Nirvana "Define" Nirvana/variant... Questions questions!

Use this prefix for threads about MLP items manufactured outside of the USA, exceptionally rare items, variants, and prototypes.

DialgaBritesMom

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So, not being as up on this as some of you, I often feel confused about things.

A variant, to me, means any pony, common or not, that turns up in a color combination and/or pose that is not how it was originally released in the US or Europe. Is that close?

And what constitutes a nirvana, and exactly where do the UK and German ponies fit into nirvana-ness? I would consider "nirvana" an umbrella term that would include variants, but otherwise I'm not sure about some things. I for one am excited to have certain "exclusive" UK and German ponies (Gypsy, certain non US released babies, and the Haarschmuckies for example), because I know they weren't released here, even if they were relatively common over *there*. So I was thinking of them as "nirvanas" in my mind, simply because they weren't US ponies ( new question...does this mean that ponies released only in the US are nirvanas to people in other parts of the world? how does this work in reverse?). I know they're not *variants* as such (being that they are their own selves within the UK and Germany, and may have variants of their own in other countries--do they? Another question pops to mind!), but are more or less exclusive to release in Europe, or at least certain parts of Europe.


Or is it just any pony that doesn't have China or HK on the feet?

Has anyone written a tutorial that sort of explains all the little nuances of this branch of MLP collecting? Or is it a matter of, "if it's a nirvana to you, then it's a nirvana"? (lol)
 
Well, in a nutshell, a nirvana is a pony that was *not* made in hong kong or china. A UK pony is not considered a nirvana, but german ponies are...
 
Oh and from what I know there is no "reverse", a pony in the U.S. is not a nirvana since all the U.S. ponies came from china and hong kong. Not that I'm a nirvana expert but hopefully that sheds a little light on things :)
 
I have been wondering the exact same things, DBMom! I had no idea that Ponies were so complex...
 
Variant ponies and Nirvana ponies are the same thing. Years ago the Arena coined the word nirvana for their variant forum and that's where the term comes from. When I first started collecting any pony other than the US releases were considered a variant. UK ponies weren't that common outside the UK and for a long time no one really knew much about ponies outside the US and the UK. As we got to know more about various groups of variants the became more popular. So we had waves of popularity for ponies from different countries. Itallians for example, when the first Itallian collectors joined the forums and showed us photos of their ponies, they weren't anything like ours. We realised how different they were even ones with the same names as the US versions and that there was the possiblity of more variants. What were normal common ponies to the Itallian collectors were unusual and exciting for the rest of us.

To begin with most of the pony boards were made up of US and UK collectors. When I joined 11 years ago now there were only a handful of Australian collectors on the boards, the vast majority of people were from the US, then there were a group of UK people and a sprinkling of europeans.

Basically these days what Magic Star says holds true, but I thought you might like to hear a bit of the story behind it.
 
I also thought that a "variant" was a pony that was released in the USA, but was then released in other Countries as the same pony BUT different colors, different breed, ect.

SO.. that makes German ponies or UK ponies that were NOT released in the USA "exclusives" not variant.

For example: Baby Bowtie is a UK exclusive because she was never released in the States, only in the UK

And.. Greek Moondancer is a variant because "regular" Moondancer was released in the states and it's the same pony just different colors.

PS- I think "nirvana" is kinda of a dumb name that they started using in collecting. All I think of when I hear that is "It smells like teen spirit" LOL
 
I also thought that a "variant" was a pony that was released in the USA, but was then released in other Countries as the same pony BUT different colors, different breed, ect.

SO.. that makes German ponies or UK ponies that were NOT released in the USA "exclusives" not variant.

For example: Baby Bowtie is a UK exclusive because she was never released in the States, only in the UK

And.. Greek Moondancer is a variant because "regular" Moondancer was released in the states and it's the same pony just different colors.

PS- I think "nirvana" is kinda of a dumb name that they started using in collecting. All I think of when I hear that is "It smells like teen spirit" LOL

Lol and here I thought they use that name for the pony JOY factor (see #2) lol:

n.
1. often Nirvana
a. Buddhism The ineffable ultimate in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion.
b. Hinduism Emancipation from ignorance and the extinction of all attachment.
2. An ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy.
 
a. Buddhism The ineffable ultimate in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion.
b. Hinduism Emancipation from ignorance and the extinction of all attachment.

I don't like using the term "nirvana" for toy collecting, either. I find it to be disrespectful since it really is part of Buddhism and Hindu beliefs. "Variants" and/or "alternates" or just using the country of origin in the name is much better! I'm glad this forum went that way with the name!
 
LOL Baby fizzy, we're from the same generation and yet Nirvana makes me think of the same thing!
 
I will be doing a panel on Nirvana ponies at the MLP Fair :) general overview - lots of good information
 
I also thought that a "variant" was a pony that was released in the USA, but was then released in other Countries as the same pony BUT different colors, different breed, ect.

SO.. that makes German ponies or UK ponies that were NOT released in the USA "exclusives" not variant.

For example: Baby Bowtie is a UK exclusive because she was never released in the States, only in the UK

And.. Greek Moondancer is a variant because "regular" Moondancer was released in the states and it's the same pony just different colors.

