GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Pony Name:
KaibaGirl007

Real Name:
Emma

Location:
Cardiff, UK

Age:
27 very soon to be 28.

Got a photo? Paste it here!


Occupation:
Stay at home mum of three little girls and future pony collectors.

If you could be a cookie what kind would you be?
Mmm cookies ………………. What was the question again? Erm, probably something boring, but tasty like oatmeal.

Pants or no pants?
Pants. I like pants.

What do you like/dislike most about yourself?
I like that I’m friendly, open minded and can see both sides of a story before making judgement.
I dislike that I’m shy, don’t always speak my mind and am sometimes a bit too much of a perfectionist.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
A little bit west of here, nearer the coast and next door to Mr Barrowman. *grins like an idiot* Nah, as long as I’m with my hubby and girls and we’re comfortable then that’s what matters most. Of course a big house and some sunshine would be nice too.

Do you collect anything other than ponies?
Nothing on the same scale but I’ve got lots of DVDs, Neil Gaiman books, miscellaneous collectable action figures, Torchwood, YuGiOh, Digimon, Pokemon …. Actually the Pokemon could probably rival the ponies.

PONY BASICS
Collecting Since:
December 1984

Who was your first pony, EVER? How did you get it? How old were you?
G1 Majesty who I got her for Christmas 1984 when I was two, and I still have her today.

What generation(s) do you primarily collect?
A bit from each generation for me but G1s are my main focus.

Who is your favorite pony and why?
*thinks long and hard* Peachy I guess as I have an army of her. I think she’s a very under rated pony and needs more love.

Who is your favorite "Nirvana?"
Another hard one. *thinks* That I own = Jenny. That I have little chance of owning = ReUnicorno.

Who is your least favorite pony and why?
*quickly answers* The beddy-bye-eyes babies. Their eyes creep me out; it’s like they’re going to eat your soul.

What's the one question about ponies or pony stuff that you've always been too embarrassed to ask?
How many drops on your Lemon Drop?

What are your thoughts on.....
- G1s? I love them and have many fond memories of my childhood collection.
- G2s? I started out not liking them but their cute little babies won me over.
- G3s? So nice to see them still around and be able share something I love with my daughters.
- G3.5s or whatever they're being called today? Cute but a let down they’re just Core7.
- Ponyville Fun and so many little pieces to lose.

What do you REALLY think happened to the Breezies?
Hmm, Spike hasn’t been seen around for a bit either. I reckon he ate them and then went into hiding.

Who is the one pony you have sworn you'll NEVER OWN IN A MILLION YEARS and why?
I’d like to have her, but to sum it up in three words: Greek. Labybird. Price.

What would you like to see offered next in the G3 line?
BOYS!!! Come on Hasbro, those girls need some men in their lives!

Would you rather have :
(a) MOC Mimic
(b) Loose Ladybird
(c) MIP Carribbean Delight & Beach Belle
(d) Dude, just give me the cash!
A no-brainer, I’d choose Ladybird. The others don’t really interest me (well the cash would but there’d be no guarantee that I’d spend it on ponies), plus I’d be lynched by the MLP community as I wouldn’t be able to keep Mimic MOC.

How do your family and friends feel about your pony habit...or are you still in the collecting closet?
Mostly they’re accepting. A certain stuck-up in-law of mine has an issue with it and although my hubby will sometimes mock me, he’s okay with it (as long as I don’t spend vast amounts on a single pony/purchase and keep my collection at a reasonable amount) And of course my daughters think that I’m the coolest mummy in the world and fantastic at having so many ponies under one roof.
It’s a very different story from when I was bullied as a kid for liking ponies and kept them secret from other people as a result of that bullying. But now knowing that there’s hundreds of other collectors out there, I really don’t care who knows. They can take me or leave me, it’s their choice.

Do you ever see yourself *not* collecting anymore? What do you think would make you stop?
That’s hard to say but I guess that yes, one day the collecting will stop. The things that are likely to make it stop will be either money issues or that I’ve reached the amount in my collection that the hubby will tolerate before filing for a divorce, lol. But then again I’ve got three young pony enthusiasts to guide and help build their own collections.

MOC G1s Preserve them or let them free?
If it was up to me then I’d free them all. *looks around nervously*
G2s on the other hand, I like better in their prisons.

