'Fakie' or 'Phony' is a term coined by My Little Pony collectors for off-brand toys trying to get in on the popularity of My Little Ponies. The toys vary from exact casts of genuine ponies to toys that are barely recognizable as equine. Some collectors have even taken to collecting fakies.

Most fakies date to Generation 1, although several have appeared during Generation 3. With Generation 4 came more copies as well.

Authenticity

While most fakies at first sight may look like an exact replica, there are key features that will give away whether or not the pony is a genuine pony.

Stamps and Markings

Fakies generally do not have any markings, some may state their country of origin and some might state the production company. Generally genuine ponies will say Hasbro, country of origin and sometimes Pat. Pend., either on the bottom of their feet, inside the leg or on their bellies/rump. The exception to this rule are Nirvanas, they may for production reasons have had either or all of the above removed from their production mold where they were made. See Hoof Markings.

Example
G1 bodies usually have stamps that state year, Hasbro (sometimes Hasbro-Bradley, Estrela or Playskool - if they are nirvana), 'Pat. Pend.' (Patent Pending, for earlier releases of ponies) and country of origin. Some ponies do not disclose origin, year or production company. These ponies are usually Nirvana.
G3 bodies will usually have the logo, year and Hasbro stamped on their feet. Early versions of G3 had magnets in their feet that would allow them to interact with play-sets. Due to small parts Hasbro discontinued this style and later G3s instead had a relief of the logo in their body mold.
Later release of G3 stamps and markings, now the magnet piece is no longer included.
G4 ponies usually have a stamp probably for mold number, production number (?), logo, year and Hasbro, sometimes also '# Hasbro SA'.

Size and Shape

Sometimes the pony may look spot on, but upon closer inspection something looks off. Perhaps the face looks odd in shape, this may be a key that the pony is not genuine. There are a few exceptions to this rule however. South African ponies tend to have poses that are usually a blend of two ponies, which gives them a strange appearance.

Colors

Many cheap fakies usually have vibrant colors, the exception to this rule are Nirvana ponies - they may have ordinary poses and still have oddly vibrant colors.

Rooted Tails

Genuine ponies generally do not have rooted tails, they have their tails held by a washer - a metal piece securing it from the inside. However there are exceptions to this rule, South African ponies are known to have rooted tails instead of tails secured by washers.

Example
Example of a fakie tail. The hair is usually rooted into a circle shape to hide the fact that the tail isn't a plugged tail.
Tail of Sundance, note how the tail is a single hank plugged through a hole in the body - secured by a washer on the other side.

Paint

Generally, genuine ponies have a nice even paint and symbols are vibrant and follow a uniform style and palette. Fakies on the other hand may have paint that is unstable and may bleed or not remain stable as a solid, they usually tend to have a single color as their symbol as well. There are however a few Nirvana ponies that are prone to doing this as well, especially Greeks. The eyes are always mirrored to each other - sometimes in a musing way.

Example
General style of G1. There will most commonly be a pair of eyelashes on the upper eyelid and as well as a pair on the bottom eyelid, the eyeliner will join at the back into a single upward curving eyelash. The iris is always having an outline sharing the color with the pupil and eyeliner, sometimes it may be less protruding. The eyes have a white speck in them. Ponies can have stamped, painted or airbrushed eyes.
General style of G2, eyes had gemstones in them instead of white specks. They had 5 eyelashes on the upper eyelid 3 pointing back and 2 pointing forward. Their eye had 1 solid color with an outlined iris and eyeliner reaching around the entire eye.
General style of G3, note the similarities in how it follows a similar execution to G1. With an extra upper eyelash and an additional color line in the iris and an additional symbol in the eye, it is almost like the original style.
General style of G4, the eyes have gone from being painted to a stamped on look. The distinct gradient in the iris and two tone highlights is a recurring style as eyes vary - but budget versions usually just have a single solid color and one white speck.

Hoof Markings

Most ponies were stamped with a location name of origin. The most common ones are Hong Kong or China, but there is far more countries that produced ponies during the first generation. In 1997 Hong Kong came under Chinese rule, which may have changed how later ponies were stamped.^[1] In 2016 Hasbro started moving certain production over to India with the 4th Generation of ponies.^[2] See Hoof Markings.

G1 Country Stamps
Brazil, Round stamp
Argentina, some Argentinians lack this stamp
Italy
France
Colombia

Brand Names

BeTOYs

Miss Bisou Fruite

This group of ponies was released in France by BeTOYs, a toy company owned by JJA.

