For those who are not familiar with the series: every now and then we browse the darker side of the internet and come across all sorts of bootleg MLP items, which we collect and save up for posts like this one. If you enjoy this post you can always go back to part 1 and part 2 for more fakie madness.
We start off with the classic fakies: brushables! Above we have some of the common 'red star'-fakies, who have all have the same cutie mark. These have been around for a while, but as of lately it seems like they've replaced Fluttershy with Sunset Shimmer! This is also the first time I see a complete set presented as the mane 6, while these fakes are usually released with randomized mane and body colors. Interesting!
Another classic are these princess fakies, which were a big item in part 2 of the fakie quest. I'm not sure if we missed her last time or that they've released a new set, but this Twilight Sparkle has gradient wings and gold hooves, something the original one did not have. Collectors edition fakie?
It's all about the classics so far with some more princess fakies. This is another example of bootleg toy producers not caring about anything and making everyone a princess, and Cadance's cutie mark and eyes too. It almost looks like a changeling experiment gone wrong.
On to something new with these tiara brushables. The packaging got the appropriate 'attention' (read: stolen artwork) and the figures look decent. The included accessories don't look too bad either. But of course not everything can be perfected, and that becomes clear when you start reading the different lines of text included on the front and back of the box, desperately trying to promote the figure.
Those with a sharp eye see that the figures actually light up! Luckily we also found some images of how these ponies exactly light up, and by the looks it up the LEDs included are way too bright for the thin plastic, awfully lighting up only a single part of the figures. Only Rarity looks presentable with the the light up effect to be honest.
And we're back at more recycled brushable fakies with the commonly seen princess Cadance and rainbow power figures. This time they're re-released with a Ponymania box as 'The Horse Toy' and still with the original Princess Celestia on the left. Though, they did take the liberty to included their own logo on it (which gives me another excuse to reference Father Ted).
The fakies with strange and creepy eyes also see the light of day again with a release in packaging that looks pretty much like the 'Crystal Princess Celebration'-series. To compensate for the old fakies they were very generous with various accessories, taking most of the space in the packaging.
It's rarely seen that fake releases are actually interesting or original, but these sets surely got my attention. Not only do these include new unique fakies like a sitting Fluttershy, they also feature massive building kits for playgrounds and plenty of accessories to go with it. The set below even features 258 pieces in total and both sets have various releases with other ponies included. The mane 6 is included as small ponies at random, the set above has 1 random 'red star'-brushable and the set below has a big Princess Celestia or Nightmare Moon figure.
People who copy My Little Pony stuff tend to mix and match packaging and figures to their liking. One more example of this is realistic looking Blind Bags with cute (probably stolen) artwork, but filled with fake Danli figures in stead of blind bags. Also included is a 'collectors' card, but we can only see one side. I have no idea if the other side is printed and what it might contain. It's probably just cardboard, though.
It was bound to happen one day: fake Friendship is Magic Collection figures. These are very obvious recolors of the first set (Sweet Apple Acres) and Pinkie Pie from the second wave too. By what I can see these are made of the same cheap and nasty plastic like the figures below, and the hats are most probably a nightmare to keep in place. The molds are probably fine, but I don't see a reason to buy cheap knock-offs when the original figures are available at dollar tree.
As mentioned above these are the cheap recolored blind bags that pop-up everywhere. They had countless releases in blind bags, eggs and heart-shaped containers like these. The only difference now is that they mixed up the colors some more. New are the vibrant colors like pink and this is also the first time I see Spike's mold being used and possibly the CMC too.
Another type of figure that you don't see being copied very often are the So Softs. In this release they combined one with a train cart and two regular fakies, which does not make sense at all. What does make sense (but is pretty hidden) is the included stroller for the So Soft at the bottom of the box. Judging by the artwork on the box there are at least 3 different ones, and the included a cute Rainbow Dash baby on the box as well. The small fakies are not mentioned on the box at all, so it almost feels like they are just there to fill up the box.
This Pinkie Pie figure sings and plays music by pressing the buttons that look like the Trivial Pursuit playing piece. When Ilona spotted her we directly saw that the design looked familiar, and after a quick search we found that the mostly looked like the bootleg plush (see above), that is actually made by the same company!
She also comes with a remote that looks waaaay to complicated for playing simple melodies, but perhaps she is a full-blown 4K media player that wirelessly connects with your TV. Or maybe she just plays Chinese children songs through a crappy speaker.
