Aside from all the G5 news, one of our most popular posts from the past months has to be the Pop Mart MLP Natural Series reveal. Personally we were really curious to take a closer look at these new blind boxes from China, from a brand we weren't familiar with. That's why we decided to order some and create a review!
Order Process
When the figures were just released at the end of February there were no official international places selling them online. Pop Mart's global store tends to release new items a few weeks later than their China based online storefronts. Even AliExpress didn't have them in stock yet, but we wanted to place an order as soon as possible. That's why we decided to dust off our account at a Taobao agent and place an order from the Pop Mart TMall store.
This adds a bit of cost to the shipping and handling, plus we never know what the import fees are going to be. Besides that we were mainly interested in the quality and design, and not in getting the full set, so we decided to go with 4 figures for now. With all shipping and fees included this ended up costing us $15 each. The total shipping time (including the initial shipment to the agent) took just over 2 weeks.
While this process worked for us (and was basically the only way to get them in Europe back in February), we do recommend to first check our the listing in their official global store, where the price (and maybe shipping time) could be lower than our route.
Packaging
Since we ordered 4 blind boxes we didn't receive an outer box, but instead got the 4 boxes snugly packed in a cardboard box. While this helped saving shipping costs, we ended up with 1 box that was a little beat up. We didn't have an option to choose for bubble wrap, but we don't know if this differs with ordering from their global store.
After we cut our way through the cardboard and tape we saw the blind boxes themselves, and they are gorgeous! The backdrop is a dreamy pastel sky, best compared to that of Pony Life packaging. In front of the rainbow and clouds is the Twilight Sparkle figure (not indicating which pony is inside!) and the My Little Pony Natural Series logo in rainbow foil. We also got a cute card from Pop Mart for Chinese New year.
On the sides of the packaging there is an overview of all figures, besides Twilight Sparkle, that are included. While the 13th character is still marked as 'Secret', Pop Mart openly reveals that this is Princess Celestia in their online listings. According to their 'Blind Box Rules' each full box may contain a Celestia figure, which will then replace one regular figure. Aside from that chance a full box normally contains all 12 regular figures without duplicates.
Aside from the character list there are, the other two sides of the box contain your regular 3+ warnings, information about the material, factory of origin and even a seal of authenticity. Interesting to note is that the instruction contain more languages than just Chinese and English, but also in German, French, Dutch, Italian and Spanish as well was information about a French importer. This could indicate that these are probably going to be officially distributed in Europe at some point!
Opening the Boxes
Each box has a tear strip on the top, and a little flap that will keep the box closed even when the strip has been removed. Inside is a bag of silica gel (yes, in each box!), the figure in a foil bag and a character card. These cards reveal which pony is inside, but the picture is facing the box, so you can safely pull it out and keep the contents a secret. The foil bag can be teared open easily, in which the pony is stored within a plastic sleeve. Some ponies we noticed to come with a plastic mold to prevent fragile parts from breaking during shipping. We're happy to note that all ponies arrived safely and without any sign of damage!
The Figures
Upon opening the bags we could finally see the figures in real-life, and must say that they don't disappoint! The plastic and paint is spot-on and really smooth. We couldn't see any noticeable imperfections or paint errors on these figures, and the used colors are matching and vibrant. The figures feel stable in hand, but really need a flat surface to balance them on. Especially Pinkie Pie only has a small area where she can balance on.
The height of the figures we received vary between 2.5" (6.5cm) and 3" (7.8cm), but we can imagine that Princess Celestia is a bit taller than that. Comparing these figures, the best range would be between Funko Mystery Mini figures, that are 2.5", and regular G4 brushable at 3". The weight seems to match that of solid figures, so these certainly have a bit of weight to them for their size.
As seen on the photos we received Breeze Twilight Sparkle, White Clouds Fluttershy and Pearl Pinkie Pie twice. Seeing the odds we would have expected to receive at least one Rainbow Dash, but by ordering 4 random boxes anything can happen. Again, if you get a full box you will not receive any duplicates.
Verdict
We're happy to have purchased these figures, as they certainly meet our expectations. The packaging and quality is superb. Our shipping method sadly damaged one of our blind boxes, but luckily that didn't have an impact on the figure itself. With a figure + shipping price of between $10 and $15 each, depending on the order process, these are a bit on the high side, but the quality justifies that.
If you're looking to get the full set, your best bet would be to get a full box. That will not give you any duplicates, but does give a chance to including Princess Celestia in favor of one of the regular figures. And if you want to keep track of your collection so far: all 13 figures are now listed in the MLP Merch Database.
We hope that you enjoyed this review of the Pop Mart My Little Pony Natural Series blind boxes! If you have any questions, feel free to ask us in the comments below or on our social media channels.
How do you use taobao to get these? Can you explain method?
ReplyDeleteFirst: we do recommend using the official Pop Mart store, as that is an easier method and probably cheaper as well.
DeleteWhat we did is order at a Taobao agent (Yoybuy), where you place an order to buy the figures for you. Once the items arrive at their warehouse they can ship it to your address.
When are these going to be Alva able in the United States?
ReplyDeleteYou can already order them to the US.
DeleteFor everybody not familliar with taobao: popmart has a legit aliexpress store and it is easy to buy there if you have a credit card. ^^
ReplyDeleteThank you for the in dept review! I am sure to order one suprise pony in my next order. ^^
ReplyDelete