The My Little Pony Scrapbook: G1 in the UK and Europe

1987

Newborn Twins

Double the trouble, double the fun!


Newborn Twins, UK box

Newborn Twins, from the UK box 1987

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Ponies Sold in 1987 in the UK Movie Star Ponies | Mountain Boy Ponies | Birthday Party with Tutti Frutti | Princess Ponies (Set 1) |Snuzzle's Grooming Parlour | Megan and Sundance (Second Edition)| Twinkle Eye Ponies (UK Set II) | Flutter Ponies (Set II) | Newborn Twins (Set I, Partial) | Pretty & Pearly Baby Sea Ponies (UK Release) | Paradise Estate | Dream Castle | Lullabye Nursery | Baby Buggy | Baby Bonnet School of Dance

Other 1987 Ponies Twinkle Eyed Ponies (North America/Italy) | Pony Friends (Ponies) | Stockings | Pony Friends (Animals) | Soft Sleepy Newborns| Sea Sparkle Baby Sea Ponies | Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe | Crimp & Curl Hair Salon (Perm Shoppe) (UK:1988) | Slumber Party Gift Set | Rainbow Ponies (Europe) | Twice as Fancy (Party) Ponies (UK:1988) | First Tooth Baby Ponies (UK:1988)| Big Brother Ponies (UK:1988) | So Soft Ponies (III) | Purse with Baby Crumpet | Baby Blue Ribbon

Newborn Twins in the United Kingdom

"Newborn twins like to laugh and play in their very special way...and they're twice the fun for everyone!"
                                                                                               Newborn Twins box stories (UK and North America), 1987

1987 saw the introduction of an even smaller type of baby pony - the newborn. These new newborn characters were sold in pairs as twins, and each came with a significant amount of accessories to help take care of them. The twins shared features in common, although their shared feature was not always quite the same. While they did have the same symbols, these could be in different colours. Some (like the two sets sold in the UK) had the same colours but in reverse to each other. Others had the same colouring but different poses. Others had different hair colour as well as a different pose.

There were technically six pairs in the first set, but only two pairs were ever sold in the UK - Sniffles and Snookums and Nibbles and Dibbles.

1987 Insert, UK
Newborn Twins
UK Insert, 1987

According to Hasbro's promotional booklet, Jangles and Tangles were also meant to be part of the UK line - making one pair of each species - but for some reason, they were withdrawn before production.

Newborn Twins, 1987 Hasbro UK
Newborn Twins
Hasbro UK's 1987 Promotional catalogue, featuring three sets of twins.

All of the poses introduced in the newborn twin line were brand new, because of the new age dynamic - but the baby pegasus pose used for Nibbles and Dibbles would never be used again for any other baby ponies down the line (sadly, because it's so cute!)

Although we had a very limited release of Newborn Twins, the box was very nicely decorated, with Sniffles and Snookums on the end panels, and a scene on the back of both sets of twins playing, with stories for both. This same image was used on the insert (pictured above).

In the UK, Sniffles was gendered male, although this is not the case in North America. He is the only official known example of a male unicorn in the mainstream pony line (although some Nirvana unicorns are gendered male in stories and other material).

Nibbles and Dibbles's box
Nibbles and Dibbles's box, UK, 1987

The names for the ponies in this set in the UK were consistent with the names used in North America. But, for some unknown reason, stickers issues with these two sets of twins bear all kinds of weird variations. Sniffles and Snuggles, Dimples and Ruffles...which suggests that Hasbro were playing with alternate names before deciding to go with the original. These stickers all made it into production. Only the UK releases of the set had puffy stickers, so this was not an issue in the American release.

DImples and Ruffles
Nibbles and Dibbles alternate sticker
"Dimples and Ruffles"
Image from LadyGuinevere

Newborn Twins in Italy - I Baby Pony Gemelli


While I am not sure how these first twins were/were not sold in the rest of Europe, they were sold in Italy. The same two pairs were made available there as in the UK, although the packaging was unique to the Italian line, as was customary at that time of production. The box was yellow with a blue flap and featured Sniffles and Snookums on the front. They were made in Hong Kong.

Nibbles and Dibbles in Italian Box
Nibbles and Dibbles
Mint in Italian box, 1987

In Italy, Sniffles and Snookums were called Isididoro and Isabella, while Nibbles and Dibbles were called Filiberto and Guendalina. These rather human names suggested that in Italy, one of each pair was a girl and one of each was a boy. They retailed for 25,000 Italian Lira in 1987 - according to the price tag on my box. This is approximately £11 in English money. This is more expensive than in the UK - the price tag on the boxes I have indicates they retailed for £7.99. (Italy no longer uses the Lira so this comparison is subjective).

The Italian set also came with a flier in blue and white, advertising offers available in Italy that year. This did not include any ponies, but did include activities such as colouring in, and a music cassette. Click image to view full size. Again, all prices listed are in Italian Lira.

Leaflet from inside Italian box

...And the rest of the set! North America, 1987

As mentioned above, there were six sets of twins in the North American release, of which two were sold in the UK, and four were not. The remaining four pairs included one more pair of unicorns and three more pairs of earth ponies. Accessories for the UK and US releases of Nibbles/Dibbles and Sniffles/Snookums were more or less the same as in North America, aside the sticker - but the nappy boxes here were blue, with Snugfit written on them, whereas the North American set had yellow diaper boxes instead.
Newborn Twins: Set 1 (1987)
The complete first set of Newborn Twins
(Boxes left: UK Nibbles and Dibbles, right: US Rattles and Tattles)

Each set of twins had one largeish accessory and several small. There were two strollers, two bassinetts and two sets of snail rockers in the release - several of which are pictured above. The strollers and bassinetts could be dismantled.

The newborn twins were clearly successful, as more would be sold in 1988 - although again, the UK would have a reduced set. Newborn singlets would also be sold later on in the line. Newborns had arrived - and were here to stay.




Ponies in this Set: UK and Italy