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Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Rosette on October 06, 2012, 10:32:21 AM

Title: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Rosette on October 06, 2012, 10:32:21 AM
I'm wondering if I've found a Starglow variant?

I was working my way through an estate collection I purchased from the original owner when I found these two Starglows ponies.  Their body colors are quite different--though I've seen Starglows all along the blue/green spectrum so that isn't too unusual.  The hair, though, did strike me.  The greener of the two ponies has, instead of dark pink hair, completely snow white stripes.  There's not even a hint of pink to it, so I don't think it is an issue of extreme fading.  The roots are pure white, too, same as the ends. Both ponies were purchased together by a woman who made sure that her grandchildren had all of the same toys to play with when they visited her, showed no signs of having been submerged or washed, and they've been stored together all these years--so I'd expect them both to have the same conditions in terms of fading and plastic degradation.  The symbol and eye paint on the white-haired pony is the same color--unfaded--and is actually probably a little darker than the regular-haired pony.

What do you think?  Has anyone ever seen Starglow with pure white hair?  Is this a variant or something else?  I've seen a lot of Starglows in a lot of conditions--but none like this.

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ETA:  I compared her hair with the white hair of Love Token and it seems a match.  Starglow's photographs a little differently as it is coarser than Love Token's satin straight hair, but in person they look spot on.  Also, I tested both Starglows and they glow in the dark, both equally nice and bright. 

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Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Luxrayx on October 06, 2012, 10:43:11 AM
It might be faded?
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: HollowZero on October 06, 2012, 10:54:14 AM
I didn't think that kind of pink faded to such a stark white.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on October 06, 2012, 11:10:41 AM
That pink typically doesn't fade quickly.  My guess is that the pony got left outside or in a window for a length of time.  You can see her plastic is a much different color, too. 

But there are Glow n' Show variants that have different haircolors and different body colors, and different heart colors, so it IS possible that she is a factory variant! 
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Ianthe99 on October 06, 2012, 11:17:37 AM
I dunno. Could be faded.. could be some kind of factory flaw.  The greeness of the body suggests yellowing. She's neat either way! Is her head still glued down?
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: MercuryStar on October 06, 2012, 11:19:00 AM
Even if she is just extremely faded (and I have seen that pink hair fade when in extreme conditions left outside or in windows in a very sunny location) and not a legitimate factory variant, she is really awesome looking, and I would keep a pony like that.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: sd_dreamcrystal on October 06, 2012, 11:19:19 AM
a good way to tell... and I don't know if this is going to be true of these girls because they are semi-translucent... is if you can get her head off and check the part of the tail that is on the inside, you can see if some of the hair is pink or not. Again I don't know if the face she is translucent will affect that part of the hair
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Eldarwen on October 06, 2012, 11:25:52 AM
If she really is extremely faded, Im suprised her symbols didnt fade at all. Or.. you would think that even the yellow would change at least a little bit, if THAT pink goes all the way to pure white..
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: BlueChaos on October 06, 2012, 11:41:59 AM
I think she's a variant. You can see the white hair on the inside of the pony in that pic with the heads. I don't think the hair would fade inside, sunfaded or not.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: shelti on October 06, 2012, 11:50:47 AM
It may also be a rehair,
You can usually verify that on the older ponies by the weave of the mane
So many of these customs and rehairs have not been marked over the years and if this was a collectors
group it's very possible she had some rehairs or customs mixed in with them.  I know that was the Case with Helen's
Ponies (a long time Collector) whom kitkatvintage recently helped to sell some of that collection found out.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Eluluu on October 06, 2012, 12:05:27 PM
someone already beat me to it but yeah, if youre really curious id crack her open and check if her mane is still woven, and if theres any trace of pink in the weave, and paybe pull her tail out and take a peek around the washer to see if the hair is white in the covered parts. =] she looks really cool with white tho =D
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Rosette on October 06, 2012, 12:14:35 PM
I didn't think that kind of pink faded to such a stark white.

I didn't, either.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: hathorcat on October 06, 2012, 12:15:00 PM
She looks lovely like that - congrats on adding her to your collection :)

However, personally I am going to go with her being a discolouration or a reaction to something. It doesnt have to be the sun which faded her it could be conditions or chemicals. That colour isn't as colour fast as some other shades and she is also quite yellowed. The white isn't one of the 2 white shades we normally see on G1s and it has a teeny tiny red sheen in the pictures - sometimes things show up in images better than in person.

