponies that come in themed sets. The first I found was the Cloudsdale set, but my mom found the Royal Wedding set which comes with Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and Twilight Sparkle. The Twilight looks about the same as her other blind bag releases so I did not photograph her.

Princess Cadence looks lovely in this set, though you can tell there is a lot of detail on a small toy, so it isn't the neatest paint job I've ever seen. The mold for Cadence is new, and I hope they reuse it for Princess Luna sometime.

Shining Armor is a handsome groom despite the stray spec of paint on his face. Unlike the Fashion Style and Wedding Castle versions this one has the more show accurate fetlocks and blue hooves.

And here is the happy couple together. I am still shocked by how much I really adore this pair. I really do hope to see more of them in season three.

And just for fun here is a size comparison of the three different releases the wedding couple has had. The smallest are the blind bag sized figures, the middle are slightly larger than "normal" brushable pony size, and the tallest are the fashion style size.

Blind Bag Wave 4: Day 20

Sparkly Clear Mosely Orange - Wave 4 #20

Today seems to be a lucky day. Mosely Orange is a stallion and also happens to be the 20th ba we have opened. This has happened once before, so I suppose it isn't that rare, but it is still a fun coincidence. As for Mosely, I have no clue where his name cam from. I think it might be one of the weirdest ones in the pony fandom.

Blind Bag Wave 4: Day 19

Sparkly Clear Amethyst Star - Wave 4 # 21

I was pleasantly surprised by the deep purple of Amethyst Star. Maybe it is because Amethyst is my birthstone and I am subconsciously drawn to her? I really wish she had a star cutie mark instead of the generic gems.

TRU Exclusive: Zecora

Today's collection addition comes all the was from the Everfree Forrest or at least Ohio where my mom was lucky enough to find the Toys R Us Exclusive Zecora.

Zecora is pretty darn cool as she is the standard pony size (in fact she uses Applejack's head mold) but her body is made out of glow in the dark material. I think her eyes are the most striking feature.

The one thing people don't seem to like about this release is that the gold bands of her bracelet are not painted all the way around her leg, so she only looks "correct" in a few poses.  Meaning she photographs better from some angles than other.

Unfortunately there has been some drama with her pricing. She was announced at the Toy Fair at $9.99 and was on the shelves for a short period of time with this price. Then it got raised to to $14.99 unexpectedly. Just a week or so later it bumped up again to $16.99.

Sadly, we are thinking the price will increase more closer to the holidays.

Blind Bag Wave 4: Day 18

Sparkly Clear Twilight Sparkle - Wave 4 # 13

Twilight is the pony of the day today, I think her picture came out pretty cute, but this figure looks almost exactly like the wave 1 special edition Twilight and the Twilight in the Crystal Rainbow collection. It is too bad we couldn't get a different purple for this one.

Daisy Dreams

Daisy Dreams is one of those ponies that has an odd release story. This version is a Toys R Us Exclusive packaged with Rarity and two scooters (so they can charge you more). Daisy Dreams has also been available as a Glimmer Wing pony. But before this release she was in international exclusive packaged with Fluttershy (no scooter). The US version actually has the symbol on the opposite side compared to the international version.

I waffled about getting the set for a while because I was hoping to offset the price by purchasing it during a BOGO sale at Toys R Us. However, she seemed to sell out rather quickly and I grabbed the last one available. Oddly enough Daisy Dreams seems to have been attacked by a random vampire during the night as she came with two weird pricks on her neck.

Blind Bag Wave 4: Day 17

Sparkly Clear Chance-a-lot - Wave 4 # 10

Today is another stallion. I am so happy were are getting a lot of yellow and blue this wave. They really look good together. Unfortunately this guy has a bit of a smudge on his cutie mark.

Blind Bag Wave 4: Day 16

Sparkly Clear Peachy Sweet - Wave 4 # 16

Oh weird, today the 16th pony to be opened is #16! I wonder what the actual odds of that are? Unfortunately we have another aesthetically challenged pony today. Why would a pony named peachy be green?

Wedding Pony Wave 2 : Complete

Here is the complete set of the Wedding Pony Wave Two ponies!
I think this has been overall one of my favorite waves as this set is quite colorful compared to some of the others and it's really nice to see some bolder color choices. I hope this is a trend that continues into the future, but considering we've not seen any leaked ponies in a while we shall have to wait and see.

How about you, dear readers? Do you have a favorite pony from the set? Any surprises? Did you find the toys online or in the store?