Many people are still considering this Grand Champion year
to be 2003; that is, they are thinking of "last year's" polos, QHs and
Hunters to be The Lost Half of the 2002 set. While I guess
it doesn't matter in the grand scheme, I think it is time
to start assigning these horses their own year, and maybe time to
accept that it's going to be three breeds per year, for now at least.
And, well... When you think about it, dividing the sets into "halves"
of the same year just means that their coverage will get further and further
from their actual year of release. As is the case now, where you have
actual 2004 horses being called "Late 2002s." This is a two-year
discrepancy that will only get wider in time. Eventually
you'll have "Late 2003s" being released in 2006, right? And Late
2004s showing up in 2008? I'm sure there's some boring algebraic
formula that would project this phenomenon into the next decade,
and though I know you're all dying to hear it, I'll just move on,
summarizing this way:
Before: 6 breeds per year.
Now: 3 breeds
per year.
My understanding of Alpha's plan is that the reduction is in part
due to redistribution of funds. Some of this money is going toward
increasing the availability of Grand Champions, getting them stocked
in some more exclusive retail and online places. And I think some is
going into Horse Country, in Alpha's hope that that line will
be successful (*Audience gives a collective "Hmmm..."*) and maybe have
a crossover effect for Grand Champions.
So if GCs get more popular in the next couple years, I wouldn't be
surprised if they increase the numbers again, maybe to four breeds
or five, or back to the way things used to be. We can always hope!
In the meantime, we can do what we can to help things along.
I am positive that G3 My Little Pony was helped tremendously by the
collectors' efforts to buy extras and give them as gifts and
birthday presents to young people. So, why not go for it? Grab up that
extra GC you like and pass him along. (Just please avoid doing
this with the altered, fat-legged ones, I beg of you! Stick to the higher
quality GCs.)
So, 2004! Actually I don't know if these might end up being
early 2005s or what. This page will change in time, I'm sure.
The only info we have on 2004 comes from the preview pictures
that were posted on Alpha's website a long time ago, and of course
from the foals that were released in late 2002. Here are the names
that we have so far, assumed from the ID cards of the foals:
In 2002 we were given a picture of six foals and told that
this top row was the 2004 set. I think this is what Alpha
means when they say that Empire did not have a "direction"
for the Grand Champions; this is their way of planning
ahead. I guess it's a good idea? Maybe there is some
marketing evidence to show that previewing a toy keeps people
interested and will help sales.
So there they are: Anglo Arabs, Arabians and
Wurttembergers. Nothing too amazing, though some of
the breeding is new. And let's be real: Alpha has had the
Grand Champion reins for about 2 years now, and their horses
have been a mixed bag. There have been some real gems like
the Gypsy Vanners, Mr. Chips and even Fire Flame. Sir Blitzer
was nice. Ah Pah Ahl and Silver Lady were ok. But others like
the Polo Ponies were dull, and the last two years have been
sabotaged by bad molds. While the color design
on many of these guys has been excellent, the results are spoiled
by the use of distorted molds, especially on poor Ice Sculpture.
Then we come to the foals, and they are all over the place, too.
Some like Spicy Salsa are just cute as a button, while Heart of
Gold is like... yawn. And they don't necessarily look like their
parents. Silver Mist had much better shading than either parent,
and I think Salsa would rather be adopted by Snow Patch than
hang out with Ah Pah Ahl the Doily Butt.
So... I'm trying not to get my hopes too high about the
parents of these little ones.
But WOW, aren't they gorgeous?! I have to say that these guys
(and the other 3 from next year) are some of the best looking
foals in the whole GC line... Even better (in some ways) than
the '97s. What shading !! I don't know if they actually have
more of it, or maybe it's just been put in the right places, but
they are all just adorable. Even the bay that has been done so
many times before is like, all new... Just WOW !! The only thing
odd about them is the facial marking on the first two. They are
so nicely colored and marked, and then the blazes are these
big, round blobs. These guys match their pictures well
except for the Arab foal's hind hooves, which seem to have been
put in the wrong color.
