Bow Tie (Brazilian Nirvanas)

Updated: Jan 19

CHARACTER(S): Bow Tie

RELEASE YEAR: 1984, 1985, 1986

PLACE OF PRODUCTION: Brazil

MANUFACTURING COMPANY: Estrela

TYPICAL PRICE ONLINE: $100+

OTHER COMMENTS/INFO:

Bow Tie was released in 1993 and 1994 (Years 2 & 3) in her standard brushable mold, and again in 1995 in the collectors pose in select European countries.
There are two Brazilian Nirvana variants of Bow Tie

About Ponies in Brazil

All ponies made in Brazil were manufactured by the toy company Estrela
There are 38 different MLP brushables unique to Brazil/Estrela
Brazilian ponies are often a little bit smaller than standard release ponies
The plastic treatment given to Brazilian ponies appears to make their plastic feel softer than most ponies. The plastic also has a prominent sheen to it
- They also have a distinct hair texture; it is thick and dry. It frizzes easily, meaning they probably have high polypropylene content
No unicorns were produced in Brazil - all Brazilian ponies are either earth ponies or pegasi

Variant 1 - Sitting Bow Tie (Lacinho)

Variant 1: Green with red hair, and in the sitting (Bubbles/Seashell) pose
- She is one of 5 ponies total (in all countries), to be made in the sitting pose

Release Info

She was sold in the Brazilian equivalent of the Rainbow Pony set, hence the hair
- This set also featured (Nirvana versions of) Parasol, Sunlight, and Starshine, who were all Rainbow Ponies in their standard releases, along with a rainbow-haired version of Heart Throb, and a normal-colored Gusty.
- This set was called Arco-Íris Pôneis, and released in 1984

She is one of few brushables produced in Brazil that has flat hooves, in a similar vein to the Year 1 Flat Footed Ponies. Most Brazilian ponies have concave hooves
In an early brochure, she is shown as a prototype with solid red hair. It is believed that this prototype is stored at a Toy Museum in Brazil
Accessories: She comes with a green brush and green ribbon. It is unknown if she was sold with any additional accessories.

Image Sources:

Variant 2 - Tennis Bow Tie (Tenista - name means "Tennis Player")

Variant 2: In the Shy Pose, same as the original Bow Tie, but with darker fur and hair

Release Info:

She was part of a set called Circo de Cavalinhos, which sold ponies along with Ponywear outfits. Her outfit was tennis themed!
The set was originally released in 1985 as a set of four - consisting as well of Parasol, Gusty, and Bubbles.
- In 1986 these four ponies were released again, under the same set name, but with NSS versions of Ribbons and Magic Star, who were not sold with outfits like the other ponies.

General Info:

The ponies were sold in-box wearing the outfits, as opposed to ponies & outfits sold separately, like they were in the US and most other countries
- Tenista's outfit appears to be directly based off the Pony Luv Ponywear outfit, though there are some differences
She does not have a cutie mark, nor do any of the ponies from this set. It has been said that they are their own characters, but they do all resemble existing MLP characters. They are given new names, but this is often the case for ponies overseas
- The other ponies featured in the set resemble Gusty, Parasol, and Bubbles
- It is extremely rare for G1 ponies to be produced intentionally without cutie marks - This is usually only the case for prototypes.
It appears her hair may have started out red, but fades to pink
Accessories: She comes with four shoes, pants, a tennis visor, her tennis dress, and a tennis racket. Her comb was light pink, and her ribbon was light blue.