• UNBOXING REVIEW: Hasbro's Cutie Mark Crew!


    Can't say that Hasbro doesn't follow Truth in Advertising laws. These things are way too cute.

    Hello readers of Equestria Daily! The Illustrious Q here once again with a unboxing review for the new Cutie Mark Crew toyline from Hasbro! Hasbro was kind enough to send me the above box for review, so it only makes sense to take a look inside and risk having a heart attack caused by cuteness!

    ...

    Though to be fair, I did survive seeing the Cutie Mark Crew cake at New York Toy Fair. And if I can survive that then this shouldn't be a problem.

    With that said, let's go dive into the review and see what is in the box! Personally, I'm hoping for another box.


    Still opening the box. You could not believe how damaged this box was during shipping. Which is the reason why I'm not showing all sides of it. As cute as it is, I'm more interested in the contents of the box this time.

    So let's go take a peek!


    I see 8 plastic cans of Cutie Mark Crew to sample! With a grand total of 24 different ponies in the set, this means, if I am lucky, I might end up with 1/3 of the set to review.

    Will my luck hold out? Well, I've yet to win the lottery, so that past history should be something to go by. However, all I know is my gut says maybe.

    I'm eager to find out!


    Yes sir 8 cans of concentrated pony cuteness. Once again, I direct your attention to the warning on the top of the box. There is too much cuteness inside these canisters. Over exposure to cuteness levels this intense might prove to be fatal.

    Challenge accepted!


    Product recommended for ages 4+? With pieces this small?

    Well, yes a 4 year old could swallow it without any problems, and I'm sure Hasbro is more versed in product safety laws than I am, but I'm surprised by the age rating.

    I think they left off a 1 in front of that 4.

    ...

    Yes, I shall show myself out after the review is complete.


    Here we have the cap of the canister. The cap gives  the name of the wave, which is "Cafeteria Cuties" in four different languages.

    Though the name is only trademarked in English, which is something interesting into note. The cap once again reminds us there are 24 ponies in the set to collect, and the statement of "Each sold separately." appears in four languages as well.

    There is one piece of information that isn't present on the cap. I'll go through the rest of packaging review to see if anyone can spot what isn't there.


    Yes, the warning information is in English above this. Yes, that photo came out horribly after I took it. Yes, I did not check the photo after I took it and moved on to this one like a amateur.

    Yes, this product is made in China. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.


    Even more legal/copyright information, the product barcode, and a 80861 which appears on the packaging of every single canister in this sample set.


    More copyright info is molded directly onto the underside of the canister itself.

    So... has anyone noticed what is missing from the packaging of this?

    I'll tell you.

    There are no blindbag codes.

    That's right. For the first time, a "blind bag" toy directly from Hasbro is going to be completely unknown when it purchase it. There is no way to know what toy is going to be in the canister until you open it up after you purchase it.

    Cause opening it up before you purchase it is stealing and/or destruction of merchandise. Don't do that.


    Shrink wrap removed! Now how to open this up...


    Good thing I ate a ton of Nestle's Push-up Ice Cream Pops when I was a kid. It was easier doing this to a CMC Canister than a cardboard tube filled with frozen ice cream. I wonder what my first pony will be. I hope she is Rainbow Dash!


    Three observations:

    1) Not getting the item you want inside the package is just like opening a pack of yu-gi-oh cards and not pulling the Red Eyes Black Dragon. It is very disappointing.

    2) That is not Rainbow Dash, but another character voiced by Ashleigh Ball.

    3) This version of Applejack is not a pony.


    I do recommend saving the cardboard tube intact. It makes putting the plastic canister back inside it so much easier when it comes time to put the toy away. Now to take it out of the packaging!


    So the contents of the CMC Canister are as follows:

    1) The Canister itself with a background sticker inside.
    2) The cardboard top of the canister which for some reason beyond me wasn't made into a two sided pog.
    3) The CMC figure itself with a food based stand.
    4) A folded mini-poster and what I assume will be a mini checklist for the collection.

