The MLP Arena
Creativity => Customs => Topic started by: starrynights on December 17, 2020, 10:53:11 PM
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It is common for people to submerge softer vinyl doll heads in acetone as a way to shrink them.
I am wonder if anyone has tried this on a pony?
I am looking to make a filly custom and have a very baity g4 and would rather use that than a filly mold pony since they are uncommon.
G4 ponies are made from a harder vinyl. Is it possible to shrink them in acetone or will they melt like hard plastic?
Their bodies don't melt when rubbed with lots of acetone, unlike hard plastic objects.
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Unfortunately I doubt it will work.
You might find this an interesting read :) http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,391549.0.html
That experiment only involved G1 and G3 ponies, but I fear with G4s the results would be uneven at best since their heads and bodies are so different in quality.
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Unfortunately I doubt it will work.
You might find this an interesting read :) http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,391549.0.html
That experiment only involved G1 and G3 ponies, but I fear with G4s the results would be uneven at best since their heads and bodies are so different in quality.
I am wanting to make a bait-to-the-point-of-being-destroyed normal sized g4 smaller to customize into a filly character, so I don't mind if the head ends up bigger than the body...but other way around may look strange.
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Unfortunately I doubt it will work.
You might find this an interesting read :) http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,391549.0.html
That experiment only involved G1 and G3 ponies, but I fear with G4s the results would be uneven at best since their heads and bodies are so different in quality.
I am wanting to make a bait-to-the-point-of-being-destroyed normal sized g4 smaller to customize into a filly character, so I don't mind if the head ends up bigger than the body...but other way around may look strange.
Well I'm all for experimenting when it comes to customs - please let us know how it goes if you decide to try it! ^^
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Unfortunately I doubt it will work.
You might find this an interesting read :) http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,391549.0.html
That experiment only involved G1 and G3 ponies, but I fear with G4s the results would be uneven at best since their heads and bodies are so different in quality.
Wow, that was a fascinating read! The posts stopped rather suddenly, but I'm so curious to know what happened to all the 'victims' in the end...
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I have decided to start the experiment:
First, I prepared the subject, who was once a failed custom:
Me and the pony both didn't get out of this unharmed. I had to cut the neck basically off with a heated xacto knife to remove the hard plastic plug, and carve out parts of the inner head to fit tweezers. I ended up getting scraped up a little too.
Tools used: Lighter, xacto knife, tweezers, pliers, and scissors.
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I then submerged the pony in half pure acetone and half water in a air tight sealable jar.
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Things were a little easier than soaking a doll head, because the pony doesn't float.
Now we wait...I'll be back in a little with a update on how things are going.
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Good news! So far things are going better than expected. Both the head and the body withstood half acetone/half water for 24 hours. The head and body have became both the same squishyness and the same amount of swelling. The swelling is hard to see on camera especially with the image I took since it's in it's jar outside airing out but hopefully comparing the back of the head and the back of Pinkie's head gives a idea (note that Pinkie is being held up, closer to the camera.)
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I think I will do multiple dips to see how far I can get things to shrink.
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Exciting! I hope the experiment turns out to be successful despite my initial doubts, sorry about that! :biggrin:
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Exciting! I hope the experiment turns out to be successful despite my initial doubts, sorry about that! :biggrin:
I had tons of doubts too, haha!
So far - it has been drying around 24 hours, and while it has shrinked a lot and the odor is gone, It is still a little larger than average.
I will give it another 24 hours and see how things are.
Interestingly, the pony became a different color underneath the paint - it seems the paint on the outside melted off and "fused" with the color of the pony. Perhaps this could be turned into a new dyeing method?
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48 hours after a 24 hours half pure acetone half water bath.
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The pony has shrunken ever so slightly but will probably shrink a bit more since it is still slightly more rubbery than normal.
Next I am soaking it in 80% pure acetone 20% water to see if there is a greater effect.
Post Merge: December 23, 2020, 02:08:40 PM
Swelling is still minor with 80% acetone...next I'll try 100%
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After the 80% acetone shrink, there was no noticeable difference.
I'll try 100% anyways.
I think that because G4 ponies are very solid, there isn't many plasticizes for the acetone to dissolve.
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Thank you for doing SCIENCE for us! I like your angry Pinkie Pie.
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Thank you for doing SCIENCE for us! I like your angry Pinkie Pie.
Thank you!! :biggrin:
Post Merge: December 28, 2020, 02:15:25 PM
100% acetone worked in a way I was not expecting. The pony has ballooned up a lot!
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It's the consistency of jello, extremely wobbly and basically falling apart.
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Here is the result of the pure acetone bath.
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Tiny and certain spots shrinked more than others, makeing proportions that remind me of G3.5
I quite like the aesthetic
The down side: The pony has huge chunks and slices in it missing from the acetone, almost like it began to peel in layers. I will try to sand and sculpt over this.
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Wow the peeling :blink:
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Oh wow! I’m surprised she’s even still together at all. If you wanted to make a zombie pony, the peeling would probably be ideal! :lol: I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread to see what you finally make with her. She’s had a fascinating journey for sure! :)
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Oh was this a pearly Applejack originally? Really neat seeing the pearly part peel off!
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Thank you for doing SCIENCE for us! I like your angry Pinkie Pie.
Thank you!! :biggrin:
Post Merge: December 28, 2020, 02:15:25 PM
100% acetone worked in a way I was not expecting. The pony has ballooned up a lot!
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It's the consistency of jello, extremely wobbly and basically falling apart.
:shocked:
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I may have seen this too late to help, but - I wouldn't try acetone like the OP mentioned. I've had issues with hard G4 customs where the acetone removes the symbol but also destroys the finish, eating into the plastic in a bad way.
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I've been wondering about this myself with G1s, this was really interesting to read through! While not a very pretty result, I can agree that it could have been worse, and I'd be interested to see the final custom. They'll truly be OOAK, that's for sure!