A Thorough Guide to Vintage My Little Pony
A comprehensive book about Generation 1 My Little Pony with all international variants.
- 400+ pages of research & photography
- Rare variants & ALL international releases
- MLP manufacturing history & toy evolution
- Collector tips and rarity scores
- 100% human-made :) Printed in the UK
Secure Checkout & Eco Packaging - Worldwide shipping
About The Unofficial Vintage
My Little Pony Companion
The Unofficial My Little Pony Companion is the culmination of four wonderful years spent restoring vintage ponies for my YouTube channel, RetroGeek Crafts. During this time, I learned about the enormous world of Hasbro's MLP Generation One and fell in love with each of my equine projects. I eventually learnt about “Nirvana” ponies (ponies produced in many different countries through partnerships with Hasbro) and thought I would attempt to gather them all in one HEAVY (2 kilos, be aware!) high-grade paper/ink collectors book.
That challenge inspired me to create this book: A comprehensive guide dedicated to every Generation One My Little Pony "ever released". I can anticipate that, as soon as I type this down, a new variant has just appeared in a "Nirvana" country! :) Still, inside, you’ll find detailed information, illustrations, and fun facts covering ponies from around the world.
A Peek at the Book's Content
The Unofficial Vintage My Little Pony Companion book's goal is to provide one accessible, illustrated reference for fans, restorers, and collectors. One of my main goals was to help collectors identify their ponies, so I made sure the ponies are all represented in uniform poses and use uniform colors. The production of the book (high-grade paper and ink, printed locally in the UK using always the same machines) also ensures the ponies are as true-to-vintage-form as possible :)
The book, which has 400 pages of information, illustrations, and original graphics, is organized into three main sections:
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History and Reference Guides (Inventory of Poses, Colors, Manufacture Details, and more)
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"International" Releases (Focused on North America and European ponies)
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Nirvana Ponies from ALL around the world, including previously undocumented variants. I did my best to reach out to the original factories from countries where Hasbro partnered with a local manufacturer, so each Nirvana section contains information about the companies and their history. For the guides, I had help from wonderful collectors that shared their knowledge and lists with me.
The fourth section is a comprehensive glossary with all pony-related terms I could think of, including pony names (with references to all their variants), restoration terms, manufacturing techniques, and... a lot more!
Section 1:
MLP History & Reference Guides
The first thirty or so pages of The Unofficial My Little Pony Companion serve as a reference guide for understanding, classifying, and determining the rarity of MLP G1 ponies. I created two main guides for this purpose: A color guide (to make sure all ponies covered were as consistent as possible), and a pose guide.
The first section also includes a relatively thorough :) history of how My Little Pony originated and how the manufacturing process evolved in Hong Kong/China and later "Nirvana" countries.
The first section also includes a relatively thorough :) history of how My Little Pony originated and how the manufacturing process evolved in Hong Kong/China and later "Nirvana" countries.
Section 2:
International Ponies by Year
The second section of the book focuses on the ponies released in the United States and Europe organized by Year. Each graphic follows the same template, which is particularly useful for finding "Nirvana" or international ponies of which the community has very few photographs. These pages are also peppered with fun facts about the ponies and their design and stories, as well as insights into artists, long-forgotten concepts, and rare finds we're still not sure where to place!
Section 3:
The "Nirvana" Ponies
The third section is an attempt at delivering something that the MLP collectors community has been desiring for a while: A complete and thorough list of ALL ponies released around the world (those discovered so far). This means 19 countries and hundreds of ponies, all individually recreated to reflect their original colors and shapes. Although other guides have covered this, my purpose was to use the image style to make it easier to identify and compare foreign-made ponies. I also wanted to share some of the stories behind the factories that partnered with Hasbro to produce ponies locally. Here are some examples of "nirvana" ponies and their designs around the world:
The list of countries included in this guide are:
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Argentina
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Australia
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Brazil
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Colombia
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France
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Germany
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Greece
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India
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Italy
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Japan
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Macau
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Mexico
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Netherlands
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Peru
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Scandinavia
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South Africa
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Spain
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Venezuela
International delivery & eco packaging. All books ordered through my (this) website include at least two stationary freebies. Please contact me if you have any trouble ordering.
Section 4:
The Glossary
The glossary is a large component of the book, as I tried to make it into a useful reference. Organized alphabetically, the glossary includes pony names, manufacture and restoration technique terms, collector words, and much more. Here are some examples, the main of which is a pony name with all its variants listed:
