BF Retro Ponies Quality

Mimic

Singing Sea Pony
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
Messages
3,261
(To answer the unspoken question - yes, I have been living under a rock these past few months. Ponies have not been a priority.)

After finding out which ponies BF has reproduced (and drooling over the Pretty Parlor) I am seriously considering picking some of these gals up, especially as the prices are within my budget. However... how do they compare to their original counterparts? I can see that the colors aren't an exact match, but beyond that I don't know anything about them. Am I better off trying to purchase the originals?
 
Nothing beats the originals! But yes, these are very close to the vintage ponies. Differences being, for example, the Y2 Unicorns’ streak isn’t a separate row of plugs, leading to their color streak mixing in with the mane. The Pretty Parlor, while being a near-exact replica, is missing the blanket, ribbons and name tags, not mentioning Twinkles being molded in a different mold. The Rainbow set was also scented compared to the original release, but this led to heavy discoloration :(
Otherwise, yes, these are very worth the price!
(I had heard the color differences were to differentiate the originals from these releases?)
 
As an owner of only 7 BF repros and only 5 80s G1s, I tend to shelve them together... So have some pics and you can tell me ;)

Ok, that's cheating a little. I will say that on the shelf I find them difficult to distinguish, but to hold... The hair quality is exquisite, nothing at all like recent G4s, and much softer than my (presumably dusty) secondhand G1s. The plastic is visually identical, but it is much harder. The old G1s squish and the repros do not. The paint has had a lot of care put into it, but they're obviously not hand-painted: if you squint you can see the eyes don't follow the divots exactly, but have a little white raised above the eyeliner on the bottom. Skydancer, the only one with a glitter symbol, has solid glue and her glitter doesn't flake at all.

Now for the pictures:
Top shelf L-R: BF Snuzzle, 80s Masquerade, 80s Cherries Jubilee, 80s Sweet Stuff, BF Cotton Candy
Bottom shelf L-R: BF Blossom, BF Minty, BF Skydancer (scented), BF Butterscotch, BF Blue Belle, 80s Buttons, 80s Gusty
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Also just noting if you are planning on customizing/rehairing them, I rehaired a BF Skydancer and her head plug is significantly smaller than they have been in the past. That said, all that handling on her and she still hols up very nicely. The rest of my BF ponies are in the box aside from my Peachy and Stranger Things AJ, and they both have nice, soft hair. You might have to run the hair between your fingers a bit at the forelock to get the product out, but once that's out it's such a lovely change from the G4s out now.
 
The quality is mostly excellent. Save for the scented Rainbows and their penchant for yellowing. The bodies are also a little harder, but their hair is smooth, the symbols look good, too. You could barely tell some of em apart from a perfect vintage pony.
 
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