Brush & Grow Ponies
The Brush & Grow Ponies were originally sold in North
America in 1988, but they did not reach the UK until 1989, and
remained on sale here until 1990-1. They featured thicker and
longer hair, in four colours, heads that could turn and painted
symbols. The set comprised six new characters - one unicorn, two
pegasus and three earth ponies, all of whom used slightly (but
not really) modified older poses. Brush and Grow Pony hooves are
thus not dated with the year of release.
The set were heavily promoted in the My Little Pony comics, in
both stories and with free gift booklets, which gave an insight
into their characters.
My Little Pony Comic free gift booklet
UK, 1989
Packaging variations
Brush & Grow Ponies were sold in the UK both on cards and
in boxes. The timeline of this is a bit muddled, but it is
likely that they were originally sold here on card, and then
later released here in box. This is because the boxed release
seems to have been a Woolworths exclusive (surviving
price-tagged boxes indicate this). The other reason is that I
got my Braided Beauty (from Woolworths, in box) in 1990-1. She
looked exactly like the one below:
Braided Beauty Mint in Box
North America, 1988
Image from Shivhae
However, the cards for the UK release, dated 1988 (but actually
part of 1989's list and release) claim the ponies are Made in
China. Only the boxes for the US release say Made in Hong Kong.
Brush and Grow UK card
"Made in China"
The other major anomaly is that, despite
having their own artwork (as pictured at the top of the page,
from the UK card), the insert for 1989 featured the art from
the North American box release. This artwork looked something
like this - clearly different from that shown at the top of
the page.
Braided Beauty's Card
North America, 1988
(UK via Woolworths circa 1990)
It is possible that the boxed versions thus appeared in the UK
earlier than assumed, and were being sold alongside the carded
ones. I never saw a carded one as a child (despite living here
my whole life), only the boxed ones in Woolworths, so it is also
possible that the carded release did not get to every region.
Twisty Tail Times Two
There was also a major set variation. Although all photographic
promotional material for the Brush & Grow Ponies showed
Twisty Tail in the
Quackers pose (as sold in North
America), in the UK, she was 'officially' sold in the
Posey pose.
By 'officially', I mean, on card. Those in boxes were in
Quackers' pose.
So to summarise. The UK had Brush & Grow Ponies in boxes and
on cards. Made mostly in Hong Kong but occasionally in China,
and Twisty Tail could be in one of two poses. To make things
more confused, when I got the UK Twisty Tail backcard, from
which the pictures are taken above, it came with the Quackers
pose pony, and the owner was sure it was the only one she had
ever had.
The set were definitely sold in Europe on card, though whether
any other countries had US-style box releases is unclear.
European/UK Twisty Tail Mint on Card
(Spanish release)
Image from Etoile Bleue
Brushing and Growing.
If you want to tear your hair out over this - well, maybe this
is the right set to do that to. Because, fundamentally, their
gimmick did involve giving the tail a good strong tug. It's
actually quite satisfying, although it does make it harder to
carry these ponies by tail. (If you've never done that, you've
probably never been a G1 pony kid).
Brush & Grow Mechanism
(Twisty Tail's card, UK)
While the manes were thicker and longer in most cases, they did
not grow or change in length. The tails, however, were part of a
winding mechanism, which could be wound in by turning the head and
then pulled out (gently) to make it look like the tail grew. The
marketing pitch with this set was that their tails grew when they
were happy - but of course, they didn't. They grew when some
little kid gave them a good tug.
Unfortunately, the hair-styling nature of this set means that it
isn't uncommon to find them with hair cuts. In fact, I have one
with layers. A budding hairdresser at her previous home, clearly.
The mechanism can also break. The head should not go all the way
around (but it can, and this doesn't always signify
damage...although it is a bit weird). The head should definitely
not come off! Tails can sometimes be stuck in the long position.
More rarely they are stuck short - although it can happen, it is
more likely that the tail has been cut.
Here is the voice of experience - do not stand your Brush &
Grow pony near a dancing Dance & Prance Pony. It doesn't
end well.