    Let's go take a look at the mini poster first.



    Right on the money about the checklist!

    A few items of note for the 24 figure collection itself.

    • There is no Princess Luna in this wave. Everyone go console Silver Quill on his twitter to help him deal with his disappointment.
    • There is no Discord in this wave. Excuse me a moment.
    *sobs for 20 minutes*
    • There is no Trixie or Stalight Glimmer in this wave. Everyone go console Sethisto on his twitter to help him deal with his disappointment.
    • The Humane 7 are all present and accounted for.
    • The Muffin Pony is present in this wave.
    • Spike the Dragon is included in this wave.
    • Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are included in this wave.
    • There is no seapony variant of Rarity for some reason. 
    • DJ-Pon 3 is included in this wave.
    • I am now very hungry for lunch.

    There are 3 bundle packs listed for this set, which also include a mystery figure which isn't being shown off some reason. The reason is probably to go out and buy the set to find out. I don't know, is it working?


    And here we have the front of the poster. The art is definitely way too cute.


    And really accurate to the toy itself. Though once again Applejack is missing her hat.

    The figurine is made up of three parts. a heart shaped plastic stand. A food based boat to place the figure in. And the figure itself.

    Let's go take a close look at AJ.


    Yes, these figures are unsurprisingly top heavy. The stand is required to place the figures upright. However because the heart shaped stand is so small, it takes multiple adjustments to get the balance just right.

    I was not impressed when I discovered that.

    However I cannot stay made at that face! Just look at how honest she is!


    This was the end result of my first attempt at trying to put her upright. Also gave a nice view of the back of the figure. I love the amount of detailing on this one.


    Same with the right side view.


    And the left side view.


    And her pony ears.

    This is an Equestria Girls figure. Pony ears are a must for this subset in the CMC set.


    And of course there is a hole to put the stand plug into.


    As for the stand itself, the plastic is translucent, and Cutie Mark Crew is molded into the design. Nothing really stands out about it.


    The food boat is a unique design choice for the series. It is unexpected, and yet gives a bit of insight into the minds of the characters.

    The whole point of the foodstuff is these are the favorite foods the characters love to eat.

    If anyone didn't know that Applejack loves to eat apples they clearly haven't watched the shows.

    Hasbro's copyright information and country of origin are molded on the inside of the boat as opposed to the bottom. I wonder what is there.


    From this angle, the fruit boat actually looks like an apple! Andrea Ehret really knocked the designs on these series out of the park. I tip my hat to her amazing skill!


    This is an out of focus shot of the back of the apple food boat. Not much to see here, just a lot of red.


    I fine the My Little Pony logo molded into the recessed bottom of the apple boat a really nice touch.


    If I didn't already own this figure, this shot alone would be enough to make me want to go out and buy it. This is way too cute.

    Let's see what else I get by opening up the rest of the sample set.


    I have opened up all 8 canisters, but I wanted to take a moment to really point a missed opportunity here. The cardboard canister caps are the same size and thickness as POGS! (or Milk Caps for the generic non-copyrighted/owned by World POG Federation name of the product).

    It would have been a really nice touch to have the reverse of the cardboard canister caps to have a unique design reflective of the figurine contained within. I know that would have shot up the price of the Cutie Mark Crew substantially, but dang it if I'm not annoyed by this decision.

    Would have been a really nice callback to the mid-90s.

    Mini-rant over. Let's get int the contents of the other canisters!



    I have absolutely no idea how I ended up with 6 the Humane 7 for the Cutie Mark Crew. No idea what so ever.

    Also no idea how I ended up with Sunset Shimmer! Who is a glitter chase variant! This is crazy...

    Let's go take a look at the food.


    Sci-Twi likes friendship fries. Pinkie Pie likes burgers... well she works at a '50s diner. Her choice of favorite food makes a lot of sense in that context.

    Applejack still likes apples. In other breaking news, the sky is blue.


