stubborn head glue and summer wing replacement tips?

[Purpleglasses]

Hello all!

I recently got a very cute Lady Flutter who needed new wings. She had intact neck glue and I wanted to take her head off to follow Shadowonthemoon’s rewinging tutorial. When I dunked her in boiling water, the back edge of her neck seam popped, but I had a really hard time taking it further than that without getting in their with an exacto knife. She isn’t damaged or sliced up, (I’ve seen some not great things happen when removing pony heads, and it’s not THAT awful) but her neck seam didn’t make a super clean seperation and there’s some jaggedness there. I don’t love it but it was my first time dealing with this issue, so please be kind. I know there are lots of people these days who don’t even want to buy a pony whose head is loose, so I felt kind of bad taking her apart on that front too, though she definitely needs those new wings!

I’d prefer to avoid using a blade next time I try this. What should I do if the neck glue is just stubborn? Is it best to just dangle the pony in a pot of consistently boiling/simmering water, pulling her out from time to time and gently tugging on her head? I’ve heard of people wrapping the pony in a  heating pad for a while, is that better?

While trying to remove the head I noticed the central piece of plastic that holds the wings in place seemed to be coming a bit loose too. To change out wings, is it 100% necessary to remove the head and fiddle with the pony’s internal mechanism, or can I just boil soften and pop off the central piece of wing plastic? I must admit I’m a little confused about how to take apart the internal mechanism, despite looking at the tutorial. Any advice would be much appreciated!

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I've heard of some folks using acetone to weaken the glue on the neck seams. I always opt to just carefully slice until it comes out, but that might be a better option!

Can't speak on the wing mechanism!

[Purpleglasses]

Ah thank you! I think I will try some acetone next time I face an issue like this.

Post Merge: January 18, 2022, 06:24:18 PM

Just in case anyone comes by this thread looking for similar info, I found a video of someone replacing the wings on a pony that’s very helpful. She definitely used acetone on the stubborn neck glue, but also to help remove the wing holding back insert.

https://youtu.be/KS0cS9K5iPU

[pinkkittywinks]

Thank you for buying the wings off me

Stubborn neck glue is a pain I will use a hairdryer to soften up the plastic and carefully pull/twist while using a craft knife to cut the glue. You can use a dull knife to prise the neck seam apart as well.

I remember community member TicTacToe using acetone and dental floss to get through some tough neck glue.

Love pkw xxx

[LadyMoondancer]

While trying to remove the head I noticed the central piece of plastic that holds the wings in place seemed to be coming a bit loose too. To change out wings, is it 100% necessary to remove the head and fiddle with the pony’s internal mechanism, or can I just boil soften and pop off the central piece of wing plastic? I must admit I’m a little confused about how to take apart the internal mechanism, despite looking at the tutorial. Any advice would be much appreciated!

So basically the Summer Wings wings are one piece of plastic, and the little square on the back of the wingers pins it down.  If you pull up the square of plastic, the wings (or what remains of them) will come out and you can put new wings under it.

IIRC there's, like, almost a ball-and-socket joint that connects the square of plastic to the main body.  (Eh, not exactly right but I can't think how else to describe it.)  But they are fully separate piece of plastic.  I feel like you could replace wings from the outside with some work and superglue.

But don't feel bad about the neck joint--I think we've all been there!

[Purpleglasses]

Ladymoondancer, thank you for the reassuring words!

I have ANOTHER pony head glue question. On ponies who are less squishy than they once were, are there any special beheading tips beyond acetone?

[Toilandtrouble123]

Hi, acetone is your friend here for sure.

Had a real job getting Masquerade's head off - went to Boots (local pharmacy chain for those non-UK readers!) and bought their own brand acetone for gel nail removal.

Soaked an ear bud in the acetone, applied some pressure to the head to make a little gap in the neckline, and just kept gently swabbing the area.

After I worked my way round the neck, I then let her dry off for the afternoon, before sitting her in front of my little desk heater (I get super cold hands whilst working, and my fingers start seizing up leaving me unable to type if I didn't have the heater!) for a couple of minutes to make her a bit more pliable.

I then used an old blunted craft scalpel to work through the gap I made and then used more acetone swabbing once I got through to the neck plug.  I then was able to use my manicure cuticle stick as a lever to pop the head off!

No snags or jags to the head/neck, and cannot wait for my ultrafine glitter to arrive, so I can start turning her into a glittery magical twinkle eyed princess!