Twinkles the Cat: I might have just done something terrible...

[ringwraith10]

 

I was just going through a box of ponies that I have had in storage for a few years -- ever since I purchased said box from someone on Craig's List. I knew there was some good stuff in there, but I also knew the ponies and things were really dirty and needed some serious cleaning. But tonight, I just opened the box to remind myself of what was in there. And in a bag full of accessories, I found Twinkles the Cat. This was exciting for me (I didn't know I had him!), so I immediately opened the bag and pulled him out, but he was really sticky (for some reason).

I just took him to the kitchen sink and ran water over him and... his markings came off! The worst part is, he may have been a rare alt version? (I don't know much about him).

This is approximately what he looked like before I ran water over him:

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Source

Now his back is all smudgy.

Have I committed a terrible crime against ponies? Has this happened to anyone else? WHAT SHOULD I DO?! 


Edit: I figured out what the sticky stuff was. Many of the other accessories in the box came with the Waterfall playset (including Duck Soup! Who I will NOT clean the same way), so I'm 99% certain that these accessories have been sitting in the "Pony Bubbles" solution that came with that set. 

[slyons]

  I'm so sorry his markings came off, but you can't beat yourself up over it, you just wanted to clean him!  I never would have thought his marks would come off with just water either...
As far as variant, is yours a Euro?  I just had a look at mine and his marks are nowhere near as dark as yours are, more light brown.  Or maybe mines just really faded...
I'm sure with how tiny the little guy is there could be tons of different paints or batches, or maybe soaking in the bubble solution affected the paint and not only made it darker but also made it wash off so easily?
Twinkles is pretty common though, so if you can't live with the one you have you can purchase another one down the road 

[buddyboymama]

No crime has been committed. It was an accident. According to the Wiki, the Euro version has black markings on its face. Whether there is a significant difference between the light stripes and dark stripes versions, I don't know ... but I would be surprised if there is.

[Sparkle Pony]

I've heard all kind of stories about the paint on G1 animals just coming off, you're definitely not the first!  You could touch up the paint on him/her so that it looks better. (What gender is Twinkles anyways?)

[daffodil101]

I've heard all kind of stories about the paint on G1 animals just coming off, you're definitely not the first!  You could touch up the paint on him/her so that it looks better. (What gender is Twinkles anyways?)

   I'm gonna be wondering this forever now, lol.

Definitely don't beat yourself up.  Sounds like the plasticiser has just broken down and leeched out.  Happens to a LOT of the pets and baby sea pony floats too.  I once rubbed off the paint of a Brandy just by picking him up!  I don't know that you can do much to fix the stickiness.  I've washed sticky accessories only to have them become sticky again.  It's just one of those things that can't be avoided. 

[ValeofSpring]

Twinkles tends to get sticky as does Brandy. I actually have my Twinkles and Brandy separate from my collection, not b/c of fears of "contamination" but just b/c I don't want them to leech onto anything. Again, it's a plasticizer thing. I wouldn't worry too much about it though I would certainly have felt bad in your position.

[nemubones]

Your fine lol!  My Snowball cat from my Pretty Parlor did the same thing when I retrieve it from the basement. I tried to wipe the sticky stuff off its back and well my cat has a smudged stripe and eye.

[ringwraith10]

Aww, darn. I'm glad to hear that he(?) isn't too valuable, but it was still a pretty traumatizing experience!

I actually called my mom after this happened and was all sad and stuff, so this morning she sent me a link explaining the plasticizer thing. I knew it was an issue that could happen, but I didn't realize it could make the paint just go away like that!

So do you think there's any way I can make him not sticky and then just paint the stripes back on him? (I don't want to bother with re-painting him if he's just going to keep getting sticky.)

Anyway, thanks everyone! I guess I should just be really grateful that I've never come across this problem before (though I did notice one of my sea ponies seemed a bit sticky -- I'd better look into that!).

[LightingElectricDream]

Don't feel bad, he was sticky and was going to have to be washed no matter what.
It wasen't you. No one want's a sticky kitty near cleaned mint ponies. I know I woulden't.

See about maybe painting the stripeds back on him. Or if you don't feel comfortable painting then ask someone and send him to someone willing to restore him for you.

[hathorcat]

As others have said, there is no need to worry too much - Twinkles is relatively inexpensive to pick up. A lot of those you will come across have significant rubs and paint loss. The earliest releases are made of a slightly softer and more pourous plastic which makes them more susceptible to that kind of damage. There is a crazy varity in Twinkles releases - due to the amount of times and places the Pretty Parlour was released. Thankfully yours looks like a nice regular version so massive value drop with the paint loss.

[Star Spark]

I think he still looks cute- the smudginess is a bummer, but as others have said it's preferable to him being sticky from leaky plasticizer or who knows what else.

I had a similar fear least year with my near mint Moondancer I got at the flea market- her hair, color and symbols are perfect and she even FEELS like she came right off of the card, but because she was covered in surface grime I gave her a good wash and realized afterward that I may have accidentally scrubbed her blush off, which is the only flaw I can find on her now (though I did find a Sundance from the same box with the same issue- perfectly white, but missing the blush- so I wonder if these ponies spent some time in the sun that faded them.)

[Suzuran]

Don't feel bad.  I took out my Twinkles the other day and he was so sticky, I had trouble getting him out of the bag.  I washed him gently with some liquid hand soap and all of his paint came off.  I was really upset until I read that it was a common occurrence.  In the end, I'd rather him be clean and repaint him when he's done leaking plasticiser than him be sticky and gross.

[jbittersweet]

heee, I have 2 twinkles both have black face details with black stripes on their back.
I'm from the netherlands. not sure if it's rare or something but if you really feel bad about yours you can have my second one <3

[ringwraith10]

heee, I have 2 twinkles both have black face details with black stripes on their back.
I'm from the netherlands. not sure if it's rare or something but if you really feel bad about yours you can have my second one <3

Aww, that's so sweet! I think I'm figuring out that he isn't that rare, so I'm just going to keep mine and deal with the plasticizer issue. If I clean him more delicately the next time, hopefully I won't damage him anymore than he already was.

But my next question is: if my Twinkles is a euro version, how did he end up in a Craigslist box in the USA? 

[lauranthalasa]

Don't feel bad, he was sticky and was going to have to be washed no matter what.
It wasen't you. No one want's a sticky kitty near cleaned mint ponies. I know I woulden't.

Tee hee hee! Sticky kitty...