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

1985

So Soft Ponies: Set I

Everything is fuzzy...


A lot of So Soft Ponies from set 1

Hasbro's original set of So Soft Ponies. Yes. All of them.

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Ponies Sold in 1985 in the UK Groom & Style Ponies | Play & Care Set Babies | Rainbow Ponies (Set 1) | Grooming Parlour |UK Adult Sea Ponies | Earth Ponies (1984) | Show Stable | Butterscotch's Gymkhana | Baby Bow Tie | Waterfall | Dream Castle | Baby Ember | Snuzzle (Concave)| Bluebelle (Concave)

Other 1985 Ponies Twinkle Eyed Ponies (UK:1986) | Flutter Ponies (UK:1986) | Baby Sea Ponies (UK:1986) | Lullabye Nursery (UK:1986) | Year 3 Unicorn & Pegasus | Rainbow Ponies (Set 2) | Adult Sea Ponies (US) | Baby Ponies | So Soft Ponies | Birthflower Ponies

The introduction of So Soft Ponies


The So Soft Ponies were first introduced in 1985-6, and it's clear that Hasbro thought from the start that they were onto something good. Most pony sets were released in lots of around six, with certain second sets having nine or ten ponies including reissued characters. This set, however, contained sixteen ponies from the off. Yes. Sixteen. The caveat to that is that some of them were already known characters released in the 1985 Unicorn and Pegasus sets or Earth Pony sets. The vast majority, however, were completely new characters, and they would form the backbone of the main cast in the animated My Little Pony and Friends series, along with the first set of Twinkle Eye ponies.

The So Soft Ponies were never sold officially in the United Kingdom, although some independent store chains - particularly in the South - appear to have imported some, and so a few examples do appear from time to time on the second-hand market. Hasbro released six of these characters in the Movie Star set in the UK and in parts of Europe, where they did not have flocking - and a further two saw a similar release in Scandinavian countries, South Africa and possibly parts of Germany. Three of the characters released in this set, however, were never sold in any other format within the mainstream Hong Kong production line. These three were Ribbon, Lofty and Paradise.

Ribbon Mint on Card
Ribbon, Mint on Card
So Soft Ponies, North America, 1985-6

It seems that So Soft Ponies may have been sold in some European countries, such as the Benelux, on American cards. They were also sold in Israel, and probably in Ireland - meaning that they may also have been sold in Northern Ireland, despite not making it to the rest of the UK.

As the name of the set suggests, these characters were all flocked with soft velvety fur, from head to toe. The flocking covered their symbols, making some of them harder to see, and certain characters, like Posey, had her symbol made darker in order to make it more visible through the fur. So Soft Ponies in pristine condition are beautiful, but it is not uncommon to find them with flocking rubs around the ears, hooves, or horn/wing edges, nor is it unusual for the flocking to have become dirty over time. Some collectors choose to 'deflock', or remove flocking from badly damaged So Soft ponies - although with some characters this can cause confusion between the deflocked pony and the regular version, and is not recommended for ponies who have an identical or near-identical regular issue release (namely Cherries Jubilee, Gusty, Lickety Split, Posey, North Star, Buttons, Shady and especially Truly and Cupcake)

So Soft Ponies would be a part of the My Little Pony line in North America until around 1987, and would total thirty characters in all, but this initial release is by far the biggest set. In 1986, several ponies from this set would also be reissued, alongside six new characters, suggesting the So Soft phenomenon had taken off.


Ponies in this Set: