No neck plug? D:

[Rachel-Eyes]

Sorry I haven't quite been around, ponies. I'm taking some 400-level courses and things haven't exactly been easy lately. But I've still been lurking!

The good news was that I was able to buy one of my childhood ponies back! Luckily Lovin' Kisses isn't as popular as some of ponies can be, so it was a breeze finding one on eBay. But there's a problem.

She was showing signs of internal ick. Nothing to worry about... I open up all of my G1s anyway just in case. The glue on her neck was on there super tight, but I was able to open it up with an X-acto. It took a lot of pressure so it isn't exactly a smooth cut, but I was horrified to find that there was no neck plug!

I don't think I pierced through it... it doesn't look like there was ever one at all!

How can I fix this? There is no way I can just pop it back on like another pony. I have another SHS that's in the same pose (Sunglory) and she was just like a normal pony too.) How did this happen? What should I do? I'm incredibly saddened. I just wanted to clean the rust out and now I feel like I've killed it.  Should I make the hole bigger so I can work with it, and then superglue the head back on? I'm really sad now.

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[sabathamk]

I think that is what I would do... make the hole bigger and then glue the head back on.  That is really strange that she didn't have a neckplug!  How odd!  I've never heard of that before?  Maybe others have!

I don't think you've killed her though.  She'll be fine once you glue her head on again. 

[EmBee]

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Don't fret too much, I promise you have not killed her.
 My beloved childhood Sundance had a similar issue.
 She had icky brown-black grime inside her so I tried to pop off her head.
 But her ''plug'' was rather attached to her body so I had to cut off her head with an Xacto knife.

I super glued her head back on as best I could and gave it a long time to set.
I am gentle with her and it has never separated,
there is only a small gap that does not bother me much.
She's my baby! 

~I know you can do it!

-Em

[Chi]

Movie Firefly also doesn't have a neck plug. I had to super glue her head back on.

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

I guessing that it's a factory error. I don't know. As far as I know, none of my ponies are like that. Then again, I've only opened up one.

[lemontwist]

That's a weird error! She needs to go to the pony hospital! I'm sure you'll fix her up very well

[Rachel-Eyes]

I'm glad to know that this isn't a once-in-a-lifetime issue. I was able to get an odd ring from her body, which I guess is the plug, but it isn't really shaped like a plug, you know? It was literally stuck to her body like EmBee said. My guess is that maybe they put her together too soon while the plastic was still warm.

She's looking alright so far though, so I guess she'll be fine. Thanks for the support, ponies!

[tehrin]

I've had this happen on a few ponies of mine! ;_;  What I did for one, (who was already mostly cut to begin with by some previous owner at some point) was remove the head entirely with a knife. Then I heated up the neck plug area with a blowdryer. Then YANKED at the plug portion stuck inside the neck (the smaller circle). You might have to pry something in there too. But I eventually got it out.  Then I glued it to the neck of the pony, matching it up.

[MintySocks]

I was rehairing a GardenGlow (same body type) and the same thing happened... LOTS of neck glue, no neck plug. Don't worry! Just make sure you've got the seams lined up perfectly before you super glue it back on and you'll be ok.

[hathorcat]

I have encountered this on a few ponies over the years as well...if I am remembering most of them correctly it is all with later years - not all the same pony, not all the same set and sometimes one of the pony had it and another the exact same didnt...likewise I have had times when the neck plug has almost been melted to the inside and the only option was to delicately cut through it [scary!] leaving the pony in the same situation

A small amount of super glue and patience and she should be back together...as per the norm if you ever sell her I would make sure to tell people her head is glued on - some people are fussy about that kind of thing!

Good luck in getting her fixed!

[mlp4me]

I've had 3 ponies that were like that, but I was able to free their heads from their bodies (Sundance, Movie Firefly, TE Sparkler).... it was just glued so tight it seemed like there never was a neck seam. (I boil water in a tea kettle then pour the water directly on the neck seam and use a flat head screw driver to loosen the seam up.) Sometimes you think they used some experimental super duper duper glue then the plastic fuses into itself... Where's out mad scientist to explan this? BlackCurtains? lol....

[Sarahlacewing]

This has happened to me once or twice.  It's like the plug is melted to the body instead of it's own separate piece.  I haven't had much luck trimming it up.  I usually just try to line it up as best I can and glue the head back on.

[Rachel-Eyes]

In case anyone is curious about the plastic ring I mentioned...

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I'm sticking to the melted plastic theory, since it does seem to happen every once in a while. Though I am curious to know if the mad scientist has a better opinion! :p Now that I'm not afraid that I broke her, I'm actually quite fascinated by this... Has anyone seen this in other gens?

[LadyMoondancer]

The plug is there, it just gets cut through or pulled apart at the "thin" part.  That ring you have is the middle part of the neck plug; the wider part that "holds" the head in place is still in the body.  I guarantee she originally had a neck plug, that is how all G1 heads were held on, except in unusual cases like the Dream Beauties.   

I've had the dreaded neck-plug-tear happen when de-heading both G1s and G3s.  G3s were much worse for it.  Something to do with the way Hasbro positively SLOPPED glue into their heads, IMO.

[EmBee]

Well my question is, how were G1s put together in the factories back then?  I mean paint job, rooting the hair, and I'm guessing the heads were popped on last - but I can't imagine why the plastic would be in such a hot condition during that step?
 

<--- Obviously has never set foot in a factory
-Em