What Should I Do With Her?

[ThePoneZone]

So, when I first joined, I shared pictures of her, but I never really had a plan of what to do with her. Now that I've spent way more than I'd have liked on the 5pc 35th anniversary rainbow pony set, I'd like to start saving up to do something with this poor old girl.

This is a Starshine my friend gave me that she got in a bait lot. I took some better pictures of her to show of how bad her condition really is.

Spoilers because the images are huge.

Spoiler

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

She has it all. Age spots, eye rub, discolouration + symbol rust on one side, bright pink spots on her nose (camera can't see it that well), dull/faded hair.

I don't want to just toss her into a thrift store or sell her/give her away because the thought of her ending up in worse condition or as some cat/dog toy just kills me, plus she was a gift. Friend said she's completely okay with me restoring/customizing her.

Idk who I'd turn her into yet if I customize her, but I was leaning between pegasus Ice Crystal, or G1 Star Catcher.

I probably won't even touch her for a couple of years since I really do need a new computer, and I'd also want an airbrush before even attempting to customize a pony. If I don't trust myself, I'll probably just commission her to be customized, instead.

So what do you all think I should do? :o

also, off topic, but does anyone have any good links to the right colours/type of glitter to touch-up Glory's symbol?

[Safflower]

She looks to be opaque, hard plastic, which means that you could probably sunfade her For her dull hair, you could try scrubbing it with a toothbrush and dish soap. That gets dirt off. You could condition it too. Good luck, she looks like she might need a lot of work!

[ThePoneZone]

She looks to be opaque, hard plastic, which means that you could probably sunfade her For her dull hair, you could try scrubbing it with a toothbrush and dish soap. That gets dirt off. You could condition it too. Good luck, she looks like she might need a lot of work!

She's been thoroughly cleaned, scrubbed, and shampooed, though I didn't have any conditioner on me at the time so I could do that.

I've also read that sunfading Starshine is bad because she's prone to burning??

[Safflower]

Starshine has two different versions. One has more translucent, squishy plastic that usually has a sheen and one is opaque and harder, usually more matte. The harder ones usually stay white and don't sunburn while the translucent ones burn, and are usually brown by now. The opaque ones are usually slightly bigger too. If you search her on google you can see some differences. Yours looks to be white and opaque so she probably won't burn If she is squishy and translucent irl, you probably shouldn't though.

[Artemesia's Garden]

I'm just wondering did you take her head off to clean her? Is she sticky inside?

She's a difficult case because her plastic is breaking down hence the brown spots. If plastic breakdown is already underway I'd avoid sunfading in case it speeds up the process. I don't tend to sunfade any white ponies in case they burn but it sounds as though Safflower might know more.

I would suggest removing the head with hot water then a basic clean inside and out, then try scrubbing at the brown water marks with toothpaste or a mild abrasive (never bleach) dry thoroughly and put back together. This might stabilise the plastic and slow her decay. It won't reduce the appearance of the brown spots unfortunately but it might reduce the appearance of the other brown marks.

Symbol rust is impossible to fix as far as I know, unfortunately. The eye rub is easily fixable.

If she wasn't a pegasus I'd suggest findng some clothes for her that might make her flaws less conspicuous.

It's a  shame, I've seen so many Starshines like this with great hair but flawed plastic.

Let us know how you get on.

[ThePoneZone]

Starshine has two different versions. One has more translucent, squishy plastic that usually has a sheen and one is opaque and harder, usually more matte. The harder ones usually stay white and don't sunburn while the translucent ones burn, and are usually brown by now. The opaque ones are usually slightly bigger too. If you search her on google you can see some differences. Yours looks to be white and opaque so she probably won't burn If she is squishy and translucent irl, you probably shouldn't though.

My starshine is the translucent and squishy, which means I prooobably shouldn't sunfade. xD

Post Merge: September 21, 2018, 06:29:33 PM

I'm just wondering did you take her head off to clean her? Is she sticky inside?

She's a difficult case because her plastic is breaking down hence the brown spots. If plastic breakdown is already underway I'd avoid sunfading in case it speeds up the process. I don't tend to sunfade any white ponies in case they burn but it sounds as though Safflower might know more.

I would suggest removing the head with hot water then a basic clean inside and out, then try scrubbing at the brown water marks with toothpaste or a mild abrasive (never bleach) dry thoroughly and put back together. This might stabilise the plastic and slow her decay. It won't reduce the appearance of the brown spots unfortunately but it might reduce the appearance of the other brown marks.

Symbol rust is impossible to fix as far as I know, unfortunately. The eye rub is easily fixable.

If she wasn't a pegasus I'd suggest findng some clothes for her that might make her flaws less conspicuous.

It's a  shame, I've seen so many Starshines like this with great hair but flawed plastic.

Let us know how you get on.

Her previous owner (before my friend bought her and subsequently sent her to me) had already removed the head, so that part's been done. I had a feel around inside of her and she's dry as a bone, no stickiness in there at all. Thankfully the symbol rust is VERY light, so it's hardly noticeable unless you've got your face shoved right up against her butt. lol

I'll try the toothpaste method later on tonight. I have to be careful putting water inside her because she still has her original washer and I don't want to get it rusty. > .>;

[Artemesia's Garden]

It's a good sign that she's not sticky 

To do this safely, reach inside with long nosed pliers to pull the tail out by it's clamp. Try not to disturb the hair in the clamp by pulling too hard. You might need to wet and put conditioner on the tail first to help it through. My rule is never remove the clamp. You might see some corrosion on it but never rust in my experience. Remove the washer and dry seperately with kitchen paper so it won't go rusty. When the pony is scrubbed and completely dry, warm the tail hole with a hair dryer, push the dry tail back in using the clamp. With long-nosed pliers, pull the tail up into the pony high enough to put the washer back, then pull the tail back into place so that the washer secures the tail inside the body and the tail is an even length. Check the leg holes and make sure there is no moisture at all before you put the head back on. 

In the past if there's no tail rust I've also not bothered removing the tail completely, just reached inside and pull the tail up an inch or so up so the washer is away from the inside wall of the pony and can dry quickly. Hope this helps.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

She looks like she would be a great model for some pony wear!    what lovely hair she has...