My Little Pony? Seriously?

Integrity Toys released some hard to believe information regarding a new fashion figure collection based on My Little Pony. There is a talented group of artists who do custom MLP figures which are fabulous. What I didn't know is that there is a cosplay movement of numerous characters from the show. There is a following of teens and adults who have a convention called BronyCon. Find out more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BronyCon.
Here is another interesting article about followers and fans:
http://www.webcitation.org/63cE1QPev

Integrity says it will be a "high end collectible series inspired and made to honor the fans of the My Little Pony brand."  When I read this announcement I was speechless but I realize that it is a way to get new consumers.

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Let's see. What else does Hasbro make that IT could use as a basis for a line of fashion dolls?

 

Hasbro makes Play-Doh! I love everything about Play-Doh except that smell. What if Integrity made a great set based on that product? It would come with the doll head and you put the head in a Play-Doh 'machine' turn the crank and Play-Doh hair starts to grow. Then you can mold fashion clothes for the doll and voila, a high end fashion line which is recyclable, reusable and encourages active participation. I like it.

*Original photograph: from Waiting by Jana Romanova

So I'm just kidding around here but it was a surprise - bigger than the Jem doll cartoon dolls.

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While we don't have further information aside from the official press release above, we do have the following that hopefully will answer a few of your general queries about this brand. Please note that as soon as we have pictures of the official samples, all will be revealed!

• The male figures will have the current FR: Homme body and the female dolls will sport a new, yet to be unveiled body (more details about this in future announcements).

• Each figure will come beautifully displayed in a fantastic new package design, themed around each My Little Pony character associated with the doll or figure.

• Fans can expect lots of little "themed" accessories and especially designed clothing pieces that express each doll's love for his or her favorite My Little Pony character!

• This new collection may or may not be distributed via Integrity Toys' network of authorized dealers. Since we do not have final costing yet, we cannot make this announcement at this time. Exact pre-ordering information will be released when we are ready to unveil the collection approximately in the fourth quarter of 2015 (Winter 2015-2016).

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*http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/07/eleanor-macnair_n_6426476.html

Robert Tonner and Vintage Sindy! What?

Starting at minute mark 17:00 Robert Tonner appears to discuss his company's plans to reproduce vintage Sindy dolls.

I have the 20 minute video set to begin a few seconds before Robert's appearance.

http://youtu.be/DzH6VC7oK1Y?t=16m40s

The 4th annual Sindy convention celebrated her 50th birthday on Saturday, July 27th. in the UK.
The only contact I ever had with Sindy was scouring the internet for 1/6 scale furniture for my Fashion Royalty dolls.

Over the years I've had Sindy beds, dressing tables, wardrobes, a lamp table, breakfronts, dressers, a dining table with chairs, a fabulous writing desk with ottoman and sofas. It was great stuff and you can still find it on eBay.

The earliest Sindy product was made by Pedigree. There's a really cute standing hairdryer on eBay (UK) right now for £19.99. I'm so tempted.

My picture of the Sindy Lounger with added umbrellas.

My picture of the bench that went with the dressing table.

My picture of the writing bureau.

There are wonderful pieces of Sindy dolls, furniture and accessories out there. 

Sindy is the free, swinging girl that every little girl longs to be. Sindy has sports clothes, glamour clothes, everyday clothes — a dog, skates, a gramophone — everything... Every genuine Sindy outfit is a child's dream come true. Each one is designed for today's fashionable young women by today's leading women designers. They are authentic miniature replicas of the latest adult clothes.

If you would like to know more about Sindy, Wikipedia has an excellent page:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindy

 

Two final images are copyrighted Pedigree Toys.

Jem and The Holograms

Jem, also called Jem and the Holograms, is an American animated television series that ran from 1985 to 1988 in U.S. first-run syndication. The show is about music company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, her band the Holograms, and their adventures. 
The series was a joint collaboration by Hasbro, Marvel Productions and Sunbow Productions, the same team responsible for G.I. Joe and Transformers.  The creator of the series, Christy Marx, had also been a staff writer for the aforementioned programs. The animation for most of the episodes was provided by the Japanese animation studio Toei Doga (now Toei Animation). -Wikipedia

Presented below is the "First Wave" of Integrity Toy's new Jem and the Holograms doll line.
The editions of all the dolls is 1000 except for Rio whose production size is 850.

Classic Jem

Jerrica Benton

Synergy This doll appears to use the Elise Jolie sculpt.

Rio Pacheco

Each retails for $119. The girls are 12" and Rio is 12.5" 

Photo Credits
Promotional Poster - Hasbro
Four Dolls - Integrity Toys

http://www.integritytoys.com/jemandtheholograms/about.php

Jem and the Holograms

Hasbro, Inc. and Integrity Toys, Inc. have partnered to produce a line of Jem and the Holograms dolls. The price range is projected to be $125.

JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS Special Edition Doll: HOLLYWOOD JEM 

The image above is Jem. She will launching at 2012 Comic-Con International in San Diego. This doll will be available for purchase at the Hasbro Toy Shop booth #3329 during Comic-Con International in San Diego at an approximate retail price of $125 and following the convention, at www.HasbroToyShop.com.

Hasbro and Integrity Toys are in business to make money. That's the bottom line.

Marketing gobbledygook:

"As children of the 80's ourselves, working on this project with the Hasbro team was a dream come true for our entire team. JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS has been a major influence for us," says Alain Tremblay, marketing director of Integrity Toys, Inc.  

 

"We wanted to remain true to the spirit of the original doll line, while paying homage to the animated series, which is something that we as JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS fans always wanted through the years," says Vaughn Sawyers, Integrity's head designer.

Bryony Bouyer, Sr. VP, Global Franchise Development for Hasbro said: "We wanted to pay homage to the characters and offer collectible dolls to fans that would showcase the essence of their favorite characters.  We admire the high quality dolls produced by Integrity Toys, so this relationship made perfect sense."

Not being a child of the 80's or a fan of Jem and the Holograms, I know absolutely nothing about this cartoon, these characters or the animated series. I looked it up on Wikipedia and learned it ran from 1985 to 1988. "The show is about music company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, her band the Holograms, and their adventures."

Most of Hasbro's action figures sell for well under $20. There are a few playsets for under $35.  

  

 In my biased opinion, this doll has a Pink Box Barbie Aesthetic. $125. Seriously?

Links which may be of interest:

http://geek-news.mtv.com/2011/10/06/ten-truly-outrageous-jem-and-the-holograms-toys/

http://thisisnotheavymetal.tumblr.com/post/635326249/barbie-vs-jem-plastic-baggage-is-still-baggage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jem_episodes

http://www.jemdolls.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR2FVm4_x_0

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=jem+and+the+holograms+dolls

http://www.ghostofthedoll.co.uk/Toys_Jem.htm

http://jemgirl.com/jemgirl/home.html

http://www.pranceatron.com/jem/cartoonsynopses.htm

Take your $125. and buy the real thing. Buy vintage.