Gusty in the United Kingdom
This is the only version of Gusty that was ever
sold in the United Kingdom, although she had a considerable
media presence long before 1987. She is distinctive from other
versions of Gusty because of her painted symbols and the
tendency to have a more stark white plastic which is less prone
to discolouration. She also has green eyes, like her Fable cousin
from 1986.
Gusty Mint on Movie Star Card
(Image from Rosse)
This was the last version of Gusty to be sold
anywhere in the world, and the shift from glittery to painted
symbol was something that would become the norm with unicorns
after this year. Gusty was sold in the UK with a sticker,
although some packaged Gustys have been found without. It has
been reported that a brown eyeliner version of this Gusty also
exists, and was sold in Scandinavian countries specifically, but
whether this is a batch variation on a later production run or a
geographically specific variation is unclear.
The loose Gusty pictured on this page has black eyeliner. She
belonged to a childhood friend of mine who had her from new here
in the UK, and I inherited her in around 1994-5.
Gusty's Character
Gusty was depicted as a bit of a grump in the animated series. She
was a little caustic in her observations and was unkind to Wind
Whistler in Crunch the Rock Dog when Wind Whistler had trouble
expressing her feelings. Animated Gusty also had the ability to
make breeze from her horn.
In the UK comic, she could not have been more different. Gusty's
UK persona was as one of Ponyland's succession of 'nurses', and
she was frequently drawn with a nurse hat or called 'Nurse Gusty'
by baby ponies. Her responsibilities were twofold - one, to look
after medical issues, and two, watching over the baby ponies.
"Nurse" Gusty looking after the newborn twins
My Little Pony Comic, UK
Gusty did not have a backcard story in the UK,
but her factfile entry associated her magic to autumn leaves.
Not only did she have the magical ability to make the leaves
'burst with colour', she was also able to return fallen leaves
to the trees, presumably meaning she could reverse or control
the autumn leaf fall.
