Fairy Tails
Fairy Tails is a short-lived toyline consisting of My Little Pony-esque birds, which are the titular Fairy Tails. The line was in stores from 1986 to 1987, corresponding with Year Five of Generation 1. This Year saw the release of the Pony Friends in the My Little Pony line, making it a distinct possibility that they and Fairy Tails were part of the same investigation into an expansion of My Little Pony that offered more than only ponies. Neither concept went very far, but the Fairy Tails toys have become a popular extra to the collections of My Little Pony enthusiasts.
Like the Little Ponies, the Fairy Tails are a species of multi-colored, slightly deformed animals with a pronounced tail and head plume and a unique symbol on each of them. As with their more popular peers, they were sold with ribbons and combs to do their hair with, but they also each came with a perch. Fairy Tails toys possess limited articulation in their feet, which can clasp around something, like their perch or a finger, open and turn. Naturally, this means that the feet are the part most easily broken on the average Fairy Tails toy.
Contents
Fiction
Faiy Tails fiction is limited to the toys' backcard stories and the few commercials produced for the line. According to the commercials, the Fairy Tails were once normal birds who got their luxurious tails and head plumes from a fairy.
Toyline
Originals
The original Fairy Tails set comprises twelve toys, two color palettes for each of the six poses. Unlike the other sets, there is no theme or unity to their symbols. Each bird was sold with a bird-shaped comb, a perch, a tulle and a satin ribbon. In the UK, some also came with a 3-pack of bow-shaped hair clips.
- Taffeta Tails
- Tasty Tails
- Tattle Tails
- Tickle Tails
- Tinsel Tails
- Tippy Tails
- Tricky Tails
- True Love Tails
- Tulip Tails
- Tu Tu Tails
- Twilight Tails
- Twinkle Tails
Fuzzy Tummies
The Fuzzy Tummies essentially are the Fairy Tails variant of the My Little Pony So Softs. Each bird came with plush patch of fur on their chests, which counted as both their gimmick and their symbol. Because the patches are glued into a depression in the birds' chest, the edges can peel up due to the glue aging. Another potential problem of the Fuzzie Tummies is that the fur patch is suspectible to becoming filthy, moreso than the plastic body. Each Fuzzy Tummy was cast in a different pose from the original set and came with a bird-shaped comb, a perch and an extra long satin ribbon. The European versions came with longer fur and in completely different colors.
Cloud Puff Tails
Huggy Tails
Bouncy Tails
Downy Tails
- Bouncy Tails
- Cloud Puff Tails
- Downy Tails
- Fluffy Tails
- Huggy Tails
- Snuggle Tails
Tropicals
The Tropicals are brightly colored birds with their symbols cast in 3D. Three poses were released in two color palettes per pose. Because the symbols are 3D, each symbol corresponds to a pose. Likewise, each pose comes with a molded piece of headwear, either a fruit hat, sunglasses or a visor. Each Tropical was sold with a palm tree-shaped perch, a transparent and glittery ribbon and a comb.
- Hula Hula Tails
- Pina Colada Tails
- Sea Breeze Tails
- Sunny Tails
- Tootie Tails
- Top Banana Tails
Baby Flyers
The Baby Flyers are, as the name suggests, baby versions of the Fairy Tails. Three poses were released in two color palettes per pose. They have bibs for their symbols. To make up for their smaller size, the Baby Flyers were sold in egg-shaped purses. In addition, the tips of their wings are grooved so that they can hold an item that came with the Baby Flyer, which was either a pacifier, a bottle or a rattle. Of course, the toys also came with a small perch.
- Teddi Tails
- Tidbit Tails
- Tiddly Wink Tails
- Tinker Tails
- Toddler Tails
- Tubby Tails
Fan Tails
The Fan Tails are to the Fairy Tails line what the Flutter Ponies are to the My Little Pony line. The Fan Tail gimmick is a gorgeous, glittering fan attached to the bird's tail, invoking a peacock-esque appearance. However, those fans are also very likely to either break off or have the metallic cloth damaged by uncareful handling of the fan. The Fan Tails were released in three poses with two color palettes per pose, and came with a bird-shaped comb, a perch and a satin ribbon.
- Daisy Tails
- Fancy Tails
- Flutter Tails
- Frosty Tails
- Love Bird Tails
- Sparkle Tails
Jewelry Birds
The Jewelry Birds are a quaint set of miniature, symbol-less Fairy Tails meant to be worn as part of a jewelry ensemble. The Jewelry Birds came with necklaces, headbands, rings and bracelets on which they could perch and that could be worn by young girls. As per usual, six items were released in the set, but one of them contained three birds (and only one piece of jewelry), bringing the total of Fairy Tails released in the set up to eight. In addition to the jewelry perches, miniature versions of the normal perches were also included, along with a small comb.
- Necklace & ring set
- Necklace & locket set
- Hair clip & bracelet set
- Hairband & ring set
- Bracelet & locket set
- Ring set
Playsets
Three playsets were released for the Fairy Tails line, a fourth never leaving the prototype stage.
- Curly Q Boutique - an egg-shaped beauty salon. Included in the set were Tiffany Tails, two curlers, two ribbon-shaped hair clips, a bird-shaped comb, another comb and a tulle ribbon.
- Love Bird - a heart-enshrined perch. The set included two nameless Fairy Tails as a couple, the male being marked with a blue bow tie. It also came with a long satin ribbon to either decorate the perch with.
- Sunshine Gazebo - a two-level house with elevator in the center. The set included Tea Rose Tails, a table, a chair, a mirror, a bed, two teacups, two plates, two bowls, a teapot, an umbrella, a comb, ribbons and hair netting.
- Home Tweet Home - a bird house with attached whistle and chirp mechanics. The set was to include Baby Tippy Tails, a mirror, a swing, a large perch, a bird-shaped comb, another comb, flower-shaped hair clips and hair netting."
Mail Order
Akin to the Horseshoe Points, Fairy Tails items came with Wing Points. Little is known about the Mail Order items released - the only certain mail-away offer is a Fairy Tail Hair Styling Kit made available to residents of the United Kingdoms, Eire and Channel Islands. For the price of £2,50 and 1 Wing Point, participants received a poster which featured the Fairy Tails and step-by-step instuctions of how to do their hair, along with the materials to accomplish the desired looks: nine ribbons, three feather accessories, three hair styling rods and three silk flowers.
Notes
- During Year Nine, Hasbro revived the idea of non-pony My Little Pony-esque lines, resulting in My Little Bunny, My Little Kitty and My Little Puppy. These lines pressed the connection with My Little Pony, unlike Fairy Tails had done, despite that those lines were far less in the spirit of My Little Pony than Fairy Tails.
