My Little Pony collectors tend to love nirvana ponies. Although they are sometimes quite hard to find, they look different from their counterparts and are an excellent addition to any pony hoard. in this article, we will go through the different types of nirvana My Little Pony and help you find your holy grails.
The images on this article are courtesy of My Little Wiki.
What is a nirvana pony?
Nirvana ponies were made or sold exclusively in certain countries. This usually made them quite limited in distribution.
Can a pony from Hong Kong or China be a nirvana pony?
No. Ponies made in Hong Kong or China are not considered nirvana. Some ponies were made in these countries, then exported to others and packaged in different languages. These are not considered nirvana ponies either.
How can you identify a nirvana pony?
The easiest way to detect a nirvana pony is to look at its hoof markings. Nirvana ponies will say for example “SPAIN”, “ITALY”, “ARGENTINA”, etc. Some ponies, however, were not marked in any way. Unmarked hooves usually mean nirvana, but you will need to check the color combination (hair, body, and symbols) in the database to make sure.
The Countries of Nirvana Ponies
Nirvana ponies come from the following countries (you can click on these to scroll down to each and explore photos, descriptions, and videos)
Nirvana ponies made in Argentina are considered some of the most colorful. from what we can gather, Hasbro guidelines were not particularly enforced by Top Toys, the local manufacturer. As a result, we get familiar ponies with incredible body and hair combinations — and a whole lot of rainbow ponies! Argentinian ponies are usually stamped with the words “MADE IN ARGENTINA” (“MADE IN” and “ARGENTINA”, each on a hoof).
Argentina – MLP G1 Windy
Argentina – MLP G1 Heart Throb
Argentina – MLP G1 Flutterbye
Argentina – MLP G1 Buttons
Australian nirvana ponies are the alternate Birth Flower ponies. The Australian editions were packed in regular cards. These ponies were also available in New Zealand, Sweden, and Denmark.
Australia – Alternate Birth Flower Ponies: December Holly
Australia – Alternate Birth Flower Ponies: November Chrysanthemum
Australia – Alternate Birth Flower Ponies: October Cosmos
Australia – Alternate Birth Flower Ponies: September Morning Glory
Brazilian nirvana ponies are stamped with the words “ESTRELA MADE IN BRAZIL” in a single hoof and inside a square frame. Some Brazilian ponies don’t have symbols – as they came instead with outfits.
Colombian nirvana ponies are marked “MADE IN COLOMBIA” although adults rarely have an identifying mark. although there were only nine different characters released, they were made in different combinations of colors.
Colombia – Bowtie
Colombia – Bowtie
Colombia – Bowtie
Colombia – Bowtie
There are Dutch variants released in 1995, after the G1 line had ended everywhere else. These ponies from the Netherlands are based on previous characters but had different color combinations.
French nirvana ponies are stamped with a circular “MADE IN FRANCE” mark on the hoof. Original French ponies include variations of Bowtie, Cotton Candy, Moonstone, Skydancer, and Windy.
German nirvana ponies included rainbow ponies (Regenbogen Ponys), Princess Ponies, Euro Babies, Sweet Talkin’ Ponies, and Nesthäckchen Baby Ponies.
Germany – Raindrop
Germany – Nightlight
Greek nirvana ponies are only marked occasionally with a Greek letter. However, they have particularly fine eye lashes/eye liner.
Greece – Bowtie
Greece – Parasol
Greece – Sunlight
Greece – Medley
Italian nirvana ponies have the word “ITALY” stamped on their hooves.
The language on the packaging varies because these Italian ponies were sold in other European countries too. There are some rare Italian variants, such as the pink, blue, and yellow cotton candies made by Furga. The Furga ponies don’t have an inscription on the hooves.
Italy – Bluebelle with Applejack’s colors
Italy – Blossom with magenta body and dark purple hair.
Italy – Butterscotch with brown body and pink symbol.
Nirvana ponies: Italian. Yellow body and green hair.
Indian nirvana ponies only include the first six collector ponies. The company in charge of making ponies in India was Playskool. The hooves are marked Funskool rather than Hasbro.
Japanese nirvana ponies were made by a company called Takara. These ponies don’t look at all like other G1s. You can see them in detail in this article:
Plush Yakara Ponies
Takara Land of Close Friends.
Macau – Jenny, a brown Snuzzle.
Macau nirvana ponies were made in Macau, although they were not sold there. The Macau ponies include only the first six ponies and Lemon Drop. These are marked as “MACAU” and were mostly sold in Germany and other European countries. Macau ponies are known for a few unique color combinations. A popular variant is Jenny, a brown and white version of Peachy.
Mexican nirvana ponies were initially licensed to and made by a company called Lily Ledy. These ponies say “Lily Ledy” and “Made in Mexico” on their hooves. Unfortunately, their factory burnt down after just doing 6 models and Hasbro gave the license to another business called Auriken. They also made versions of the first six, with flat or concave feet and no marks. Variations in printing, type of plastic, and mould differences help identify the unmarked Auriken ponies.
Peruvian ponies are marked Basa, by the company that manufactured them. Sometimes the hooves also state Nova. The ponies were sold by Maxi.
Spanish nirvana ponies were first introduced by manufacturers Brekar and Milton Bradley under Hasbro licensing. These ponies have a piggy pose and the hooves are not marked. They also have blinking eyes like the US Beddy-Bye-Eyed baby ponies. Referred to as Spanish Piggy ponies, they are considered very rare and valuable. After the piggy ponies, regular Spanish ponies were made and sold in Spain. They are sometimes marked as “SPAIN” on their hooves, though not always. Many variations and types were made.
Spain – Piggy Snuzzle.
Spain – Piggy Fresita.
Spain – Piggy Bluebelle.
Spain – Piggy Snuzzle.
This unofficial MLP guide to the first generation of My Little Pony (known as G1) was created by Summer Hayes. The book provides everything a collector needs to identify G1 ponies and their accessories, and understand their value. The guide contains large, full colour photos of every pony, playset and accessory released in the US (and in some cases in other countries) in the 1980s and 1990s.
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