1991: Glowing Magic Ponies

STARGLOW

Dark blue pegasus pony with dark pink and yellow mane striped mane and tail, orange piano with candlestick and moon symbol, pink hearts and yellow stars.

There are at least two versions of Starglow (or in fact, Star Glow as her UK card generally states), both of whom appear to have been released in or around 1991. Whilst with other ponies from the set, it is more clearcut who was sold where, in the case of Starglow the waters are a little muddier.

She is the pegasus from the set and the pony shown above is my sister's childhood pony, bought here in the UK in 1991. As you can see from the MOC pony at the corner of the page, this magenta and yellow combination seems to be the general default for European releases (although I have confirmed that there are also magenta and yellow maned releases in the North American issue, she is not a UK exclusive version).

There is another version of Starglow. Whilst most collectors know and acknowledge the variations surrounding Dazzleglow, what is less known is that all of the Glowing Magic ponies were issued in at least two versions.

STARGLOW: Coral and yellow hair version

The above pictured pony is my Starglow. Please note the information on this section has been updated - I previously said I got mine from the US, but I've found evidence that I actually obtained her in the UK, and so that may make her a UK or Euro version after all. The reason for her existence is unknown but there are reports of coral hair on Brightglow and Dazleglows as well (thus far found in Europe but their card style has not been ascertained).

What is known about the above version clearly has coral streaks in her hair, not yellow. I have seen this version mint on (American) card. She also has a more greenish hue to her body (this is even throughout her body and she is in good condition, so I believe this to be original, not fading). Her hair is also more silky and smooth. It seems to be common that ponies made for the European market during this time frame often had this coarser fibre of hair, as it is seen in more sets than just this one. Sometimes both silky and coarse hair versions appear in the UK.

A comparison between the two Starglow variations on this page can be seen below:

There is additionally an oddball version of Starglow which has apparently got white and yellow mane and tail. She has been sighted MOC on a US card, but what her provenance is is really still very unknown. Additional to this, some versions of Starglow with the hair colour variations shown above appear in the more transparent plastic style, which seems to be a fairly acknowledged batch variation because of the way in which these ponies are made.

Starglow's American backcard design shows her with yet another hair variation - white and pink. Whether this is artistic error or something else, the jury is still out.