    Sunset likes Pizza. Going to her mini poster/checklist, it states "She'd always share a slice with her friends!" Pizza is a dish usually cut up into 8 individual slices. Counting Spike, Sunset Shummer has 8 friends. Having Sunset's favorite food be pizza is GENIUS!!!

    Rainbow Dash's favorite food is popcorn.  Neat fact.

    As for Rarity, she adores the cupcake. Reason why, it can be decorated to match her ensemble. That is... perfectly in character for the fashionista of the series.


    These are adorable.

    It should be noted that Hasbro went very heavy on the glitter with their chase figures. The glitter on sunset went everywhere when I was handling her. Not sure if playing with them will eventually cause the excess to go away or if a using a cotton swab might do the trick. Will have to test out later to confirm.


    Still adorable. Love Twilight's glasses!

    So I got 6 of the Humane 7 in this sample set of 8 canisters. Who else did I get is what I'm sure a number of you are wondering.

    Remember when I mentioned earlier about my luck holding out. Funnily enough...


    I got a second chase variant. And she is Princess Cadance. Who happens to loves Ice Cream!

    I hope Shining Armor knows this for date night.


    Cadance is indeed a full alicorn pony in this set. She has both her horns and wings (which are unfortunately covered in glitter).

    However this is a Hasbro MLP product. For those who have been paying attention to Hasbro's MLP line over the last 8 years, you probably know what is coming.


    Cadance suffers from one sided cutie mark syndrome! Oh dear.

    Now for the final figure I got in the sample set... who also happens to be the best of the set, for a reason you shall see shortly.


    Can someone please check on Silver Quill? I'm worried his heart might have given out after seeing his favorite pony as the cutest of figurines.

    For those who are concerned about the contents of the sandwich, I have it on good authority she loves Daffodil and Daisy Sandwiches. It says so right on her poster card.


    That's the cutest her cutie mark has ever been.


    Even the side without her mark is just too cute!


    Behold all the mini posters! Absolutely delightful!


    These posters are also functional. Aside from giving an interesting bit of trivia about the figure contained within, the poster is also the only way to match the figure with the canister it came from. Case in point, Sunset and her pizza!

    Why would anyone want to match them up? Well it's simple really.


    The canisters stack, and are another way to display/store the collection.

    I'm sure a number of people will end up just tossing out the canisters and be done with them, but you might want to hold off on doing that. For starters, being able to stack them and display the CMC figurines is something not a tone of other figures can do. This also cuts way down on the space needed to display the whole set.

    As for the other reason...


    The canisters are beautiful! I've never seen blind bag cases this high quality! Every single part of the canister is molded.


    Right up to the hinges!


    And the opening!

    This product has a ton of effort put into it. This product has a price point of $3.99 USD. How is Hasbro constantly able to put out very high quality products at very low prices?! I don't know how Hasbro is able to work their magic like this, but I do know one thing.

    I really want them to continue doing this. These products are absolutely amazing and everyone should go out and buy them!

    Be sure to check out the product information before commenting in the comments! Until next time folks, This has been Trusty The Illustrious Splendor Q. See you in the comments!

    (Note: These are now available for preorder over on Amazon)


    With these MY LITTLE PONY CUTIE MARK CREW BLIND PACKS, you can discover just how magical friendship can be… Inspired by MY LITTLE PONY and MY LITTLE PONY EQUESTRIA GIRLS characters, each blind pack has a cool surprise inside, including a super cute character figure at approximately 2-inches in size, matching accessory and stackable case. Each pack also comes with a collector card that includes a character story and list of additional fun figures to collect! In the MY LITTLE PONY CUTIE MARK CREW collection, fans can discover the cutest ponies, seaponies and EQUESTRIA GIRLS characters on both sides of the EQUESTRIA magical portal!

    The MY LITTLE PONY CUTIE MARK CREW line is releasing fall 2018 and can be found at most major retailers nationwide.