Care Bears Sighting - The Supermarket and the Cinema...for £1!

After an especially stressful wrangle around the supermarket with a grumpy 3 year old and a 1 year old (busy day out + supermarket trip = GRUMPY) I totally pushed my luck. I was really happy to find this little bargain in the Tomy Gasha Capsule Toy Vending machines on our way out.

They're about 1.5" tall, flocked and scented. If flocking and perfume scented toys aren't a nod to the 1980s, then I don't know what is?! We got Friend Bear who's Pienapple scented (!) There are 8 different ones to collect. I've since seen them in the cinema too, so hopefully you'll find them round where you live too. I'm saving my £ coins for my next supermarket visit, but maybe I'll leave the grumpy over tired children with Daddy next time :-)

Collectors Guide - Know Your My Little Ponies 1980s to the Present

If you're looking to start a collection or replace your old lost toys, We love My Little Pony. Here's a rough guide to the toy line so far:

Generation 1 (G1) 1982 - 1995
This is by far the most popular line with collectors. For pure nostalgia and style they are great. There is literally something for everyone with the original Earth Pony line, the Big Brother clydesdale ponies to the clear glitter ponies. Prices start at around £6 for one in good condition, but you can expect to pay over £100 for international exclusives and variations.

Generation 2 (G2) 1997 - 2003
How can a toy line get it so wrong? This version was a disaster with hardly any commercial success in the USA and discontinued there in less than a year after launch. Their strange skinny bodies and hippo like faces had none of the charm or cuteness of the original line. You can pick up G2 mint in pack ponies for less than £10. However due to their unpopularity some of the later play sets and ponies are still quite valuable due to their rarity!

Generation 3 (G3) 2003 - 2009
After a pony hiatus, they were back. They'd learnt their lesson and came back with a chunkier pony with lots more in common with G1. This generation was targeted to a younger age group, so everything was more solid and less fiddly with no small pieces and less accessories.

This was the first line that the artists really got into - there are some great customised ponies in this generation. The value in this generation is in the charity exclusive and convention exclusive ponies.

For new or younger collectors this is a really great place to start. They can be picked up extremely cheaply with prices starting at as low as 50p a pony online if you buy job lots.

Generation 4 Friendship Is Magic (G4 FiM) 2010 - Present
Lauren Faust took the reigns for the cartoon series for this generation. With a pedigree in Powerpuff Girls, it's easy to see the parallels. This series has pulled My Little Ponies back in front of a brand new audience and for the first time has really encouraged the new wave of male collectors, even coining the Bronie title for the once neglected male fans. The toys are super cute and already a big hit with collectors. Keen eyes will already see play sets and ponies in store exclusive deals in Argos and ToysRUs. The mold for these guys is smaller than it's been before with a more Japanese / Kawaii cutesy style. With values already creeping up I can see this as a good bet for a future collectible.

Our Shopkins Collection

We were out shopping and Emmett found these at the counter. The little shopping basket series 3 came in were so cute. This was a while ago, before Shopkins became the biggest selling new toy line in the USA. A quick look on Instagram will show you queues round blocks for the release of series 4.

I'm a big fan of anthropomorphic toys (basically anything inanimate with a face) Shopkins tick all the boxes for cute and the collectable factor is very addictive. I feel they are definitely going to be a collectable for the future. Already some of the rare figures command huge prices on ebay. Also, anything that promotes community with children is a good thing - there are various Shopkin swapping parties advertised online and I also really like the nod to the collectibles of the 1980's like bubblegum cards and Lil' Babies figures that you could trade with your friends.

Series 4 is definitely the best series so far with the addition of super cute Petkins with animal faces. Also a first for this series are the Shoppies dolls. They're really cute too and have already been a big crossover hit with doll collectors. I think the prices are reasonable. The smallest set for this series has two random figures in blind bags in a stackable crate (the crate is available in white, pink and fuschia) This retails for around £2.49 in most shops. I think this was our favourite set as the stackable crates add a lot of play value. We bought the bigger pack so that we knew we'd get some of the Petkins. The paint job on the cabbage sold us too!

I painted up this thimble shelf to display them in my office when we're not playing. Cute, huh?