Either way - she is gorgeous I really like the lighter toned hair!
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Rosette on October 06, 2012, 12:17:24 PM
I dunno. Could be faded.. could be some kind of factory flaw.  The greeness of the body suggests yellowing. She's neat either way! Is her head still glued down?

Yes, still glued!

Post Merge: October 06, 2012, 12:23:54 PM

It may also be a rehair,
You can usually verify that on the older ponies by the weave of the mane
So many of these customs and rehairs have not been marked over the years and if this was a collectors
group it's very possible she had some rehairs or customs mixed in with them.  I know that was the Case with Helen's
Ponies (a long time Collector) whom kitkatvintage recently helped to sell some of that collection found out.


These didn't come from a collector.  They're single-owner from an elderly woman's estate--she bought them for her grandchildren to play with at her house.  So I think rehairing is extremely unlikely.  The heads are glued on, so I don't want to break a factory seal to check.

It does make me wonder, though, and may be the kind of mystery I can never actually solve.

Post Merge: October 06, 2012, 12:28:06 PM

She looks lovely like that - congrats on adding her to your collection :)

However, personally I am going to go with her being a discolouration or a reaction to something. It doesnt have to be the sun which faded her it could be conditions or chemicals. That colour isn't as colour fast as some other shades and she is also quite yellowed. The white isn't one of the 2 white shades we normally see on G1s and it has a teeny tiny red sheen in the pictures - sometimes things show up in images better than in person.

Either way - she is gorgeous I really like the lighter toned hair!

I'll have to photograph her in better light next to some of the white-haired G1s.  I'd think that if it was fading that the hair at the base of her mane or tail would be a different shade instead of such a uniform white.  I'm on the fence and may never know!  It is strange that two ponies bought together, played with together, and stored together have become some markedly different colors.  :)
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: kissthethunder on October 06, 2012, 12:37:32 PM
I have never seen the likes of this before. My knee jerk reaction is faded, but that doesn't explain why so much of her paint looks unfaded.

Varient or not, faded or not, she's so unique and beautiful! I also think I see the hair inside her body is white too.

All things considered, I'd call this a varient
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Baby Sugarberry on October 06, 2012, 12:40:12 PM
UV exposure will not always affect all materials equally, especially with a composite piece like a MLP.  Different paints, plastics, and materials can all have different reactions.

I'd put my guess down at severe sunfading, given that pink hair in general is the least stable (this is true of all reds, due to how the wavelengths of light work) of the dyes.  Think about movie posters that have been up in shop windows a long time - the red goes first, then yellows, sometimes only the blues are left.  Long term exposure can also yellow plastics (c.f. Dream Castle, Lullaby Nursery, etc.) which is what I suspect happened to her body color.  I have a Starglow not quite as green as that and without the hair fading, but who is definitely off-shade.  Translucent as the Glow n' Shows are, it's not unreasonable to figure that a pony left exposed over the long term would bleach right into the roots.  It could also be chemical?  Regardless, she's quite an interesting find. :3
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Elisto on October 06, 2012, 01:03:30 PM
I'd guess it's faded because of how severely discolored the body is (even if there is variation in the exactly body color of this set, that difference is still very dramatic). Since it's translucent, I would expect the hair inside the plastic to fade along with the rest too, assuming it's sun that caused the fading. All the hair colors, at least all the pink/red ones, CAN fade eventually, even though it's not that common.

It is odd that the orange symbol hasn't also faded, so that makes me less certain; like others here said, it could be some kind of chemical bleaching, or a combination of chemical and sun.

One thing to check, do the stars still glow in the dark? I would expect them to no longer glow if the pony's been exposed to that much sun, although again, I'm not entirely sure.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: shelti on October 06, 2012, 01:08:05 PM
I have seen the Starglow body coloration in this deep green color before and do not believe it's from fading.
The Glow n Show ponies, Especially dazzleglow and starglow can have quite a range of body colors which would be caused from batch color variations at the factory
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: GoldenLambPony on October 06, 2012, 01:55:21 PM
If it was that badly sunfaded, I would think that her hair would be frizzy and fried, but it actually looks nice. So it doesn't seem sunfaded to me.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: hathorcat on October 06, 2012, 02:22:35 PM
If it was that badly sunfaded, I would think that her hair would be frizzy and fried, but it actually looks nice. So it doesn't seem sunfaded to me.