Tell the truth! Do you ever still play with your ponies?
I could use the excuse that I have three daughters to play with them with (which we do with theirs, and sometimes a few of mine) but as for ponies from my own collection, yes I do. Kinda.
The ones I’ve got displayed have their own stories based on the other items displayed with them. Example; G3.5 Cheerilee is displayed next to the Doctor and his TARDIS so naturally she’s off travelling with him a lot, G3 Minty is busy cloning herself on top of my jewellery box, G1 Kisscurl makes sure that roboraptor doesn’t eat my manga, and so on. And if I receive another pony for my collection which needs their hair washing and I’m pushed for time, I will not hesitate to take it into the bath with me. I figure that some people take books to read in the bath, so why not wash my pony’s hair? Also there’s been a few times when I’ve taken random photos of ponies when I’ve met up in the town with a friend. She’s a collector and Arena member too so doesn’t mind the craziness of snapping ponies around Cardiff.

Are you a customizer? If not, would you ever?
*nods* Since 2005.

What are your thoughts on custom ponies?
I love custom ponies. It’s so nice to see what others, collectors or not, create. There are so many talented people out there who have a real knack of designing and making ponies that Hasbro would never ever consider.

What rare/popular pony just makes you ask...WHY?
Piggys. *cringes* Podgy, grown up, beddy-bye-eyes ….. nuff said.

If you could help up Hasbro on working on a MLP line (either G1, G2 , G3 or G3.5), what job would you like to do?
Quality control. Lets face it, they need it.

Hasbro offers you a position on their MLP design team, but you must give up one of the following to get in: your collection, your friends/family, or your bank account. Which will it be?
My bank account. There’s nothing in there anyway and they could always pay me cash in hand.

Which pony would you rescue in a fire?
That’s cruel, I can’t possibly choose just one! It’d probably be one that I’m attached to like a childhood pony.

If you had to have a pony symbol tattooed on your butt which would you pick and why?
I’d take a leaf out of the white activity club baby’s book and stay tattoo free.

If you had to pick between a fakie or a bait pony, which would it be, and why?
If it was a pony that I didn’t have then the bait, otherwise it would depend on how cute the fakie was.

If you had to pick a G1 or G2 to be remade and released with the G3.5 line, who would you choose and why?
G1 Tutti Fruitti or G2 Gardener because I love their colour combo.

How many pony meets/cons have you been to?
One official meet and two cons. I had to miss it last year due to other arrangements.

Do you customize?
Yes.

Who is your favourite artist and have you created a pony inspired by them?
I wouldn’t say that I had a single favourite artist and yes I have been inspired by a few of them in order to try new techniques and such.

What has been the worst part of collecting/customising ponies for you?
Collecting would be the snipers on e-Bay. I’m guilty of this myself as it seems to be the only way to stand a chance of winning the ponies I want.
Customising would be finishing a custom and then sealing it only for the sealant to make the whole thing sticky.

Can you leave ponies behind at boot sales/ thrift shops etc, or do you have to rescue them?
To make that decision I’d have to yet find a pony in such a place. It’s been such a long time since I have, but if I hand the money at hand I would buy it even if it was just to trade, add to my bait box or give to my daughters.

Is there one colour of pony you own more of than any other?
Peach. I’ve got so many Peachy variants and an army that I think she’d give Pinkie Pie a run for her money.

Do you think there are some as-yet undiscovered G1s out there? Where would you imagine they'd be from?
Yes, new ones are being discovered all the time. I think that there’s got to be more than just the odd one or two from South Africa. A South African Peachy, that’s what I’d like to see.

YOUR COLLECTION
What got you started collecting as an adult?
I’ve never really stopped collecting since childhood, just had dry spells that’s all. Finally getting access to the internet in 2005 helped a lot though.

About how many ponies are in your herd right now?
- Total? 685
(709 if you count the MIP sets that have more than one pony in them)
- From each generation?
G1 = 450
G2 = 14 MOC & 1 loose
G3 = 5MIB & 4 loose
Ponyville = 65
Nirvana = 29
Customs = 36
Peachy army = 24
Miscellaneous = 57 (includes plush, McDs, NBCs, re-releases, styling ponies, dream beauties, petites, etc)
And that’s not including the baits in my custom supplies.

What is your ultimate collecting goal?
Don’t really have one but I have promised the hubby I’d cap my G1 collection to 500 which excludes my nirvanas that will continue to grow after that mark. *evil grin*

What's your biggest collecting accomplishment to date?
Not sure. Maybe my pony signed by Bonnie Zacherle (creator of the original six MLPs), getting all of the adult boys who have hairy feet and my Peachy variants.

What's your biggest collecting regret?
Not having enough money for the ponies I want.

What's the one pony that just seems to elude you?
Surprise Newborn Baby Bouncy with giraffe symbols.

What is your favorite pony pose and why?
G3 donkey pose. It’s so cute, I don’t understand why a lot of people dislike it.

Who is your grail pony and why? Do you have it yet?
Greek Baby Peachy to add to my Peachy variants. Sadly I don’t have her yet and doubt that I will unless the price of Greek ponies drop dramatically.

