First of all we'd like to give a very big and kind thanks to Amberley Publishing for giving us the opportunity to make our book reality!

Remember our post on the first of April this year? We kept everyone in doubt on whether the announcement was a joke or reality, but today we can finally reveal the answer to you: it's real, and it's coming next month!

Since MLPMerch will be an all-gen website soon I think it's right to also start blogging about any new "retro merch". Australian Dollar-Store The Reject Shop is now selling some awesome Twice-as-Fancy Pony Items. Items range from plates, mugs, placemats, lunch boxes and much more! The ponies featured on the designs are Love Melody, Sugarberry and Sweet Tooth.

It's been just a few weeks since we reported on the second wave of My Little Pony 35th Anniversary G1 ponies that were spotted at Target, but today we've got even bigger news!
After some unconfirmed rumors we can now confirm that there is a third set of the 35th Anniversary G1 ponies, and best of all: it's already found in Target stores!
The third wave of reproduction G1 ponies, released by Basic Fun, is called Unicorn & Pegasus Collection. In total 6 ponies are featured in the wave: Firefly, Glory, Medley, Moondancer, Sunbeam and Twilight. Especially Firefly was one of the ponies that the community was hoping for.
Just like the previous wave each pony comes with a comb and ribbon, but the puffy sticker has been replaced with a mini poster.
While we only have a photo of Moondancer right now, the back shows all other ponies from the wave, and we have an additional photo of the UPC code.
Many thanks to Misty for the photos!

It has long been a mystery how the second series of the 35th Anniversary re-release G1 ponies were going to be distributed. The first sign was a non-US release, but luckily we can now confirm that this isn't the case: Target is officially selling the second series of Anniversary ponies! The complete set is available right now, but do mind that not ever Target store has them on the shelves yet.
Included in this series are replica ponies of Moonstone, Parasol, Skydancer, Starshine, Sunlight and Windy. They're all sweetly scented and come with a comb, brush and puffy sticker.
The first series of 35th Anniversary ponies were originally released in the US and are still available, for example on Amazon.
Credits to Nimrodel for the photo from Target! Below are the official photos of all included ponies:

After a little set back about the release date being pushed to July there seems to be a sparkle of light on the release of the second 35th Anniversary G1 ponies wave: Right now the UK Amazon website lists all single releases, including high quality images, and Moonstone is even available for £25.97 in very limited stock! Meanwhile on the French Amazon the listings are priced at €13.99 and marked as 'coming in 3-5 weeks', which would indicate a release much earlier than July.
One thing that is still missing from the line-up, is the Pretty Parlor Playset that was originally announced. Various sources have already shared with us that this set is probably cancelled and will not be available in the second wave. Yet, the set has been spotted on the 2018 NY Toy Fair, so it could simply have been delayed instead of cancelled.
Below we have all listings from Amazon UK and FR, as well as the amazingly detailed photos.

Last week we asked you about the NY Toy Fair this year, and what your favorite part of the My Little Pony wrap-up was. Even though some people think it was a bit small this year, the brushables display was the most popular this year, closely followed by the Equestria Girls Minis. The newcomer Cutie Mark Crew managed to get the 3rd spot, and further down the ranking we see Basic Fun and Equestria Girls at the 4th and 5th place. Other displays scored 6% of the votes or lower, with the Plush section on the bottom.

We have a relatively small update on store finds this week, as we're clearly in a gap between the final sets from 2017 and the first mayor lines of 2018. Still, there are some cool updates that we can share today, so keep on reading for the latest updates from the aisles!
If you happen to find brand new stuff in your local store, then feel free to write us a small message with photos.

Since the start of the year it has been one of the hottest topics in collectors land: the re-releases of G1 ponies to celebrate My Little Pony's 35th Anniversary. In our previous poll we had a question about these ponies, and one of the more popular requests was that of more ponies.
Those people will certainly be happy after reading this post, as we've got confirmation that a second wave is coming in April July this year! This time we'll see the year 2 Rainbow Pony set, with Skydancer, Moonstone, Starshine, Windy, Sunlight, Parasol and Peachy as part of the Pretty Parlor Playset. They're not only designed, but also packaged like the original ponies: the retro releases come with a comb, brush and sticker.
As mentioned before, a little patience is required until April July, as listed on Webhallen where the images were found. And it's rumored that at least 3 more releases are planned for this year, and that there is a possible three year plan so fingers crossed!

And for those interested, these ponies are not from Hasbro's own factories, but are manufactured by The Bridge Direct (who also own Basic Fun, formerly Tech 4 Kids). Under license, of course!
Update: The release date has been pushed back to July 2018.

Last time we asked you whether you liked to 2017 MLP Merch Battles or not, and we're glad to see that most of the responses are positive! Almost 42% loved the battles, and another 26% likes it too, but with a few proposed changes. 14% likes it a bit and less than 2% didn't like it. That leaves 16% of the people that didn't join the battles, quite a low amount we think!
We hope to be able to share the winners of the battles with you all this week, so keep on the lookout for that!

Time to blow out some candles because this year My Little Pony of officially 35 years old now! And to celebrate that Target now sells the first set of the Year 1 Collector Ponies. This set includes Blossom, Blue Belle, Butterscotch, Cotton Candy, Minty and Snuzzle. They are $9.99 each and each pony also comes with a retro comb and Tail Ribbon.

Let's hope we'll see some more 35th Anniversary goods appear this year. Perhaps during this years Toy Fair?
Thanks to Lulamae_flyaway and afkosek for the heads up!