When is a pony considered truly beyond hope?

[VanillaBean]

I guess I'd class myself as a fairly picky collector, but I've got my eye on a couple of ebay sales for manky ponies, & I quite fancy trying to restore them.  xD
We're talking trimmed forelocks, stains, bad hair, fading, etc. A couple of them are ponies who are really high on my want list, & I can't find them in decent condition elsewhere. Plus restoring a pony back to her original glory sounds like a fun project. 
So what would you say ruins a pony to the point of throwing out, or classing as bait?
Pictures of hopeless cases would be fun too. 
 

[hathorcat]

If you ask a lot of the really really talented customisers and restorers I think the answer is "never"....I have seen ponies with "new" or "fixed" everything on here...as someone with no creative talent it constantly amazes me

*Stands back and waits for the awesome before and after pics"

[Elisto]

I don't mind flaws, but don't often restore and instead leave them as is. I think a lot of restorers would say they're never beyond hope. However, for me personally, if the only way the pony will look even halfway decent is a FBR, new hair, and new symbols, and is fairly common (like my very brown, bald Starshine with only a faint rust outline for a symbol), then I still wouldn't describe it as "beyond hope," but not really worth it.

I don't have a picture of that one, but here's a Gingerbread that's close to my limit. She still has hair uncut, even if it's bad, and her symbols are decent even if she's discolored, so I can't bring myself to bait her although I kind of want to. She actually looks worse in person. The only problem is, I already have a nice Gingerbread and don't think anyone else wants one like this for their collection.

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I would likely not bait this

[Gingerbread]

I think it depends how far you would go personally to restore a pony. I personally *hate* re-hairing ponies, and would sell a pony with a hair cut. However a pony covered in wee with ridiculously matted hair and scuffed eyes I can do. (No pics, sorry).

[MissSleepless]

What is it with Gingerbread? I have a decapitated one on my desk upstiars in similar 'is it really worth trying to fix' condition.

But I'm tryin'!

Mine has awful red 'eyeshadow', she was originaly COATED in glitterglue, and has two rather noticeable large cancer splotches, but her hair and tail are nice and after spending so much time on her already I don't think I could bring myself to bait her. :/

Edit: Found some photos of when she first arrived. I've since taken the glitter gems off her eye, but they've left bright pink highlighted spots where their ink has soaked through -.-

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Gingerbread-Bait by MissSleepless, on Flickr


It's a personal preferance, bar cancer and severe hair cuts, most things are fixable at home. Or at least bearable until you can upgrade.

[DemureGirl]

For me it's complete discolouration that means bait for me. I have a blossom who is peachy-brown with  haircut and pindot. To me there is nothing that can be done/is worth doing

[Elfpony]

I've had lots of ponies go through my hands that I've bought for bait and ended up restoring instead because when I saw them in person they just weren't that bad.  But at a certain point I feel like it's not worth restoring and I'd bait the pony.  For example, if she was discoloured, had cancer, missing paint, and haircut I don't think I'd be bothered restoring (assuming of course we're not talking about something really rare) but other people would be happy to take on the challenge.

I don't have a lost cause pic, but here's a success story:
Trickles before
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Trickles after
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Elf

[babystarz]

I think the condition of the ponies featured on the My Little Pony Preservation project before and after their restorations is pretty amazing most of the time! I personally wouldn't even attempt to restore a pony with actual body parts missing, but it's possible and people do it with perfect-looking results. So really, the sky is the limit There is something very satisfying about cleaning a pony inside and out, fixing her hair and making her look lovely

[BlackCurtains]

I think it only depends on how far you want to go and what your personal limits are. Missing pieces, tears, etc wouldn't stop me if I was inclined to restore, like I did with Bunny Hop-

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[stopxmotion]

I see a lot of ponies classified as bait that I would gladly put on display in my collection. The most I can do to restore a pony is clean it up and wash the hair, so I would personally say the ones pictured in this thread are too far gone for me. I don't see ponies with messed up hair or some spots/marks or scratches on their bodies as bait though.

[Valkohai]

when it is missing it's legs.

[CrystalCrown]

What is it with Gingerbread?

i was thinking the same thing.

i always try to restore any pony before i bait it (unless i buy it for baiting from the start), especially if its a g1. i've had a couple ones come to me in crappy condition, but to me no g1 is a bait unless its missing limbs (which thankfully i have found none yet)

[Elisto]

Wow, that Gingerbread looks really white aside from those stains! Mine's all beige and splotchy, and even my "good" one's not that bright. And that Trickles came out amazing!

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I have one that would have been considered 'beyond hope' by many!

This is baby Moondancer, when I first got her.. she even had dead larva in her head
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And this is here a few weeks ago

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This poor girl would have really been probably customed if she hadn't called to me when i first saw her months and months ago. Sorry for all the images but had to show the full turn around

By the way, for those who have seen these before, she is looking even better! I just need some new containers for her to soak in while in the sun

[cesprins]

when it is missing it's legs.

yup! I agree. Or excessive chewing or actual destruction of the plastic body.