Miss Bisou Fruite Box
MIB Front
MIB Back

Miss Bisou Fruite: Baby Fakies
Orange Baby
Lemon Baby
Banana Baby
Grape Baby
Apple Baby
Strawberry Baby
Group Photo

Boley

G3 Fakie

These ponies only come in the colors yellow, pink and blue, they all have the same three colors on their manes with the same balloon symbol. Their left back hooves read "Made in China", and they come with one comb and brush. They are somewhat smaller than actual G3's.^[3]

Pony With Accessories

Fakiezilla

Boley also made a larger fakie that is similar to the Mexican Babyzilla pony.

Styling Size pony

Buddy L

During the early 1990s Buddy L and SLM Inc. entered a partnership to produce the 'Talk to Me Pony'.^[4] They have one pose but come with variations such as horns, wings or saddles. There is also a baby that came in the 'Talk to Me Pony Nursery'. The sets had names such as 'Talk to Me Pony Tales' and 'Talk to Me Pony Magic Unicorn' in this toy line.

Cabbage Patch Kids

These are stamped Hasbro and are in fact Cabbage Patch Kids pets. They later became Magic Meadow Ponies and are often times confused with genuine My Little Ponies due to their appearance. They are significantly larger with short legs and a cartoony appearance, their heads are large with a round snout and pronounced knees. They may have yarn or normal hair and usually have a molded saddle. ^[5]^[6]

CPK Fakies

Chap Mei

During Generation 2, Chap Mei entered the market with their own line of ponies called 'Cutie Ponies' they also released 'My Cutie Mermaid' and 'Cutie Princess' in this line.^[7] These ponies had an oblong body with short legs and molded decor on their feet, their tails were rooted and had metallic accessories such as winged saddles, crowns and necklaces, a brush and a comb, sometimes a mirror. There was also a smaller variant of solid PVC ponies with brushable tails that came with metallic saddles.^[8] The accessories were prone to bleed the dye into the plastic.^[9] The adult ponies are about 8.5" (11cm) tall while the small ones are roughly 2.5" (7cm).^[10] As of Today Chap Mei focuses solely on manufacturing action figures and playsets. ^[11]^[12] There are also fakies if the chap mei fakies. ^[13]

Cutie Pony

Chap Mei Pony, note that this specimen has been re-haired but with similar colors.

Lanard

Lanard always brand their ponies either on the bellies or bums so they aren't too hard to differ from genuine ponies. Their ponies usually come with names too. Some Lanard ponies have one hoof painted a different color than the rest of the hooves.

Lanard fakie

Party Ponies

The early versions of Lanard ponies looked more like a realistic horse, with small eyes on the sides over time they began to have more of a cartoony appearance. The early sets came with a sturdy looking work horse and sometimes a doll, over time they took on a softer appearance and it was then the most common pose was introduced as a foal. ^[14]

Adult Lanard
Adult Lanard Version II
Baby Lanard
Baby Lanard Version II

Pony Tails

When Lanard rebooted their brand, they scrapped the concept of painted hooves where one would differ in color but kept the molds. They also introduced a baby pose this run. Pony Tails would often be paired with Fairy Kinz and other Lanard toy lines.

Pony Tails Baby
Pony Tails Adults

Pop Star Pony Super Pony Star' Salon

^[15]

Pet Zoo

Pony Tails (Rebooted)

^[16]

Pony Tales

Rebooted line now named 'Pony Tales - Once Upon an Adventure'. Currently they are very similar to G4 but with significantly larger ears. This reboot brought in many different poses, the focus shifted from just being vague fairy tail theme to more solid themes such as robin hood and the little mermaid.^[17]^[18]^[19]

Rapunzel
Cinderella

Mei Ah

Mei Ah Toys Limited was active from 1984 to 2015 when the company was dissolved by the workforce striking off, unclear why. ^[20] Mei Ah has multiple different types of ponies manufactured, most being referred to as 'Pretty Pony'.

Princess Rinse 'n Spit

Collectors have dubbed this pony "Princess Rinse 'n Spit" because of her extremely pronounced open jaw full of big horsey teeth.

She comes in various colors, and with both plastic and yarn hair.
She (sometimes?) has two different sound mechanisms behind her two differently placed 3-d symbols, and a speaker in her mouth.

