Nirvana How did you discover variants?

Use this prefix for threads about MLP items manufactured outside of the USA, exceptionally rare items, variants, and prototypes.
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Hmm... I possibly discovered them through My Little Wiki or something. I've been visiting that site for some time, so that's probably it. If that's not where I found out about them, then I'm not sure where. There's a possibility that I suspected they were around, and so it was the Wiki that confirmed it at least, for sure.

When we started collecting, I found a lady who lived not far from here selling a bunch of ponies. I came to the MLPTP to identify them for my girls, as well as Dream Valley. I found the same ponies on Dream Valley but they white and mine were colored. I then learned that they were "alternate Birth flower ponies" and that they were found here instead of the white ones. The same lady gave me a prototype that I still have today, shes a real little cutie. :)

Wow! Do you know how she wound up with so many variants and a prototype? And did she know what she had? That's so crazy stuff.
 
I found some ponies at the bootsale one year, they were princess's and they were cheap looking I bought them anyway, turned out the be Princess varients they were lovely but I had to sell them when my marriage broke down... maybe I'll find them again one day x
 
I think I'm the same as BonBon, I found them through browsing My Little Wiki and discovering some ponies I happened to click on were not the same worldwide. Though there's only one variant that really catches my eye, and that's Reverse Gusty. Even if I can't afford her, I wouldn't mind her being crazy expensive that much, which I bet she is, but what really bothers me is never, ever having seen even one for sale. Come on, I've seen two Rapunzels already, and she's like, INSANELY rare! Where's Reverse Gusty??
 
I found the early MLP community online in late '97 and joined a yahoo email group for buying, selling, trading, and most of all pony talk. Back then people from all over the world were just starting to come into the online world and there were a handful of collectors from the UK & Europe that were offering their exclusive ponies for sale and trade. I was hooked on variants from then on. ;) One of my favorite parts of the history of collecting is the "discovery" of ponies from all different countries as more and more countries got internet access and the world became more connected.

Though there's only one variant that really catches my eye, and that's Reverse Gusty. Even if I can't afford her, I wouldn't mind her being crazy expensive that much, which I bet she is, but what really bothers me is never, ever having seen even one for sale. Come on, I've seen two Rapunzels already, and she's like, INSANELY rare! Where's Reverse Gusty??
Reverse Gusty is not an official release like Rapunzel. Her origins are still unknown, but she's most likely to be a prototype or test model. There are very, very few that are confirmed as real (maybe 3 or fewer in the community). At one time before customizing was as common as it is now a handful of fake Reverse Gustys spread through the market. If a Reverse Gusty does come up for sale, it's very important to track it's owner history to help figure out it's legitimacy, as well as thoroughly inspect it inside and out.
 
I found mine through places such as here. Though I bought a Italian Lickety Split at a car boot sale during the mid 1990s. It wasnt until joining here that I found that other countries exist, which led me to check all the ponies that I had at a car boot sales (I was yet to buy off the internet at that point) and found that Lickety Split was a varient.
 
Online forums. Probably mostly this one in particular and mlp Facebook groups as well.
 
I found out about variants on ebay while I was looking for Posey & saw Italian Posey there, so I did a little snooping on the internet & discovered a whole big wide world of people who were Pony crazy like me :)
 
I came here, and my mind was opened.
Also I bought an Italian Tootsie
 
This forum, and social media. I'm thoroughly fascinated by them. I don't need to buy them, I'll free that market up for serious collectors but i just love seeing and collecting pictures.

May be coming up with some custom ponies of variants
 
I didn't know them as variants until sites like this when I was in college in 2004. I was exposed to ponies of many colors though growing up since I only got min from thrift stores as a kid and I lived pretty close to the Mexico/US border so I saw and owned Mexican and US ponies and didn't think anything of it.
 
A pony collecting friend here in town from the Arena gave me my very first one as a gift. She was so nice. She educated me well on the variants out there. I didn't know about them up until that time.
 
When me and my sis were looking up ponies on Strawberry Reef. We never knew there were so many different types of the same pony...or so many ponies in general....

Since we're both Pokemon fans too, we think of them as shinies :p
 
I got into online pony collecting almost 2 years ago and it didn't take long for me to become aware of their existence. I thought they were cool but didn't think too much about those expensive variants until my mom surprised me with an Italian Tootsie for my birthday last August, since it was white (my favorite) and I guess the listing said she wasn't white in the US.

There are lots of cool variants and I'd love white variants of ponies that weren't white in the US, but my favorite is Argentina Northstar since her symbol is different due to being from a country that doesn't primarily speak English.
 
I think my first contact (and I almost let her go) was when I came across a wild Macau Blosscotch at the flea market, I was really weirded out because "I have her but not really? Is it a fakie? What it is?"

So far I only new about Mexicans (that still thought they were somewhat similar to fakies) and the normal US.

About variants on "normal" ponies because I was checking what was in better condition to keep and found details as size, symbol disposition, and colors =)
 
Something similar happened to me! Almost all my childhood ponies are nirvana/variants, so they were normal to me. When in 2006 I went online and showed my childhood ponies I was told they weren't regular releases! Most of my collection are variants, although I don't have as many as I would like... No space and no cash! :/ But I'm very happy with my small herd <3
 
MLW! I'm the right age to have childhood g3's or secondhand older gens, but I HATED the g3 show and dismissed all of MLP as childish and too-girly. :hmph:
I first got into g1 from researching around g4, and so I discovered the show first. MLW was the only place that had info on both the show and the toys.
 
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