How did you get into MLP collecting?

March Meadow

March Meadow

Rainbow Pegasus
MLPTP Supporter
Joined
Apr 4, 2024
Messages
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On a rainy day in January 2018, I went on a walk with my friend to CVS. While walking around the store, I spotted a G4 unicorn named Pretzel and bought her- I still have her today! I did have a few ponies when I was younger (mostly G4 blind bag ponies), but they were sadly all donated. I then created an eBay account and the rest is history! I'm interested in hearing about how you all got into collecting. :satisfied:
 
Cute story! How has your collection grown over the past 6 years? Who is your favorite?

I was 3 when MLP debuted in the 80s and Blossom was my very first pony. Over the course of my childhood I acquired 20 ponies in total. I was 18ish when G2 came on the scene and I bought two out of curiosity but was too busy adulting to care much.

Through moving back and forth across the country in my early 20s, my little collection always lived in a shoebox under my bed, always keeping me company. I had my first child (a daughter) in 2002 and in 2003 I literally ran into a display of G3 at Walmart and several of them fell into my cart. I was shocked, excited, and then quickly obsessed. (I got the promo pack of Sparkleworks and Starswirl first and then immediately went back for the Minty/Butterscotch pack.)

I collected actively until 2007 (when I had my son) so I missed out on much of the final year of G3. I came back to collecting during the summer of last year when I happened across the 40th anniversary plushes on Amazon and fell back down the rabbit hole. Through learning about G4 and G5 and revisiting my stored collection I realized that G3 has my heart and it’s become my focus to pick up the ones I missed out on. They make me happy.

:ponylove:
 
I started off collecting. I was one of those weird kids that liked collecting things slightly more then playing with them.

But it initially started with the year 2 G1s my parents bought when I was still a baby. I came back around to more actively collecting because I can and there was many I missed as a kid.

I've carried my childhood herd around for decades.
 
I had ponies as a kid, but sometime around age 11 or 12 I became super interested in retro girls' toys/cartoons, like care bears, wuzzles, ponies, popples, etc. I started digging into webrings about them on the proto-internet and found webpages and forums. After a while I lost interest in the other things but my obsession with ponies only grew! I found fellow collectors on the old trading post and the rest is history! :coolpony:
 
Rebeldream said:
Cute story! How has your collection grown over the past 6 years? Who is your favorite?

I was 3 when MLP debuted in the 80s and Blossom was my very first pony. Over the course of my childhood I acquired 20 ponies in total. I was 18ish when G2 came on the scene and I bought two out of curiosity but was too busy adulting to care much.

Through moving back and forth across the country in my early 20s, my little collection always lived in a shoebox under my bed, always keeping me company. I had my first child (a daughter) in 2002 and in 2003 I literally ran into a display of G3 at Walmart and several of them fell into my cart. I was shocked, excited, and then quickly obsessed. (I got the promo pack of Sparkleworks and Starswirl first and then immediately went back for the Minty/Butterscotch pack.)

I collected actively until 2007 (when I had my son) so I missed out on much of the final year of G3. I came back to collecting during the summer of last year when I happened across the 40th anniversary plushes on Amazon and fell back down the rabbit hole. Through learning about G4 and G5 and revisiting my stored collection I realized that G3 has my heart and it’s become my focus to pick up the ones I missed out on. They make me happy.

:ponylove:
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My collection has fortunately grown quite a bit! I now have hundreds of ponies with the majority being G1 and G3. Despite G4 being one of my favorite generations, I don't like collecting the toys (besides the blind bags) nearly as much as G1 and G3. I honestly don't think I can pick a favorite haha, but my top three are Starcatcher (G3), Rarity (G3), and Rainbow Dash (G4).

That is so cool! I really wish I had grown up in the 80s, so many iconic pieces of media started there, including MLP. Do you still have your original Blossom? What pony is your favorite in your collection?

Haha, I was pretty young when G3 started airing, so I sadly don't remember much of it. I do remember having Kimono, Sunny Daze, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash at some point though. I recently rewatched some of the G3 episodes and was surprised by how much of the plot I remembered from when I was a kid.

The 40th-anniversary plushies are so cute! I got the Firefly plush (since she is my favorite G1 pony along with Wind Whistler). Did you get one? If so, which? G3 definitely has my heart too, but I also love G4 because as a kid I was OBSESSED with Rainbow Dash haha. MLP has always been a big part of my life, but I didn't get into collecting until later. Mostly because I was just interested in drawing ponies up until 2018 (I actually have a few old drawings of Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash from when I was a kid) and they're adorable. I still draw, but not nearly as much as I used to.

G5 is definitely not my taste and is the only generation that I do not collect. I'm not the biggest fan of the toy designs and the plot of G5 in general. I did, however, enjoy the special where they brought back Minty, Snuzzle, and Blue Belle. What are your thoughts? :rolleyespony:
 
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I had some G1 as a kid and liked them a lot but wouldn't really consider them a collection. "Grew out of" them before I was a teen and pretty much left them to a sibling.