Hair doesnt necessarily frizz or fry - I have a couple of faded hair ponies and their hair is gorgeously silky.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: tulagirl on October 06, 2012, 02:51:48 PM
In looking at her I am going with variant for sure.  She is really neato.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Squirrelypaws on October 06, 2012, 04:38:54 PM
I'm not exactly knowledgeable about things like this, but I think I'd say she's a variant. If she was left in the sun long enough to completely fade the pink hair, doesn't it seem like the yellow hair would have faded too? At least a little? And the eyes/symbols too.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: DazzleKitty on October 06, 2012, 05:03:18 PM
I'm also leading towards variant. The hair looks too pure white to not be one.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: LadyMoondancer on October 06, 2012, 05:17:29 PM
Wow, that is amazing!   Well, her body could be discolored, I have seen ponies discolor that much.  The real mystery is her hair, because that color of pink usually doesn't fade at all, and certainly not to pure white.

On the other hand, I have never heard of there being a variant like that.  Unless the lady went to a yard sale in Rhode Island and happened upon a prototype some Hasbro employee was selling? 
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: LadySatine on October 06, 2012, 06:19:57 PM
I left mine outside like that and her body was that color, but her hair was still normal colored. Strange!

Edit: Ooo! You should put her in the sun!!! See if her hair changes color like the Sunshine ponies!!  :lol:
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: banditpony on October 06, 2012, 06:24:58 PM
I lean toward variant too-- if both ponies were purchased the same time. It seems too weird that the other one would be such a vibrant pink, and this is stark white.... if the both were with the same person.
So strange. :) Very pretty!
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Brightglowpony on October 06, 2012, 07:23:58 PM
I can't help, but she sure is cool!  :D
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: Elisto on October 06, 2012, 07:56:51 PM
I lean toward variant too-- if both ponies were purchased the same time. It seems too weird that the other one would be such a vibrant pink, and this is stark white.... if the both were with the same person.
So strange. :) Very pretty!
Well, if they were kept in different places or under different conditions, I could see that happening.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant?
Post by: ButtercreamDream on October 06, 2012, 10:34:45 PM
I don't know, but I'm in the variant/error camp.  I have never seen that shade of pink fade to completely white on any other pony ever.  You'd think if it was sun fading, it would have happened to at least one other pony.  Also, the symbol isn't faded at all.  I would think the symbol should have gone more yellow or white over time as well.  Neat find in any case!
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Rosette on October 07, 2012, 06:03:28 AM
I'd guess it's faded because of how severely discolored the body is (even if there is variation in the exactly body color of this set, that difference is still very dramatic). Since it's translucent, I would expect the hair inside the plastic to fade along with the rest too, assuming it's sun that caused the fading. All the hair colors, at least all the pink/red ones, CAN fade eventually, even though it's not that common.

It is odd that the orange symbol hasn't also faded, so that makes me less certain; like others here said, it could be some kind of chemical bleaching, or a combination of chemical and sun.

One thing to check, do the stars still glow in the dark? I would expect them to no longer glow if the pony's been exposed to that much sun, although again, I'm not entirely sure.

Thanks for weighing in!  On your advice, I tested both Starglows, the regular and the white-haired one and they both still glow in the dark--equally brightly.  I'm not one to cry wolf when it comes to variants--in twenty years of collecting I've never thought I had one but now?  I don't know--it seems this might be one.  I don't think I'll ever know for sure, though.

I put the white-haired Starglow side-by-side with a unquestionably white-haired Love Token and they appear to be a color match.  (I edited my post with photographs of that comparison.)  So, I'm leaning more towards variant but still not sure how to definitively rule that way without breaking the factory seal on her neck--which I'm loath to do.  :)
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Ivy on October 07, 2012, 06:47:06 AM
OMG! Want!!

Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Filthy on October 07, 2012, 06:59:11 AM
My memory might be playing tricks on me, but why do I have a feeling I've seen a MOC pic of this kind of variant on someone's ponysite? :what: The pic was very small and blurry, the pony didn't belong to the site owner. The site had pics of ponies MOC. (That was few years ago).
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Enolaalone on October 07, 2012, 06:59:49 AM
She's lovely! Like others I am kind of on the fence about what's caused the white hair, but either way it really suits her.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Kazzellin on October 07, 2012, 07:13:40 AM
I'm more inclined to cry "varient" than anything else. :huh:

She's very pretty, too. :lovey: Congrats on the find! ^__^
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Elisto on October 07, 2012, 07:17:32 AM
I'd guess it's faded because of how severely discolored the body is (even if there is variation in the exactly body color of this set, that difference is still very dramatic). Since it's translucent, I would expect the hair inside the plastic to fade along with the rest too, assuming it's sun that caused the fading. All the hair colors, at least all the pink/red ones, CAN fade eventually, even though it's not that common.

