customs and rehairs….playable or not?

[808pony]

I'm new to the collecting world since I left Paradise Estate in the '80's.  Came back to Ponyville and Canterlot with my daughter.

So here's my question:  are customs considered "playable"?  or are rehairs more "playable"?  Was thinking about asking if anyone would be able to do something with the multitude of repetitive Mane 6s we have around here into "new" characters my daughter could play with.

[sweetlittlejenny]

I would say rehairs are 'playable' but customs may not be.
If the pony were to have a full body repaint any slight bending of legs or wings, etc. could crack the paint.
You could probably get away with playing with a custom that had its original body color with only the eyes and symbol repainted, and rehaired.

[808pony]

I would say rehairs are 'playable' but customs may not be.
If the pony were to have a full body repaint any slight bending of legs or wings, etc. could crack the paint.
You could probably get away with playing with a custom that had its original body color with only the eyes and symbol repainted, and rehaired.

Our Mane 6 clones are in near-mint condition, so full body repaint wouldn't be needed…just some different hair and some new symbols instead of the ones they come with.  Even if that meant just making them into different boy ponies that don't exist yet would be cool, since Shining Armor and his twin are the only guys around.

Post Merge: December 31, 2013, 04:12:41 PM

…..how much would re-hairing and re-painting symbols cost, on average?

[Shy Violet]

I have done some customs for my daughter and they hold up well to play. I didn't do full body repaints but they have painted eyes and symbols and have been rehaired. I agree though that a full body repaint wouldn't be a good idea, the paint can crack easily, especially on winged ponies if they get bent.

[mlp4me]

My rule of thumb for customs is no play time. Too much of a risk of damage.
Re-hairs are OK, just make sure all hair is secure inside.

[hathorcat]

In general the rule for customs as toys would be no - normally the techniques used and finish on them makes them displayable artwork and not playable toys. They would simply be too easily damaged to be played with or the hair/paint too dangerous to make them safe toys [subject to the age of the child].

However, I think perhaps it depends on the level of the custom. If you are creating a custom simply for play - if its just a symbol repaint and a rehairing, then as long as you are aware that the paint work could be damaged during play and that the rehair is not factory weave strong, then I see no harm in using them as toys.

As for costs, check out the "commission an artist" thread over in Customs, a lot of customisers have their prices listed there.

[Roogna]

I glue my hair on the inside so rehairs are playable, just not in water so not quite 100% playable

I've made a couple customs for kid-friendly light play, but things can get broken and paint scrapped/chipped, so I don't recommend it in general, even if the custom is specifically made to play with
if the custom is not made to play with at all - don't play with it