But, when G4 came out I remember seeing an Applejack figure on someone's Flickr I was following, thought she was cute and the eyes reminded me of Azone or Obitsu dolls a little. I also started seeing some G4 mini figures on some other accounts that collected small Japanese kawaii type figures like Takochu, Hannari Tofu, etc. This was kinda crossover from the Re-Ment collector community I was in. I kinda forgot about ponies for a while, and had no intention of starting a collection of them.
In 2011 I started seeing a lot of online hype for FiM. I decided to watch some episodes, then looked up the toys again. I kinda made a random decision that I'd go up to the store and see if they had the 6 main characters figures. I remember I walked to the store even, and told myself if they had all 6 I'd get them, and they did! There was only one Rainbow Dash but I got all of the wave 1 brushables, and so it started. With many ups and downs over the past years, here I am, still into Pony. :ROLO:
 
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March Meadow said:
That is so cool! I really wish I had grown up in the 80s, so many iconic pieces of media started there, including MLP. Do you still have your original Blossom? What pony is your favorite in your collection?
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I do still have my original Blossom and she’s in decent condition as I was super careful with my small herd because they were my absolute favorite toys. My current favorite pony has been Cascade for a long time. She’s just so pretty and makes me smile! (But as far as G3 goes… idk if I could pick a favorite. I love them all for different reasons and just when I think I have a favorite I find another, lol)

March Meadow said:
The 40th-anniversary plushies are so cute! I got the Firefly plush (since she is my favorite G1 pony along with Wind Whistler). Did you get one? If so, which? G3 definitely has my heart too, but I also love G4 because as a kid I was OBSESSED with Rainbow Dash haha. MLP has always been a big part of my life, but I didn't get into collecting until later. Mostly because I was just interested in drawing ponies up until 2018 (I actually have a few old drawings of Twilight, Flutterfly, and Rainbow Dash from when I was a kid) and they're adorable. I still draw, but not nearly as much as I used to.
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When I saw the anniversary plushies on Amazon I ordered Firefly and Glory because I had them as a kid. (Never had Moondancer.) However, for Valentine’s Day this year my now-adult daughter bought me Moondancer which was a happy accident as she didn’t know that that was the one I needed, she just liked the colors for Valentine’s!

And Rainbow Dash has been my favorite for a long time, too, she’s beautiful!

March Meadow said:
G5 is definitely not my taste and is the only generation that I do not collect. I'm not the biggest fan of the toy designs and the plot of G5 in general. I did, however, enjoy the special where they brought back Minty, Snuzzle, and Blue Belle. What are your thoughts? :rolleyespony:
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I haven’t watched much of G5. Just a handful of episodes and a bit of a movie so I can’t comment on the plot or character development really. The toys have grown on me more than I thought they would, though, especially the mini world ones. I hate to see MLP dying out, though, so I hope Hasbro has another revamp up their sleeve.
 
I was born in the 80s and almost everyone had at least one pony at that time. I played with them a lot. As we got older, only one of my friends still played with them and we went to flea markets together and whenever we found new ponies, we met and one of us brought all of her ponies over to the other. First, it was always a big family reunion and then the new ponies came and where also welcomed back into their families.
One day, we found Shady at a flea market. We had seen Baby Shady in the comics, but not her. In German mothers and babies don't have the same name, so we didn't know her. Luckily there was already the internet and after a bit of searching, we found out, who she was. And that there were ponies only sold in the US. I think that was the point, when I decided, someday I will have every pony there is. Thinking there were maybe 500 or so at most and that mail order ponies would be the hardest to get. Well... now I collect variants and know that this goal is unreachable. But I wont stop trying :lolpony:
 
i grew up during G3 and had lots of ponies as a kid, but one day my mom decided i was too old for them and made me pick out half of my ponies to sell at a garage sale. they all sold at once and the rest of them were put into storage. a couple years later we moved houses and i got into the box that had the other half of my ponies and fell in love again, and i set out to find their names since i had forgotten. i had a G3 applejack and would find out she shared her name with an older version– at that point i had no idea MLP was from the 80s. i spent tons of time learning about G1 and the rest is history. i lurked a lot on the arena and here and whatever other pony sites i could find til i decided to officially join the fun 2 years ago. my mom is super supportive of my collecting now and we've joked that it's "revenge" for when she made me part with my ponies years ago. ;)
 
I used to have lots of G3 ponies when I was a kid but they all got thrown away when my family decided that I was too old for toys. Years later, a friend was talking to me about the old MLP toys she had as a kid and I got reminded of the old ponies I used to have. I decided to head to ebay to get a G3 pony I had when I was a kid, Crystal Lace, and that's how I saw the G1 ponies and they instantly piqued my interest. I started researching about them before getting Blossom as my first G1 pony. Then the more ponies I saw, the more I loved their designs and I got more and more of them. And that's how my collection began to grow! :star: The same friend who reminded me of my old ponies started collecting G1s because of me too and we enjoy collecting and talking about MLP together! :satisfied:
 