Do you collect mostly MIP or loose ponies? Why do you prefer that?
Loose. I like to be able to hold them and brush my ponies’ hair.

In your opinion, what are some acceptable and unacceptable flaws in ponies?
As long as the pony isn’t missing a body part (flutters don’t count here) then I’m pretty happy to accept any flaw.

Do you collect foreigns or variants? If so, what draws you to them?
Yes. I like the differences between the ‘normal’ and the ‘variant’ whether it be colour, pose, hair or symbol.

Who's the one pony you'd never, ever get rid of and why?
My poor battered NSS North Star who’s covered in smoozy pindot mould, has dry hair, tail rust, lots of scuffs, rubs and playwear. She was one of my favourites as a child, I took her everywhere with me, which explains her condition today.

Quick! Close your eyes and grab a pony. Who is it and how did you get it?
Tex. I reached out to pick him up from off the shelf….. What? Oh you mean back story ‘how did you get it’.
As already mentioned I was bullied for liking them as a kid so I told very few of the friends I made when going on to secondary school about my ponies. However one of the girls I befriended accidentally found out one night when we were studying as I had left some of them on display in my room. But instead of making fun of me like so many had done in the past she mentioned that she had a few ponies when she was little but never really liked them. Nothing more was said but the next time she came round to me house she brought him with her and gave him to me to keep. *huggles Tex*

BACK IN THE DAY...

Did you have ponies as a kid? If so, how many?
Yes, around 40-50 of them.

Did you improve them by giving them haircuts, painting them with glitter polish, or anything else fun?
I was good with my ponies and only ever used the make-up that came with the salon. There was a pony though, Bubbles, who I bought from a car boot sale when I was a kid and she had gouged out eyes so I repaired them with a couple of sequins to make her a twinkle eyed pony instead.

Who were the stars of your childhood herd?
Majesty, North Star, Baby North Star, Snowflake, WigWam, Applejack, Baby Applejack, Baby Sister Apple Delight, Peachy, Baby Tiddly-Winks, Sniffles; they were my favourites.

Who were the bad guys?
All of my brother’s toys, mainly cars and Transformers.

Did you watch the TV show? What was your favorite episode and why?
Yes. Back then my favourite episodes were Bright Lights as I was so in love with Knight Shade.

What's your very first pony memory?
I don’t think I can remember that far back though it might have been the time I broke Spike’s basket for Dream Castle by sitting on it.

What pony were you dying to have as a kid but your mom never bought it for you? Do you have it now?
My mum was pretty good with selecting ponies for me and I was always happy with what I got, but I did really want Fizzy yet never got her. I have her now though.

Did you have any rare ponies as a kid? Who?
I wouldn’t say that I had any ‘rare’ ponies in my collection but I did have lots of international ones (obviously I would from living in the UK) and my childhood Peachy was made in Macau.

Tell us something evil you did to your ponies:
I thought my childhood Snuzzle was a fake Peachy so never played with her.

What's a fun or funny memory you have about ponies from when you were little?
Sleeping over at my aunt’s and thinking that the symbol on my cousin’s Hopscotch was a band-aid.


THE REAL WORLD

What do you like to do for fun?
Act like I’m not nearing 30.

Do you have any other hobbies? Please share!
I love writing stories. At the moment it’s mainly crossover fanfiction for the things I love which I take very seriously, but I’m also working on original scripts and a novel of my own.

What's your most embarrassing moment?
I’d rather not say but it involved being drunk.

Got kids?
Yep, three little girls; Jen, Cerys and Evie, aged 6, 3 & 2.

Would you ever name your kid(s) after a pony? If so...what?
Never thought about it.

Got pets?
No.

What three places are you dying to see? (NO, Pandora does not count!)
I would have to say Australia, Japan and ……… does the Boeshane Peninsula count? Probably not if Pandora doesn’t but I can’t think of a third place.

What are you most proud of?
My daughters.

FILL IN THE BLANK
I would like other collectors to think of me as.......
… a friend.

I really wish that Hasbro would......
… scrap the core 7 idea already.

My best eBay deal was.....
… Macau Lemon Drop for £2/$3

My best thriftstore/fleamarket/garage sale find was....
… any time that I found a pony as they’re so few and far between.

When I was new, I didn't know any better that...
… I swapped a princess comb for a bait pony.

I think that the most underappreciated pony is......
… Sundance
because......
… she’s really common that nobody pays her any attention; she’s just a pony who comes with Megan.

What sets me apart as a collector is....
a complete secret that not even I truly know myself.

And finally
Mr. Moochick Friend or foe?
I don’t know. He seems friendly enough, but my mother always warned me to stay away from strange old men.