I like them all and it's hard to pick
a favorite since they all have such nice countershading, a lot like
real foals would have.
So from the foals we get an idea of what the parents will look like,
and we have the parents' names from their Bio Cards:
Anglo Arab Horses...Chestnut Mare: "Angelique" Stallion: "Encore" Foal:"Seraphina"
Arabians...Light/Dark Gray Mare: "Jewel of the Nile" Stallion: "Pharaoh's Dream" Foal:"Scarab"
Wurttembergers...
Bay/Dark Bay? Mare: "Moment by Moment" Stallion: "Captivator" Foal:"Intrigue"
Then there are the gif pictures that Alpha put in their
"Coming Soon" section back in 2002:
The Anglo-Arab Horses
This is supposedly the concept for Seraphina's mom,
Angelique. She is
cute, but probably too similar to Molly McBrae from
two years ago. This is still a fairly new mold, and we have not
seen it in black, pinto or Mahogany bay yet.
I
did not include the stallion pic here because (as you guys
probably know) his preview picture shows him looking exactly
like Senor Poncho from last year. I'm assuming that's some
kind of mistake, like maybe they had Senor Poncho and just
weren't sure what year he would best belong to. Probably he
will be some shade like the foal, fawn/chestnut with
markings, but his mold could be anything.
The Gray Arabians
Boils and frogs, yes, but there is another Egyptian plague
that is rarely talked about,
and that would be the Plague of the Fat-Legs that
has been victimizing all of our poor Arabian and Classic mares lately.
Sadly, Jewel of the Nile here does not appear to have
escaped the curse of Empire's ugly, tweaked mold. This is just an
estimation from a grainy photo, of course, but we ought to prepare
for the worst, anyway. These deteriorated molds seem to be
popping up everywhere now, and the originals are all but gone, so
the odds on this mare are not good.
Pharaoh's Dream is the guy, a runner molded in white with
pale gray shading. He has white hair, and the photo shows a long mane.
I think this is the first time the running stallion has had white
hair, and at least it's nice to see him in something other than
bay. This is the kind of color that would look awesome with white
markings. I think he is kinda plain with just the gray legs, but
we'll have to see. Also it looks like he has on a new kind of
saddle. This has been a confirmed trend with the UK horses, so maybe
the "girth behind stirrup" situation will be corrected over here, too.
I like all the variations in the tack; even the colored rope type of
rein is more interesting than the usual. These have such cool,
Egyptian names, too.
The Wurttembergers
There is no picture here because, well... We really don't know
what these guys will look like. Alpha's site had some GIFs for them,
but those turned out to be the UK Holsteiners. So unless those and
these will end up being identical, we should get two new bay horses
in some other poses. I will get some better pics of the foal here
as soon as I find him. (He has frolicked off somewhere...)
Now, say what we will about the North American 02s and 03s, but
at least they weren't *exact* clones of anyone. Some were similar,
and others were just lame, but for completely different reasons.
(*Ahem. We all know the reasons, so there's no need to go there.*)
So really, it would be a first if Alpha gave us clones.
The only thing I would say for sure (?) on their poses is that these
won't be an Arabian Mare, Running Stallion or Cantering Mare.
I'd like to see the old Classic Stallion used, because it's been so
long since we've had a nice bay there, and it's one of the only molds
that hasn't been screwed up yet. Plus, the only one with markings is
Tamino, and he is hard to find, and this one would probably have
nice shading like the foal and be really gorgeous. (I hope so, anyway.)
A Cantering
Stallion would be good, too. Most people don't have the UK Hanover,
and the mold has never been done in bay anywhere else.
Of course, there's a pose that hasn't been mentioned lately
(Showhorse Stallion), and while I love that one dearly, we already
have a bay there who is spot on. The mold has not been
used since 2001, so it's probably due. But that makes me afraid, too,
and we all know what could happen; it might show up with big fat
legs, which would be horrible. So, for his own protection, it's
really a great thing that the Showhorse has been out of the loop.
If ruin is his fate, then I hope he never comes back.
