To solve a mystery for my self...

[sd_dreamcrystal]

Ok so I was told by a friend that Nightmare Moon from the set is actually painted black and isn't really black. When I finally got my hands on one, my mind went back to what my friend said.. So I've been assuming she is actually painted black and her plastic isn't really black.

Well it actually isn't black but more of a purple tone black which is kind of odd to me.

So I wanted to find out for myself and for others, who I've apparently inadvertently made them worry about this, if her plastic is really the color that it is or if it's just painted? I'm now starting to lean more towards dyed because the pony looks like she has what I call heat damage (which is what I notice on a Pinkie Pie when I tried to dye her orange, I'm not 100% sure how to describe this)

I've already considered NMM damaged because of this, though it was no fault of the person I got her from and there was only one bit of damage caused by me... the other damage is to the painted bracers and helm itself

SO... is it worth me trying to take her apart to see for myself what color the plastic really is? I've not taken apart this mold before but I'm guessing she isn't hollow like the normal G4s?

[Galactica]

I am sure the pony is not painted simply because it is so much easier and cheaper for Hasbro to just make the base pony black- and paint/apply the features/hair.  It would be MUCH more expensive to paint her.  Also- the pink Celestias with the same/similar mold are pink all the way through - as are all of the other brushables I have seen.

I guess you could pry the head off if you were determined to know for sure- as I don't think anyone has ever taken off her head (since why would you customize NM)

I now seem to remember that the brushable Celestia had some kind of head nob that could be broken if you are not careful.   I think that might be the case-  so if you still wanted to proceed, I would first warm up the plastic first before giving it a whirl (soak it in very hot water or under a heating pad for a while until the plastic is fully warmed and maleable)

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I would be willing to bet the pony is not painted simply because it is so much easier and cheaper for Hasbro to just make the base pony black- and paint/apply the features/hair.  It would be MUCH more expensive to paint her-

However, you could pry the head off.  The molds for all of the other brushables are hollow so I don't know why this pony would be any different.  It would be a simple matter to glue the head back on again. 

Only thought she wasn't really hollow because I remember someone taking a Princess Cadance apart I think, but I will likely just pop off her head and have a look in the neck area... It's strange though that they used a white neck plug for her from what I can see without taking the head off

[Galactica]

Yeah- sorry see my edit-

I do remember now that there is a head nob in the Celestia (or maybe it was Cadence) that can be broken- so be very careful and warm up the plastic first before you try it-  otherwise it will break    

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I did manage to get the head off... with far less trouble than the normal smaller brushables oO

Any according to the inner ring of her head (I'm not bothering taking the neck plug itself out) she isn't painted, but she still isn't black either, she's a purple according to the small notches I took out to make it easier to get her head back on...

[Dusky]

How odd! At a guess some of the taobao or prototype NMM must have been painted black instead? Thanks for the experiment. What do you mean by 'heat damage'? Is this a factory error?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

True black is a very difficult color to make in plastic without using toxic chemicals.    They usually make a very dark blue or purple and work with that. 

[Galactica]

That is interesting!

I guess it makes sense that some of the Taobao prototypes were painted- since they were likely test-runs/samples made before production was underway for the final product.

[Bergamot]

Like Squirmy said, black plastics are tricky! A true black will also look flat. Adding hints of purples, blues, or reds can help bring a little life to it. This trick is used in print all the time!

This is a neat experiment, DreamCrystal! If you can get some pictures of what you're seeing, that would be super awesome! The finish of Nightmare Moon's plastic does seem to be a little different than what you see on other brushables. It has a certain sheen to it, and it scratches very easily.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

Like Squirmy said, black plastics are tricky! A true black will also look flat. Adding hints of purples, blues, or reds can help bring a little life to it. This trick is used in print all the time!

This is a neat experiment, DreamCrystal! If you can get some pictures of what you're seeing, that would be super awesome! The finish of Nightmare Moon's plastic does seem to be a little different than what you see on other brushables. It has a certain sheen to it, and it scratches very easily.

Well there isn't much to the experiment any more xD I was going to use acetone on her inner neck but after making those cuts I didn't need to... but I can show a few things...

NMM Photos (pic heavy so into a spoiler they go!)

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what I call heat damage, it might just be normal for the coating on G4s but I've only ever noticed it on a pony I tried to dye and had to use heat for the dye.
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This is just stress damage I believe but not from my doing
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and now, after I took her head off
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small sliver of what I had left, the rest of the tiny bits got thrown away (clearly purple)
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Sample area
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My 'experiment' was a flop but it satisfied my curiosity. Oh and I still am dumbfounded as to why they used a white neck plug oO

Post Merge: January 06, 2013, 12:54:44 PM

Also, putting her by a black bag does show how purple she really is none of this was done with a camera flash except for viewing the notches I made in the neck ring

[hathorcat]

It all comes down to cost

As others have said it is much cheaper to make the pony plastic rather than paint it - makes the product longer lasting and more durable as well. Its the same for the neck plug - they can make them in mass quantities and as they wont be seen why bother making black ones? Why not just use the ones already done for the other Celestias? Cheaper and easier.

Yes most black plastics in products like this are have another base colour and because you mix it in such deep quantities you get a blackish shade but if you look at a sliver of it you get the actual colour - no different than putting lots and lots of sheets of semi transparent pink paper on top of one another eventually its no longer transparent and eventually it will look a solid red but take one sheet out and you will see its pink. Colour chemistry is amazing.

As for the burns you mention thats a moulding issue - the lines you see between the parts are the seams in the mould where the metal/plastic has been welded together and the burning on the surface is a poorly finished mould.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

As for the burns you mention thats a moulding issue - the lines you see between the parts are the seams in the mould where the metal/plastic has been welded together and the burning on the surface is a poorly finished mould.

I figured it was heat damage which is a shame because on her it's more noticeable than the normal playful pony sizes I guess it is because she is so dark in color

[MaronaPossessed]

Like Squirmy said, black plastics are tricky! A true black will also look flat. Adding hints of purples, blues, or reds can help bring a little life to it. This trick is used in print all the time!

This is a neat experiment, DreamCrystal! If you can get some pictures of what you're seeing, that would be super awesome! The finish of Nightmare Moon's plastic does seem to be a little different than what you see on other brushables. It has a certain sheen to it, and it scratches very easily.

Spoiler

and now, after I took her head off
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My 'experiment' was a flop but it satisfied my curiosity. Oh and I still am dumbfounded as to why they used a white neck plug oO

Pinkie Pie: *Opens Nightmare Moon's mouth* Wow! I didn't know you had a white tongue!

[sd_dreamcrystal]

Pinkie Pie: *Opens Nightmare Moon's mouth* Wow! I didn't know you had a white tongue!

Lol Pinkie would do something like that

[hathorcat]

As for the burns you mention thats a moulding issue - the lines you see between the parts are the seams in the mould where the metal/plastic has been welded together and the burning on the surface is a poorly finished mould.

I figured it was heat damage which is a shame because on her it's more noticeable than the normal playful pony sizes I guess it is because she is so dark in color

Yes it probably is the colour which shows it up so badly and if the cast is bad that just compounds the issue. Cheaply made unfortunately.