And then we found... this... and I genuinely have no clue what they were trying to accomplish here. Yes, these are plastic balloons based on the Cutie Mark Magic single figures, featuring Skywishes, Sweetie Drops, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer. They are terribly misformed, and to be honest hilarious too. Take your time to appreciate the light bulb horns on Twilight and Sunset and also check out Skywishes cutie mark, which is an absolute piece of art. Yes, they though the cutie mark was a diamond with a 'v' inside of it, rather than a kite. Amazing.
I think I finally know what nightmares are made of... Just look at those eyes!? The overall designs of these felt figures is pretty good, especially for the small scale, but couldn't they at least make the eyes in proportion?
While these caps are very common and never that interesting, the top designs of this collection are brand new. So new in fact, that they already feature the new MLP logo, that has only been found about two months ago. They even took the effort to recolor the logo to yellow and pink to match the other caps. Such dedication!
While these could be real, the packaging they come in breaks their disguise. This cutlery set has an actual metal spoon and fork, but also contains pink chopsticks all packed in a nice plastic protection case. This could be a perfect set when you go camping, but you never know what materials they use in these bootleg products.
Yep. That's not scary at all! Hehe... :((
Combining neck pillows and sleepings masks sounds like a good idea for kids during a long journey, but the result is somewhat terrifying. They look very soft, but I definitely don't want to see this in my rear view mirror!
Just like the caps, backpacks are one of the most common items you find with copied MLP artwork. However it's always fun to look at some more artistic bags when you come across them, just like these two. The first one is almost spot on, but they just had to give Shining Armor a bright pink mane to keep it all a bit unique. The second bag is a complete mix up of different ponies, styles, seasons and proportions. It's a true masterpiece which combines Rainbow Power, fillies, The Pony Tones and a bootleg logo. It's beauty brings tears to my eyes. (but not of happiness)
Thanks to Sharon for these!
In part 2 we mentioned plush cushion of Applejack and Twilight Sparkle that were terribly cut out of a bigger image, and now we managed to fine Pinkie Pie as well. Just like her friends you can still see the background of the original image, in this case bright blue. I wonder if we'll ever find the complete mane 6?
Various manufacturers have nice plush backpacks in the form of ponies. But this Fluttershy looks like she's being dragged around. The faces of the ponies look OK, but the body is just a soft mess as far as I can tell. Not nice enough to be a plush and to soft to be a proper backpack.
This... this is something special. These are not just soft plush cushion, but a complete car decoration set! To quote from the original listing, this set contains: 2 cushion for your back, 2 cushion for your seatbelt, 1 cushion for your handbrake, 1 cushion for your gear stick, 1 cushion for your steering wheel and 1 plush tissue box.
This set is only for the true die-hard My Little Pony fans out there!
I did search Google for the term 'Rolling Crayon', but all I found were bootleg items, so I doubt that the term is actually used for these. Nonetheless you get a good set of varying colors, all decorated with Rainbow Dash and Princess Celestia. Their selection of the Rainbowfied ponies on the packaging is actually appropriate because of all the colors, so you have to give this manufacturer some credit for that!
Stickers are easy to make for manufacturers with access to DeviantArt. As you can see above the sticker book is full of fan-made artwork, and one of the covers even features a MLP-MH crossover! For those who might not recognize the figures: Applejack = Clawdeen, Fluttershy = Lagoona,
Pinkie Pie = Draculaura, Rainbow Dash = Abbey, Rarity = Cleo & Twilight = Frankie.
And finish things off we have this massive digital watch. At first I was puzzled by why it's this big, but I discovered by translating the listing that this watch includes a small projector with which you can project various MLP images on a wall. Judging by the examples on the right, these also originate from DeviantArt or something.
Well, that was part 3. I think this was the biggest one yet, but I really enjoyed it. As always, feel free to send in your own finds. All submits will be collected for the next episode, and of course me and Ilona will also search the web for more fakies. Stay tuned!
I just got that watch from aliexpress. It works fine most of the images are either ripped of deviantart or poorly photoshopped licensed mlp photos. Not a bad thing really
ReplyDeleteYup that is so true now a days dollar stores sell fakie brushible ponies.
DeleteSo does TRU, next to the real deals...at least in most parts of Europe.
DeleteI wouldn't mind buying some fake blind bag ponies i could customize them but they look so funny looking too!
ReplyDeleteSame here. XD
DeleteLol I love this. Is it OK if I do an mlp reaction video for this!? My channel is Dj Lightning Shimmer
ReplyDeleteSure, go ahead. Drop us a link if it's done :)
DeleteMost of listings are from Indonesia, like the clock, balloon, bags, and steering wheel. Those bootlegs are pretty common after My Little Pony was aired on Global TV.
ReplyDeleteThinking about steering wheel, it's time to put it on Drift Missile!