That plastic on G4 pony legs?

[InkyMilk]

I'm talking about that clear plastic wrap on the G4 ponies that keeps their manes wrapped to their legs. Usually I keep that on since I like the way their hair looks all perfectly twisted and kept into place (the ponies I have that don't have this wrap all have crazy hair), but I'm starting to wonder if that's such a good idea? Will the wrap change them or their hair colors or warp the plastic somehow? It just occurred to me as I brought out my 3 favorite ponies to sit with me as I write today and I saw 2 of them have this plastic on them and I really don't want them to get ruined.

[Supercritical]

I have noticed that the plastic may scratch up the surface of the vinyl, but most of the time this happens in-factory and there's not much you can do by the time it gets from the store to you.

I would hope they would be smart enough to use a plastic that won't react with the pony, so hopefully the only way it would discolor is over time from exposure to light (the plastic would shield that area, making it a different color from the rest of the faded pony).

The other foreseeable issue would be the glue from the tape if there's any left on that plastic. Certain glues do discolor vinyl, but as long as it's just on the plastic and not touching the pony it should be fine.

[reanna-mator]

I can't see it as a problem unless the edge of the plastic is digging into the poor pony's legs. I always free my pony of her transparent follicular fetters, however; I like to style my ponies! : )

[Dragonflitter]

I haven't heard about that plastic piece causing problems, but I have heard from some collectors here that the little colored plastic stretchy band that Hasbro uses to secure the hair at the end can bleed color onto the Pony's hair, so you might want to remove that part. I think someone said the red plastic band around Applejack's yellow hair, and the purple band around Lily Blossom's yellow hair, have stained the hair underneath.

[Cadence]

I haven't heard about that plastic piece causing problems, but I have heard from some collectors here that the little colored plastic stretchy band that Hasbro uses to secure the hair at the end can bleed color onto the Pony's hair, so you might want to remove that part. I think someone said the red plastic band around Applejack's yellow hair, and the purple band around Lily Blossom's yellow hair, have stained the hair underneath.

:O Thanks for letting us know! Could it be from exposing the hairbands to heat that causes the colours to melt, or does this just happen overtime? Like Inkymilk, I keep the original plastics & bands on my ponies; I'm so afraid to check my AJ's hair now...

[Elisto]

I don't know if this is the same kind of plastic, but I recently had some vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls that still had the clear plastic wrap over their hair and face, and they were fine (except that when the hair starts to come out of the plastic, there's no way to get it back in, so it can look messy, but no damage or anything like that)

[Dragonflitter]

:O Thanks for letting us know! Could it be from exposing the hairbands to heat that causes the colours to melt, or does this just happen overtime? Like Inkymilk, I keep the original plastics & bands on my ponies; I'm so afraid to check my AJ's hair now...

Hmm, I don't quite remember if sunlight vs. time was discussed in the thread. You might be able to find the thread with the search engine, but it was quite a while ago. :\

I know what you mean, I like keeping the red plastic bit in my AJ's hair because I like that it is similar to how she wears her hair in the show... I've decided if I just keep the plastic band on all the time, I'll never see if there are any marks underneath.

But for all my other G4's I take the plastic band off as soon as I open the package.

[hathorcat]

The elastic bang thing is just a general disintegration of the rubber in the bands - it can get worse if the rubber is super cold or super hot but even if kept at a steady temp you run the risk of some of the colour bleeding on to the hair. You can pick up the same bands in clear at most hair salon stockists if you wish to keep the hair in place but not keep on the coloured bands.

As to the plastic wrap - it shouldnt have any effect - the only thing it could do over time is block light getting to the plastic area it covers and thereby fading at a different rate to the plastic surrounding it - but thats going to take a long time to have an issue. When "loose" I dont like anything pressed against a pony for fear of unexpected damage but thats a personal opinion not an observation on this - in general I do think you should be fine.

[Cadence]

The elastic bang thing is just a general disintegration of the rubber in the bands - it can get worse if the rubber is super cold or super hot but even if kept at a steady temp you run the risk of some of the colour bleeding on to the hair. You can pick up the same bands in clear at most hair salon stockists if you wish to keep the hair in place but not keep on the coloured bands.

Ah, good thing I have a bunch of small, clear bands from the dollar mart.
Do you think painting clear bands (or, dare I say, colouring-bands-with-a-sharpie ) would solve this problem whilst maintaining a show-accurate look?

[Elfpony]

Likely the clear plastic would be fine, but keep in mind that these plastic bits aren't intended to stay on the pony forever, just hold them in place while in the package.  So you never know, there's a chance they could cause damage over time.

Elf

[Supercritical]

Though I'm not exactly sure how it is over at Hasbro (the hair band discoloration issue being an argument against), most toy companies do in fact design the packaging to hold up without damaging the toy. If nothing else I suppose someone could always email them and ask what plastic they use and if that would ever react with the vinyl.

As for the hair ties, I would NOT recommend Sharpies. Sharpies are notorious for bleeding, and some people even use them to dye pony hair. A water-soluble paint would probably be better, so that if it does ever get into the hair you can at least wash it out.

[hathorcat]

The elastic bang thing is just a general disintegration of the rubber in the bands - it can get worse if the rubber is super cold or super hot but even if kept at a steady temp you run the risk of some of the colour bleeding on to the hair. You can pick up the same bands in clear at most hair salon stockists if you wish to keep the hair in place but not keep on the coloured bands.

Ah, good thing I have a bunch of small, clear bands from the dollar mart.
Do you think painting clear bands (or, dare I say, colouring-bands-with-a-sharpie ) would solve this problem whilst maintaining a show-accurate look?

No the rubber wont hold the colour of the sharpie - it will simply bleed off on to the hair.

If you want a show accurate AJ, I would suggest maybe wrapping a bit of colour fast ribbon around the elastic or even using a red elastic but removing it and replacing it and checking it with reasonable regularity.

[Cadence]

@Supercritical & hathorcat: Good ideas! Thanks!

[InkyMilk]

Thank you for clearing that up for me guys. My trio of my favorite ponies (Rarity, Diamond Rose and Plumsweet) have been sticking around with me outside the display castle the past few days to help me feel better, and I'd really hate to ruin them out of my own stupidity. Only Rarity has a colored band on her hair but since it's purple and matches her mane anyway I've decided to leave it in for now.