Parasol in the United Kingdom
Parasol was sold in the United Kingdom from the end of 1984,
although her set was officially part of 1985, and appeared on the
1985 UK insert. The set had been released in North America the
year before, in 1983-4, and there are no major variations in pony
or accessory between these releases. The card style was
distinctive in the UK, being vertical rather than horizontal.
Parasol Mint on UK Card
Thanks to Straightdealstoys for this image.
There can be minor variations in batch with ponies from this set,
including slightly different plastic shades on the body, magenta
shades in the hair, and whether or not the glitter on the symbol
is underwritten with a printed marking (rather than just being
glitter).
"Strawberry" and "Raspberry" batch variations of Parasol
In the case of Parasol, it is not uncommon to
find her with either paler or slightly darker pink body tones
(above described as strawberry and raspberry for
convenience!). You can also see that the magenta in the hair
of these ponies and the rooting style (display or non-display
side hair) is different. This is a commonly seen variation
with Parasol, probably because of her numerous releases.
Neither version is more valuable or sought after than the
other, and it is impossible to conclusively pin down one
variation to a particular release year because of the
staggered nature of release between North America and Europe,
including mail order releases.
Parasol in Other Places
Parasol was part of the North American release in 1983-4. She
was also part of several European releases, where she was often
found made in Italy or France, sometimes with alternate
colouring or pose. She was also rereleased in the 1985 set in
North America, and was available through subsequent horseshoe
point mail in offers up to around 1986. She is known to have
been part of the extended Rainbow Pony set sold in Scandinavia,
Finland, South Africa and Australia, and features on the back of
this card. The ponies in the below pictured image comparison are
not sealed on card but are shown with their respective correct
card/bubble for comparison purposes.
1986-7
Rainbow Ponies Set (HK)
(Scandinavia/South Africa/Australia)
Whether Parasol was also
sold on the card featuring Flutterbye is unclear, but highly
likely given that she is illustrated on the back. The English
language card had Parasol made in Hong Kong, with her normal
colouring. She also had a backcard story, which was a more
concise version of her year 2/3 Rainbow Pony story in North
America.
The Italian version of Parasol is sold on the same style of
card but in German. The bubble on the English card shows that
the Hong Kong Parasol had the brush, comb, probable ribbon and
sticker accessory combination of other releases, whilst the
Italian one had only a brush and a ribbon. The Italian Parasol
version pictured is the later release (Parasol II) with second
set rainbow pony hair.
Thanks to Leikin for Parasol on English card.
1986-7(?)
Parasol II
Italian Rainbow Pony
(Germany/Austria/Switzerland)
Parasol's Character
The early Rainbow Ponies did not have very distinctive
characters in early My Little Pony lore in the UK, and Parasol
did not feature in any animated adventure. The UK release did
not have a backcard story, either. The later Fact File intimated
that her rainbow hair was magical and allowed her to keep cool
in hot summer heat. It also describes her paddling in the
waterfall and staying in the shade, suggesting she was a little
pony who disliked bright sunshine.