Of course I had g3 and g4 growing up
The bronies were really popular when I was in middle school so I had some g4 rainbow dash and pinkie pie items but I really got into collecting around late 2016-2017 I was 15-16 there was the YouTuber named pinkie posh who drew specifically g3 ponies and I didn’t know that’s what they were called. I started collecting all sorts of vintage ponies I would use my allowance to buy any g3 I saw and pretty pop was my first NIB
 
I've always been a big fan of horses and unicorns! Aside from drawing them, I also enjoy horse riding and spending time at the stables :)
In terms of MLP, I watched some G4 a good few years back, but hadn't really considered myself to be a huge fan and had no real interest in collecting... until around 1 month ago? I ended up stumbling across retro pony restoration videos, and instantly became intrigued by the concept of restoring old ponies! I especially love how relaxing and fun the process looks! Unfortunately, I live in a flat and don't have a huge amount of space for a collection, but I'd absolutely love to collect and restore more ponies when we move to a bigger place! :)

So far, my very small collection consists of 40th Anniversary Blossom and Cotton Candy (I absolutely adore them!), together with 40th anniversary Gingerbread :) I also have a Brilliant Blossoms on her way to me! She's in amazing condition and I'm so excited to have my very first 80's pony!

I'm very much new to the community, but everyone here seems very friendly and helpful! I'm looking forward to one day expanding my collection and giving well loved ponies some much deserved TLC!
:ponylove:
 
Pretzel is such a cute one :D
My older sister had g1 ponys that we would play with back when I was tiny but I’m not sure what happened to them after that. I still had these tiny adorable fakies called Pony Luv that I played with all the time but no mlp. Then for Christmas in I think 2005 I got my very first pony, g3 Sweetberry and after that I got tons more and still have all of them ^_^ in 2017 I found a few g1 and G4’s at goodwill and took them home to fix up and that’s when I started actively collecting them again
 
I was very much a collector of them when I was around about 7-8 but sold them at a car boot sale in my teens (kinda like a garage sale for my US peoples but in a mutual spot). I went years not really caring, until recently. I watched restoration videos just fine without it affecting me but something sparked recently and when I found Sunny Daze on ebay. Memories rushed me and came flooding back on the joy of taking that boxed pony off the shelf, with their brush, and necklace (G3). I can admit I am a tinsy bit ashamed, I went a bit crazy on that feeling in getting what I had lost back, and then some I really liked but they do make me happy! And I think that makes them worth it, no regrets.
 
Aurora Unity Solstice said:
I was very much a collector of them when I was around about 7-8 but sold them at a car boot sale in my teens (kinda like a garage sale for my US peoples but in a mutual spot). I went years not really caring, until recently. I watched restoration videos just fine without it affecting me but something sparked recently and when I found Sunny Daze on ebay. Memories rushed me and came flooding back on the joy of taking that boxed pony off the shelf, with their brush, and necklace (G3). I can admit I am a tinsy bit ashamed, I went a bit crazy on that feeling in getting what I had lost back, and then some I really liked but they do make me happy! And I think that makes them worth it, no regrets.
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How many are in your collection now? Do you have all your childhood herd back?
 
Rebeldream said:
How many are in your collection now? Do you have all your childhood herd back?
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Honestly? I didn't count but I most certainly have the ones I remember and then some! There are just some I couldn't resist. Some, I didn't even know existed until I was buying lol However because of Sunny Daze bringing back all these joyful memories, she has become my no.1/favourite <3 The one I haven't been able to get yet is Minty... I have a feeling I still have her around somewhere (I hope) so holding back until I am sure. She is one that is quite expensive these days.
 
Aurora Unity Solstice said:
Honestly? I didn't count but I most certainly have the ones I remember and then some! There are just some I couldn't resist. Some, I didn't even know existed until I was buying lol However because of Sunny Daze bringing back all these joyful memories, she has become my no.1/favourite <3 The one I haven't been able to get yet is Minty... I have a feeling I still have her around somewhere (I hope) so holding back until I am sure. She is one that is quite expensive these days.
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Which version of Minty did you have?
 
ParadiseDreams said:
I bet it was Minty and don’t forget, (in the states but I think also abroad) there were toys in Happy Meals for McDonald’s- they had a Minty that was smaller. Did you guys have those toys?
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No hehe I never knew of them. I think my brain is just mushing Flower Flash and Minty together. The only differnce is the pose, the tail colour, and the cutie marks after all. It sounds like a lot of differences but not really when the main similarities are the sparkly mint body colour and light pink sparkly mane that they both mainly share.

edit: pun intended :p
 
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