1983-6:PLAYSETS

PEACHY's GROOMING PARLOUR


Peach earth pony with pink hair, pink hearts symbol

Thanks to Garej for the 1985 Argos catalogue scan of the Grooming Parlour

The original Grooming Parlour was coloured in blue and white, and came with one of the most common (if not THE most common) ponies in the United Kingdom - Peachy. There is never a week on Ebay where there aren't at least a hundred Peachy's on auction, and that's a fact!

THE FIRST EVER PONY PLAYSET IN THE UK?

Peachy's parlour was one of the earliest playsets in the UK. A form of it is the only My Little Pony set, toy or item to be listed in the 1983 Argos Catalogue, where it is not even labelled as "My Little Pony", but "Hasbro's Little Pony Grooming Parlour."


(From Argos Catalogue 1983 (Autumn/Winter)

There is NO mention of this set including Peachy, and the pony shown looks to me like Butterscotch. The Twinkles Cat is also very odd (he has a goofy smile) and the parlour accessories are also shown in blue. It is possible that this is the first foray into what would have been My Little Pony, and later, Peachy's Parlour, here in the UK. This is, of course, only one store's catalogue, and there is no guarantee that this was true across the board (or that the image shown is accurate to what was sold). It is a nice glimpse, however, into the very early world of My Little Pony in the UK - that transitional stage between Hasbro's My Pretty Pony concept and the birth of My Little Pony.

By 1984, The Grooming Parlour did feature Peachy, and continued to be offered for sale up until the introduction of Kiss Curl, around 1987/8. A blue parlour was also sold in 1987 featuring Snuzzle.

Peachy: Concave Foot


Twinkles The Cat

 

Peachy's parlour was known as the Pretty Parlor in the North American release, though as far as I know the basic accessories were the same and are as pictured above in the Argos insert picture. The set also had a pal - a kitten known as "Twinkles". Peachy was a gentle pony who obviously was the pony hair stylist of her age. She featured in a prominent story in one of the very early My Little Pony and Friends editions (possibly edition 1, I don't recall quite), which involved a witch putting spells on ponies with enchanted hair combs.


FLAT FOOTED PEACHY

There is also a flat footed version of Peachy, who is actually pictured in the Argos photo, above. How she was released is uncertain - almost certainly as part of the adult/baby My Pretty Pony set that came out in 1982-3, but probably also with early editions of the Grooming Parlour, too.

 


PEACHY'S GROOMING PARLOUR (UK BOX, Dated Hasbro UK, 1983)

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