Rainbow Ponies (from European Card style
version I)
My sincere thanks to Leikin and Norrskensljus for all their
help regarding this release!
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Well, in a word...no.
This set was sold in Scandinavia, Finland, South Africa and
probably Australia. I say set, but really I should be saying
'sets', as technically there are two releases involved here. The
cards are in the UK style, and included ponies that appeared in
the comics in the UK around 1986. They were probably intended
for a UK release too, although it never manifested.
The assortment number for this release was 4830, which is the same assortment number as in other Rainbow Pony releases. This suggests that this was the collective release number for this set and this collection should be considered simply as a re-assortment of existing categorised ponies that shifted based on geographical location.
The card designs used for the Hong Kong made release set were
also used for sets released in France, German speaking countries
and Spain, with ponies made in Spain (in French or Spanish
packaging) or Italy (in French or German packaging). The set in
question, however, was sold in English (although distribution
included countries where English was not the first language).
Although I have separated them into I and II, we are still
figuring out which was sold first, whether different card styles
were more common in different regions, or whether they were sold
simultaneously. For now, I can say that Rainbow Ponies were
available in these places during 1986 and 1987, and this is a
rough guide on how that all went down.
I feel the need to do this here because we are all (even those
of us who dabble in European ponies, and sometimes even those
who dabble in these specificities) are guilty of using this term
as a shorthand. In fact, things are never quite that simple.
With regards to this set, we know for a fact that they were sold
in Sweden on these cards. It seems highly likely they were also
in Norway and probably Finland (which is not technically in
Scandinavia, but is another Nordic country). I am not sure about
Denmark, because they sometimes had their own releases with
cards in Danish. Many of these used American artwork, with
translated text. I do not have permission to share any images of
Danish carded ponies for comparison, but they are quite
distinctive in comparison to the card pictured above.
While most of the discussion around this set is linked to
"Scandinavia", we also have good indication these also existed
in Australia, and it is possible they were also in South Africa.
So while we are talking "Scandinavia", please be aware that this
is a generalisation at best, and only an overview of roughly
where these ponies were sold.
The other card style featured Trickles, Tickle and Flutterbye
on the front. The below example is correct for the release.
Although the card is different, the lineart is similar. The
card features Flutterbye instead of Starflower and there is no
stream in the middle of the card.
The ponies shown on the back of this card were Tickle, Flutterbye,
Moonstone, Confetti, Pinwheel and Trickles.
Based on surviving MIP and backcards, all six pictured ponies
were definitely available in this release,
The above picture of Flutterbye suggests there are accessory
variations in this release, but this example may be an exception
rather than the rule. Like other Rainbow Pony sets, they came
with a shooting star brush (with rainbow sticker), comb and
ribbon.
Although these cards were in English, a German version of this
card also exists with a Hong Kong made Flutterbye (Hummelchen)
attached.
Additional ponies may have been sold on the cards above; other
sets from 1986 and 1987 in Scandinavia and South Africa featured
eight ponies, not all of whom were depicted on the card art.
Starshine
is the most likely additional character included in this set,
particularly in Sweden. She was advertised in an 1986 Playmix
catalogue, sporting the ponywear outfit Champagne and Lace and
appears again instead of Moonstone in another leaflet (possibly
from the Swedish club?) in 1987.
Anecdotal collector evidence suggests Starshine may have been
sold on the card design with Flutterbye. While we cannot confirm
her accessories in this release, it is possible she came
with the yellow brush, comb and ribbon more usually associated
with Windy.
Windy
was also available in Sweden and in Norway at least. In
Norway, she - and Starshine - were sold through an import of the
US-carded pony release, probably in 1985 or 1986 at the start of
the Norwegian release (thanks to Katrine for this information)
They may also have been sold there as part of this 1986-7
release. In Sweden, imports of the North American 1985 Rainbow
set have also been found, so it is not clear at present whether
Windy arrived there in this format, or was another unpictured
pony on the 1986 backcard. As yet, no 1986 card bearing Windy's
name has been found. It is unclear what happened in Denmark, but
Italian ponies were also sold here, and they may have had a
different release (or on different cards).
Sunlight
has also been found in Sweden in great enough numbers to suggest
she had a release here too, but at present it is unclear whether
she was part of this set or from an earlier import. She was not
part of the North American set in 1985, and so if sold here via
import, it would have been on earlier packaging.
Collector research in Sweden and Norway suggests Starflower is rare compared to Flutterbye or Pinwheel. Although she is pictured on one of the cards, it has not yet been confirmed that she was definitely released in this set, and may have come to Scandinavian countries via imports of the North American release.
There are still gaps in this release and the information may yet be updated. Watch this space.
This site is not a Nirvana site, and therefore I mostly avoid
including too many Nirvana variants in order not to confuse the
main release line. In this case, however, with so many gaps in
the information, I think it is helpful to include some other
versions of these cards in the different language releases.
Notable about these releases are the changes in accessory,
including simplification.