Pretty Pony
MIB
MIB

Garland Fakies

These fakies came on a card with a brush that read 'Pretty Pony'. These fakies were only sold in Europe.

So far the following colors have been seen:

Pretty Pony
MOC
Pink and Yellow
Hot Pink
Orange
Blue
Dark Green
Lime
Purple

Crumpet Fakies

Collectors have dubbed this pony "Crumpet" because of her pose. The common trait all these fakies have is the simple heart symbol, other plain symbols can be seen as well.^[21] Other distibuters may have purchased overstock from Mei Ah, as Imperial Toy have had their branding on the packaging calling this fakie 'Pretty Princess Petite Pony'.^[22]

She comes in various colors, and with many colors of hair and symbols.

MOC Purple Crumpet Fakie with rainbow hair and red hearts symbol (comes with a barbecue and some marshmallows on sticks)
White Crumpet Fakie with blue hair and blue flower symbol

Rainbow Family Fakies

These fakies were sold as a family set, there are some variations but the common feature for these is hair in pink, yellow and blue. There is an adult unipeg that is only referred to as 'Pretty Pony' that was made recently. ^[23]

Pretty Pony
.jpg

Yellow baby, flower bud symbol (Fakie Remco in Clydesdale pose)
.jpg

Orange Unipeg baby, flower bud symbol (Fakie Remco in Happy Unicorn pose)
.jpg

Blue earth baby, ribbon symbol (rearing Truly Pose)
.jpg

Purple chubby adult, ribbon symbol
.jpg

Green Unipeg adult, ribbon symbol

Meritus Industries

Meritus Industries Inc. is a US based company focusing on games, toys, and hhildren's vehicle manufacturing.^[24] Their fakies goes under the brand 'Lucky Ponies'. ^[25] Collectors may refer to them as chubby ponies.^[26]

MTC

Multi Toys Corporation was a company active during 1982-2012^[27], they made a toyline named 'Little Beauties' featuring vinyl ponies with moulded accessories and a brushable tail. ^[28]

Soma

Gnomie Fakie

Tiny plump vinyl ponies with moulded hair. Dated around 1980 ca. ^[29]^[30]

Soma Ponies

Moulded tail, either came as earth pony or unicorn. Flocked versions exist.

Remco

Remco was active in the early 80s when My Little Pony first started out, they made fakies with painted feet and were stamped Remco at the bottom of their feet. Their activity ceased once the company went bankrupt. ^[31]^[32] Their fakies generally had a rounded stubbly look as the ponies had big heads, round bodies and short thick legs. ^[33] On the packaging the ponies are referred to as 'Pretty Pets' and comes either as Happy Unicorn or a normal pony called Clyde Clydesdale. They came with a flat comb, rainbow necklace and ribbon.

Pretty Pets
Remco Unicorn, 'Happy Unicorn'
Remco Earth Pony, 'Clyde Clydesdale' with flat face
Remco Earth Pony, 'Clyde Clydesdale' with moulded face

Rainbow Pretty Pets
Remco Unicorn, 'Happy Unicorn'
Remco Earth Pony, 'Clyde Clydesdale'
Remco Burro,

Floating Water Pets
Fake Pink Sea Pony, Stamped "1984 Remco Toys N. Y."
Fake Purple Sea pony
Fake Yellow Sea Pony
Blue Penguin

Copies of Remco

There are copies of the Remco ponys that either call themselves 'My Pony' or 'Lovely Pets'. They would come with a ribbon, flat comb and a hair clip, most commonly butterfly shaped. The distinct difference is that these fakies have the appearance of sunken in eyes and strong eyebrows, making them sometimes appear grumpy as well as lacking the Remco stamped on their feet.

Fake Pony Wear

Packages identical to Remco copies with pony wear has been found.

'My Pony' Wear (Adult Sized)
White and green striped tennis outfit with headband and white tennis racket
Red plaid skirt with green frills and a black purse
Polkadot nightgown with red trim, cap, mirror, comb and toothbrush
Blue satin nightgown with pink frills and cap

'Lovely Pets' Wear (Baby Sized)
White and green striped tennis outfit with headband and white tennis racket
Red plaid skirt with green frills and a black purse
Polkadot nightgown with red trim, cap, mirror, comb and toothbrush
Blue satin nightgown with pink frills and cap

Simba

A company based in Europe, also shortly known as Super Toys between 1993-1994.^[34] The company have been active in making ponies since Generation 1. They are notorious for using Hasbro's own molds of ponies and generally never brand their products, at most 'Made in China'. They are still active today and still produce ponies. Their sets are very generic and have themes such as family and weddings.