It is odd that the orange symbol hasn't also faded, so that makes me less certain; like others here said, it could be some kind of chemical bleaching, or a combination of chemical and sun.

One thing to check, do the stars still glow in the dark? I would expect them to no longer glow if the pony's been exposed to that much sun, although again, I'm not entirely sure.

Thanks for weighing in!  On your advice, I tested both Starglows, the regular and the white-haired one and they both still glow in the dark--equally brightly.  I'm not one to cry wolf when it comes to variants--in twenty years of collecting I've never thought I had one but now?  I don't know--it seems this might be one.  I don't think I'll ever know for sure, though.

I put the white-haired Starglow side-by-side with a unquestionably white-haired Love Token and they appear to be a color match.  (I edited my post with photographs of that comparison.)  So, I'm leaning more towards variant but still not sure how to definitively rule that way without breaking the factory seal on her neck--which I'm loath to do.  :)
Hmm, if they still glow fine, then I would say extreme sun probably isn't the cause, especially with the still-orange symbols (I was ignoring the yellow hair because I thought that was the last color to fade, although I might be wrong). And if people here are saying they've seen the body color before normally, then that might not mean anything.I'm also not sure opening her to look at the root color would help...like I said before, I would expect it to be white even if it was fading (sun or chemical).  Plus, are there any chemicals known to do something like this? I might change my vote to variant then.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: mlp4me on October 07, 2012, 07:32:58 AM
Peroxide will change hair color. For example, sugarberry's lovely reddish/pink hair turns to yellow. However in that process hair tends to dry it out.
(Who knows, this pony could have had some type of chemical perm done to her back in the day by a collector and this is what the result is after 20 some years...) Shampoo, conditioner, vinegar, rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover... You just never know what chemicals these lovely toys have been exposed to over the years.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: NoDivision on October 07, 2012, 07:41:35 AM
If she could be opened, the best place to check for original hair color would be inside the metal clip that holds the tail together - it wouldn't have been exposed to sunlight, and the hair in there is so packed together and protected that there's a chance if this was a chemical reaction some of that hair wouldn't have been reached.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Elisto on October 07, 2012, 07:43:40 AM
That's true, I guess the hair in the clamp would probably still be its original color.

(Who knows, this pony could have had some type of chemical perm done to her back in the day by a collector and this is what the result is after 20 some years...)
Except that this one was never owned by a collector. I mean, I guess the kids could have done something to style the hair, and that affected it now, and since it sounds like the original owner wanted two the same, it seems odd that she would have two that weren't the same...but I don't know. I still think it overall *looks* faded, but does anyone have other examples of faded hair to compare? (Not fading pink, but other colors?)
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: mlp4me on October 07, 2012, 07:51:19 AM
I agree Elisto, you never know until you crack them open. To me, just looks really discolored/faded. I spaced out the fact that this person wasn't a collector. But hey, you never know, non collectors do some wacky stuff to their ponies too.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: LadyMoondancer on October 07, 2012, 08:02:07 AM
I wonder if someone put the wrong color of hair in the machine in the factory and a few of these gals got out before anyone noticed it?  Happy Glow has white stripes in her mane . . .

I find it hard to believe the reason the hair is white is chemicals, because the color is so even and the hair looks undamaged.  And I've just never seen that shade of pink fade at all . . . (Even light pink, the fading shade, usually ends up more of an off-white than a pure white.)

We have a pony mystery on our hands!
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Goldilocks on October 07, 2012, 08:15:36 AM
I think it would be difficult to solve this mystery for sure without opening the pony. Anyway she is a lovely pony :heart:
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Oneleo1 on October 07, 2012, 08:42:23 AM
She looks like she has been left outside in the sun for a very very long time....her plastic looks very sun damaged.
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: LadySatine on October 07, 2012, 10:16:07 AM
Are you going to put her in the sun to see if her hair changes color too? I seriously think you should check that out. Who knows!
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: nhal039 on October 07, 2012, 12:51:18 PM
I think variant, she is awesome!
Title: Re: White-Haired Starglow Variant? More photos added!
Post by: Pythia on October 07, 2012, 04:54:31 PM
I'm going with variant. There's a biiig range in body colour for the glow n shows, so the different body colours aren't necessarily due to sun fading. And if you look in the pic of their roots, you can see THROUGH the plastic, and it looks pretty white there too.
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