1988

The 1988 release of My Little Ponies in the North American release included many pony sets which did not continue in the United Kingdom line. Second sets of Princess Ponies and Twice As Fancy Ponies were never sold over here, and, unlike with earlier years, there were no real alternative options for the UK market. 1988 was, therefore, one of the more disappointing lines for UK children throughout the 1980s. Those sets which were not cut out from the UK line completely were often reduced in number - for example, only four of the six Sweetberry Ponies would be sold in the British Isles, and only three out of six Newborn Twin sets would be issued over here also.

The inserts for the UK this year were also riddled with mistakes. There actually is no proper insert for 1988 as such - the blue 'collectafiles' that feature Strawberry Fair on the front are both dated 1987. However, they feature more ponies that were sold on into 1988, plus sets that saw a re-release for a second year, and the file was amended to add some 1988 sets. These included Princess Ponies and dragons and the original set of 'Party' Ponies...presumably to cover the 'holes' in the line left by the missing second sets.

These inserts would refer to the Sundae Best Ponies as "Ice Cream Ponies" - a name under which they were never marketed in the UK, and also put forward the name "Curl and Twirl Perm Salon" for the Crimp and Curl Hair Salon. Some pony names were reversed on the inserts, too.

In short...noone quite knew what the 1988 promotional paperwork was really about!