Spotlight on French Ponies by LadyGuinevere
French Reverse Bowtie used courtesy of BridgetsMum
Nestled in among the other European made ponies, between the eccentric Spanish and plentiful Italians, lie the made in France ponies, one of my own personal favourites. Made only for a short period in the 1980s, there are not that many of them compared to some other countries, though they encompass some of the most popular sets. Although not all ponies in French packaging are made in France, all ponies made in France will be found on French cards. They vary from similar to the US release, to the downright bizarre!
What makes them so special?
As with many of the variants made in other countries, French ponies were only sold in a very limited area. This has led them to be quite hard to find on the second hand market, though there are more around now than there used to be. There are also some beautiful variations on existing ponies, like the fact that Windy is blue, Moondancer has light pink hair (like her US baby), and also a pink bowtie with blue hair!
Hong Kong (left) and French (right) Moondancers
French ponies tend to have good quality plastic, paintwork and hair. Their hair is not the type to go particularly dry, though it can sometimes get a little like this. Their symbols are always non-glittery – some had metallic paint, while others have ordinary paint in similar colours. The earth ponies only have normal paint. French ponies are ALWAYS stamped Made in France. They are, however, slightly unusual in that the writing is circular around the hoof, rather than in a straight line. This looks rather stylish if you ask me!
What ponies are there?
There were only three proper sets of ponies ever made in France, however, there are some variations as well!
Rainbow Ponies (Les poneys arc-en-ciel)
Parasol
Quatre Vents (Windy) - blue body, rather than lilac
Pierre de Lune (Moonstone) - different symbol variations can be found
Ballerine (Skydancer) - coral or pink streak
Plein Feu (Sunlight) -
Starshine - coral or pink streak
Starshine, Skydancer, Moonstone and Windy used courtesy of Roswita
Unicorns and Pegasi (Les poneys danseurs)
Clair de Lune (Moondancer) - light pink hair
Météore or Etoile Filante (Glory) - cyan tail
Météore or Etoile Filante (Glory) - purple tail
Crépuscule (Twilight)
Soleil (Sunbeam)
Ritournelle (Medley)
Luciole (Firefly)
Sunbeam and Twilight used courtesy of Roswita
Earth Ponies (Les poneys charmant)
Coquillage (Seashell) - some have a painted body
Bulle (Bubbles)
Rose (Cotton Candy) - fading pink hair
Lilas (Blossom) - blue
Pomme (Applejack)
Noeud Papillon (Bowtie) – fading pink hair
Seashell, Bowtie and Applejack used courtesy of Roswita
Hybrids’ - a few of the hybrid are listed below
Cotton Candy (shy pose, blue hair)
Bowtie (pink body, blue hair)
Bowtie-Sunlight (Bowtie body with Rainbow hair)
Bowtie (pale aqua Sunlight body with fading pink hair)
Cotton Candy-Twilight (strange oddity – Cotton Candy body with unpainted Twilight head)
Windy (Lilac hair with yellow streak and purple hair and yellow streak
Windy (Moonstones body and magenta eyes, instead of blue)
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Bowties used courtesy of BridgetsMum
Cotton Candys used courtesy of Roswita
Where were they sold?
French ponies were sold only in France, however, due to the popularity in Europe of that country as a holiday destination, there are a few to be found elsewhere.
How were they sold?
The French ponies were sold on cards, similar in style to those used by the US for the same ponies (though obviously written in French). The hybrid Cotton Candy-Twilights were sold near the factory in flea markets, for a low price! (information on this from EtoileBleue)
Not all ponies on French card, however, are made in France. A lot of the earlier ones are made in Italy, and the later ones are made in Hong Kong or China. Made in France ponies make up only a small portion of the ponies sold in France.
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Trivia
- Cotton Candy and Bowtie have the most variants in France, with three each (including hybrid-types)
- The Cotton Candy-Twilight hybrids were sold on a flea market! There are at least 11 in existence.
- Although the ponies do have French names, at least the Rainbow and Earth ponies were sold with the English names.
- The factory was located near Paris, in ‘Le Blanc Mesnil’ (Thanks EtoileBleue!)
- Blue haired Cotton Candy appears on a number of pieces of merchandise in the UK made by Salters, though she was never sold here.
My special thanks go to: EtoileBleue, BridgetsMum, Roswita, Rochi and Taffeta I couldn’t have done it without you!
Group shot courtesy of Roswita
The Nirvana Spotlights were kindly written and donated to the MLParena by members. Please respect the Nirvana Spotlights and the MLParena and do not take pictures or information for use on eBay, personal sales or webpages.
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A big thank you got Shelti who saved each of the spotlights. This spotlight was first published on July 29, 2006.