Pony Land

Dancing Pony - Ballerina pony fakie
Beauty Friends - Lady Lovely Locks pet fakies
Talky Pony - Battery driven,
Just Married Pony - Battery driven, Buddy L fakie
Pony with Baby
Galoppy Pony - Battery driven, Buddy L fakie
Pony with Baby (Drink 'n Wet)
Ballerina Pony
Dreamland Pony
Cirkus Pony with Baby
Teeny Pony - Sweetheart Sister fakie
Magic Ponies

Pony Land

^[35]

Baby Donkey

Baby Pony Sternenwind (Glow in the Dark)

^[36]

Tara Toy

Pony Luv

^[37]^[38]^[39]

Newer Manufacturers

The following manufacturers makes G3-G4 fakies.

Jiacheng Toys Factory
Chang Qing Shu Toys Factory
YALE Toys Factory

Generation 1

Unknown Manufacturers

Argentinian Fakies

^[40]

Coloring Kiddies

Orange Hoppy Fakie
.jpg

White Nectar Fakie
.jpg

Pink Baby in Baby Surprise Pose
.jpg

Green Baby in Baby Blossom Pose

DG Fakies

Dollar General newborn babies. There's at least 22 colors known. ^[41]

Big Brother

Mexico exclusive

Fakie Banks

Cotton Candy fakie

made in Sweden/Scandanavia, exact origins unknown

Soft Mane
Pink "Cotton Candy" Bank
Yellow "Lemon Drop" Bank

Molded Mane
Purple "Cotton Candy" Bank

Buttons Pose / Fizzy Fakie

Found via Spanish website from a Spanish seller. The seller found it in Valencia. So far it is the only known specimen. Eyes pop out, possibly cast from a Twinkle Eyed Pony. Mane is sewn in a single row, tail is rooted in two rows. Other than that, it looks like a G1 adult unicorn. No hoof markings. The initial mold markings have been covered up. Near the rooted tail there is a mark of a hole possibly for the tail.

Eyes "popping" out
Single row mane
Beheaded
Tail
Front
Side

Spanish Long Pony

Spanish long ponies are a type of fakie in the Bubblefish Pose, because of their short legs their bodies appears long and stretched out. They may feature a squeaker and or symbol, sometimes neither. They only come as earth ponies.

Long blue fakie with card and brush. Featuring a squeaker and 'I heart' symbol.

Fakie Friends

Fakie friends are bootleg copies of Pony Friends.

Fakie Woolly, white with blue hair and a symbol. Not Coloring Kiddies brand.

Takara Fakies

Genuine Takara Babie
Popo (non poseable)
Popo's copyright marking (see copyright mark without a hole here
Neck

various fakies from various angles

details of a fakie found in California

details of a fakie found in Finland

the bottom of this fakie has no marks

Real Takara babies will have clear copyright information on their bottoms.
Fakies were produced by several companies, and while most have no information on their bottoms, a few have fainter takara copyright information because they were apparently cast from a genuine pony.
There more baby sized fakies based on Takara ponies than real Takara baby ponies.
Fakies with holes on their bottom are possibly cast from Kawaii Ponies and Bubble Bath with Lili and Popo

Popo Pose: Arms out

Lily Pose: Hands in lap

Takara Fakie Babies with original hair

Re-haired Takara Fakie Babies

Palau Toys

details of Palau Fakies

Lovely Pets

Fakie twins of various matching colors were sold in a three pack with a Remco fakie fakie. ^[45]

Rainbow Love Pets

These fakies have long necks, rooted manes and a small molded tail. They don't have a symbol and have painted feet. The body is thick with longer legs. ^[46]

Design Your Own Unicorn

Sitting white unicorn with moulded tail in Bubbles Pose, similar to HQG1C's Snow.

Pony Wear

^[47]

Alicorn Family

Their date of production is unknown, but was likely many years after the end of G1. However, they look like G1 ponies, so they are listed here. They are alicorns, and their heads can turn. The two adults have flower symbols, and the baby has no symbol.

Blue fakie
Orange fakie
Baby fakie

Generation 2

Uknown Manufacturers

Fakies with Sweet Berry and Miss Chef symbols.

