Tornado was sold in 1987, in the Mountain Boy
pony set in the UK and a handful of other countries. He was sold
on a very elaborately decorated card featuring the six ponies in
the mountains (which is, logically, where they lived).
His hair was probably meant to be curly, although he is usually
found with it in a loose wave or long and straight (longer than
those with straight hair). His hair is fading pink so it is not
uncommon to find him with white hair.
*Tornado's Accessories - pink insect problems!
Tornado is the most problematic of the Mountain Boy Ponies to
figure out the comb for. There are two different shades of pink
grasshopper comb, and they were sold with Tornado and
Quarterback.
The issue is trying to work out whether they were sold
specifically or interchangeably. Tornado and Quarterback were
sold simultaneously in different regions. In 1987, Tornado was
available in the UK and Quarterback in North America. In 1988,
Tornado was available in Scandinavian countries like Sweden, and
Quarterback was available in the UK. There is plenty of scope
here for confusion. Here is what we know for sure.
1. Both versions of the comb have been found with Mint on
Card US Quarterbacks from 1987. I have only seen one UK carded
Quarterback which seems to have the darker comb but I can't be
sure this is illustrative without more examples. This
would have been sold in 1988.
2. Anecdotal evidence from UK childhood collections
suggests the lighter comb came with Tornado here. However, the
one surviving MOC Tornado that is known to exist has the
darker pink comb. This pony comes from Sweden (has a Swedish
price tag) and so was sold in 1988.
It seems possible that Tornado came with both versions of the
comb. But not necessarily in the same areas. It's just as
possible they were interchangeable in both areas, or that they
were not. Because so few Mountain Boys exist, it's very hard to
prove this for certain either way.
If you had Tornado from new as a child and still have his comb,
please do let me know which shade you have. The more evidence we
have from collectors, the more certain we can be as to whether
Tornado came with both combs or just the darker one.