PS- I think "nirvana" is kinda of a dumb name that they started using in collecting. All I think of when I hear that is "It smells like teen spirit" LOL

I'll be honest I always thought this as well! Especially since to me using some of the other descriptions of "nirvana ponies" it would include ponies that were never released in the UK -Firefly, Medley, many, many seaponies, a lot of the 10th anniversary ponies etc. To my mind nirvana is misleading since it all depends where you live in the world. I always found it strange that people think the seven friends ponies are highly sought after when I remember them being sold off for cheap when I was little in vast quantities.
So yeah, long story short I agree with sweetiebabyfizzy. ;)
 
oh cool, so good to know I was making sense :) lol

I agree too, I don't like the term Nirvana.. same reason it doesn't make sense to me to use it for collecting. However, I guess I can understand where it came from considering the definition of the word.
 
you have to keep in mind, when the word "nirvana" was coined for use with pony collecting, very little was known about variants and many countries were not discovered at all...some countries only had one or two ponies so they were VERY rare
nirvana boosted them above mere "grails"
 
I have a question about the Fancy Pants Babies from Thailand, in the Arena Nirvana gallery it shows all Thailand ponies except the Fancy Pants Babies. Are these not considered Nirvanas?
 
So I was curious on what people thought of the term and I googled. So I apologize if I am pushing this up a lot. But you are all quite misinformed. So I shall helps you.

The term "nirvana" came from the idea that collectors of foreign variations had no place. They reached a higher point of collecting than the typical discussion forums. Before there was no place for people that collected them. Their discussions were ignored, their sale posts pushed down... Basically there was just no place for them to discuss ponies in the community. Then a collector named JLM started a board called "Nirvana". It didn't include German ponies unless they were variations on the ponies. While anyone could post there, it wasn't a place for someone to be posting about their new Italian Applejack. It brought a lot of top collectors to the board and it quickly gained popularity. JLM did a great job and pretty much ran it herself with some help from Kcat. But it was really just a place for seasoned foreign variation collectors.

I won't get into things on what happened. But when the Arena took the board, the knowledge dropped off and it became quite generic. So barrier to entry got lowered and anyone started posting if the pony was from anywhere. Many of the big collectors left the board. And the economy probably didn't help a lot either but I know some of the collectors didn't like how the board changed under the new management and lost purpose.

Now people calling the ponies nirvana isn't accurate. It is slang. The truth is that a Brazilian Sugarberry is not the same as German Starshine. One is quite easier to find. And when the board was created by JLM foreigns were well known in over 15 different countries. It was really a place for collectors to go like herself. If you use the logic of calling them Nirvana you could justify Thai ponies in it. I personally can't see a true collector of foreign variations calling them that. Maybe a bit novice and ignorant. And many foreign variations were very well known and quite common when the board got started. Italian Peachy was worth about $2 then just like today hehe...

This is how it went.
 
heres the current definition according to the mlparena nirvana forum :)


The Nirvana forum focuses on the first generation of ponies that were made in foreign countries, along with rare variations and prototypes from Hong Kong/China. The Nirvana forum is here to help old and new collectors alike to learn about these exotic ponies and share their finds! It is also somewhere you can sell/trade your foreign ponies.

What ponies are allowed in the Nirvana Forum?

A general overview of the ponies that fall under the Nirvana umbrella are:

Argentina
Brazil
Colombia
France
Greece
Hong Kong/China ‘error’ ponies (eg. White Bluebelle, Reverse Gusty, Princesses variations and Happy Tail oddities)
India
Italy
Macau
Mexico
Peru
Scandinavian/Australian ponies (eg. alternate birthflowers and yellow Moondancer)
South Africa
Spain
Thailand
Venezuela
Ponies from locations not identifiable.

German and Dutch issue ponies may be posted about in this forum, but they are equally acceptable elsewhere as well

What ponies are not included?

The following ponies are not included in this forum (except for prototypes, errors, and oddities of these)

Hong Kong/China North American
Hong Kong/China from UK and Europe
G3 ponies
G2 ponies
Mail Orders
 
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also, the thailand marked fancy pants babies are not considered nirvana since they were released in abundance here in the US.

And the fact that someone doesnt live in the US doesnt change the definition of what is considered a "nirvana" pony


hope that helps a bit :woofpup:
 
So I was curious on what people thought of the term and I googled. So I apologize if I am pushing this up a lot. But you are all quite misinformed. So I shall helps you.

The term "nirvana" came from the idea that collectors of foreign variations had no place. They reached a higher point of collecting than the typical discussion forums. Before there was no place for people that collected them. Their discussions were ignored, their sale posts pushed down... Basically there was just no place for them to discuss ponies in the community. Then a collector named JLM started a board called "Nirvana". It didn't include German ponies unless they were variations on the ponies. While anyone could post there, it wasn't a place for someone to be posting about their new Italian Applejack. It brought a lot of top collectors to the board and it quickly gained popularity. JLM did a great job and pretty much ran it herself with some help from Kcat. But it was really just a place for seasoned foreign variation collectors.

I won't get into things on what happened. But when the Arena took the board, the knowledge dropped off and it became quite generic. So barrier to entry got lowered and anyone started posting if the pony was from anywhere. Many of the big collectors left the board. And the economy probably didn't help a lot either but I know some of the collectors didn't like how the board changed under the new management and lost purpose.

Now people calling the ponies nirvana isn't accurate. It is slang. The truth is that a Brazilian Sugarberry is not the same as German Starshine. One is quite easier to find. And when the board was created by JLM foreigns were well known in over 15 different countries. It was really a place for collectors to go like herself. If you use the logic of calling them Nirvana you could justify Thai ponies in it. I personally can't see a true collector of foreign variations calling them that. Maybe a bit novice and ignorant. And many foreign variations were very well known and quite common when the board got started. Italian Peachy was worth about $2 then just like today hehe...

This is how it went.

Is this JLM? I'm having a hard time finding such a detailed answer to this question in a google search.
 
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