Whire fakie with guitar, drums and a hair tie
Purple fakie with 4 pink and purple hair clips, white skates and purple skis

^[48]

Generation 3

Unknown

Playful Pony

^[49]

Pony Play Set

^[50]

Super Long Mane

This fakie is larger than a G3 baby pony but smaller than a G3 adult pony. It has a star symbol and three music notes closer to the front of its body. Its mane is extremely long, and it is unknown whether it was produced during or after generation 3.

Super long mane fakie

White Fakie

This fakie has two purple butterflies and three pink sparkles for its symbol. Its production date is unknown.

White fakie

Love Fakie

This fakie has tinsel in its hair. It is somewhat larger than a G3 baby pony. Its symbol, which only shows up on one side, is a group of six hearts and one star with the word "Love" written in the largest heart.

Love fakie

Dollar Tree

Pegasus Fakies

These fakies were found in Dollar Tree in late 2017 or 2018. They are stamped Greenbrier International, Inc. They both have identical pink symbols: a heart with a music note and star on either side. They appear to be based on StarSong.

Purple
Pink

Pony

The fakies’ tag

These two pegasus fakies were found at Dollar Tree. The tags that came with them just say "Pony." Their mold is slightly different from that of the above fakies because these ones have smaller wings. They are both pink with no symbol, but one has pink hair and came with a blue comb while the other has purple hair and came with a pink comb.

Pink hair
Blue comb
Purple hair
Pink comb

Pony Playset

MOC Pony Playset

These were found at Dollar Tree. There were at least two different sets: one with a pink pony and a yellow pony and one with a white pony and a blue pony. Both sets have a pink flower-shaped brush. The white and pink ponies have star symbols and the blue and yellow ponies have heart symbols. The ponies are tiny, much smaller than G3 baby ponies.

Brush
Pink
Yellow

Generation 3.5

Clear Glittery Fakies

These were found in 2017. Their backs say Greenbrier Int' l. Inc. Their heads do not turn, and they have no symbols.

Blue
Purple

Generation 4

Snap Plastic / Franken Pony

These ponies are hard and can be separated. ^[51]

Concerned Pony

Concerned Pony is a fakie that popped up on Chinese vendor sites in 2015.^[52] As the name suggests the pony has a very concerned expression with an open frowning mouth and sad looking eyes. Because of this ponys strange looks it has quickly become a meme and enjoyed it's own characterization in social media. ^[53]^[54]^[55]

Rainbow Horse

Solid moulded ponies, package is mainly G4 but there is also a G3 baby. ^[56]

Blind Bag Fakies

^[57]

Equestria Girls Minis

^[58]^[59]

Smily Fashion Style Fakies

Comparison picture, genuine on the right, fakie on the left. Notice size, color variation, eye and cutiemark variation.

Difference in clarity on stamps and different stamps.

Plug difference.

These originated on Taobao.

Large Princess Fakies

Massive Singing Princess Fakie

Size comparison with FS White Celestia.

These fakies originated in Argentina. They ahve a speaker on their stomach that when pressed makes galloping sounds, neighs and starts singing while simultaneously blinking.

Princess Celestia
Princess Luna / Nightmare Moon
Princess Cadence

Dollar Tree Princess Luna

This fakie was found at Dollar Tree. It is about the height of a G3 adult pony. Its symbol is very similar to that of the real Princess Luna, but its coloring is all wrong.

Kids Corner Fakies

Fakie Applejack (left) vs. blind bag Applejack (right). All the ponies in the set, including the alicorns and Cutie Mark Crusaders, are about the same height.

Fakie Spike is about the size of a blind bag pony.

These fakies came in a bag of 12. They were most likely ordered off of Amazon in late 2017. The product's name shown on the label from Amazon starts with Kids Corner Producti… and ends with …ny more Magic Figures, but the words in the middle cannot be seen. The ponies have molded manes and tails, similar to blind bag ponies, and some of them are in similar poses to real blind bag ponies. However, all the ponies are significantly larger than the blind bag figurines, and the Spike fakie is about the same size.

Fakie Twilight Sparkle
Fakie Pinkie Pie. Her symbol seems to have gotten rubbed off somehow.
Fakie Rainbow Dash
Fakie Fluttershy
Fakie Applejack
Fakie Rarity
Fakie Princess Cadance
Fakie Princess Celestia
Fakie Spike
Fakie Apple Bloom
Fakie Scootaloo
Fakie Sweetie Belle. She is blue instead of white.

Fakies

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