I was going through my box of bait ponies and I found two especially rough-looking Twinkle-Eye ponies I'd like to attempt to restore. Gingerbread and Sweet Stuff.
The photos make Sweet Stuff look more washed out than she really is but Ginderbread really is that tan. Not sure how "off" her color is now compared to the original.  I've seen a variety of photos that make her look a little closer to what I have now and some that are lighter in color.

Both of them have these weird, brown spots on them. I'm not sure if it's mold or rust seeping into the plastic. Either way it's kind of unsettling.   

I know how to do basic scrubs and hair washes but I've never attempted anything this daunting before.  I know they probably need a deep cleaning inside as well as out but my first problem with that is they're completely solid. They barely have any give to them when I squeeze them. I can't even pull their heads off to get at their insides. I know their plastics can harden with age as I've got a couple more like this but they were never this dirty so a surface cleaning was enough to suffice for them.
Anyway, my first thought would be to boil them to try and soften the plastic but I'm also worried about ruining their eyes. I know Twinkle Eyes can be delicate. They are are already scuffed, which I can live with, but I'd hate to make them any worse.

I haven't attempted to try anything with them yet as I feel so stuck.

I've got two horse toys I need help identiflying. x-x Neither of them have any markings, dates, company names, or anything stamped or printed on them. If anyone has any ideas as to what they are it would be really helpful!

The first one is pretty wild and resembles a Dream Beauty. I only acquired this one recently:
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The second is a toy I've had since I was a child. It was given to me by a friend and don't know his story before that. He's a very light, hollow plastic, (mostly) flocked and his mane is made of fur.  Not gonna post a photo of the figure from that angle but it is a stallion.
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So I've got a bit of an issue.... Over the summer I got some G3s at a yard sale. I've finally gotten around to having a hardcore "spa day". These ponies were well-loved and they all have some marks on them, however, the I'm concerned about is a Pretty Patterns Royal Twist. Some of the paint has been smudged, scuffed off entirely around the edges of the hooves and she also has marks on top of her airbrushed details. I can live with missing paint for the time being but what concerns me are the marks on top of her painted details. I've tried a basic soap/water with a gentle scrub but these marks are the stubborn variety. It doesn't look like marker/pen or stains set in the plastic from accessories. It looks like it was transferred onto the pony from some other toy/item she was rubbed against or stored with.

Obviously I'm not going to try acetone and sunfading will just ruin the paint. I'm also worried that magic erasers will be too abrasive.  Is there really any safe way to get marks off of symbols, eyes, and other painted detail while keeping the original pain intact?

So I've recently acquired a few ponies that I have no idea how to clean safely and I'm too scared to attempt without advice.

The first is a G1 Happy Tails Toussels. The second is the large talking G4 Celestia and the last one is a bit of a sad  case as well as an unusual body type.

G3 Star Catcher. Not only does she have the fabric wings that make me nervous but one wing on mine falling off and the fabric is ripping at the base. ;~;  I haven't the slightest idea how I should repair it.

I was in Toys R' Us just the other day when I happened across these: visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I've been dying to get them since they came out but I've talked myself out of buying them numerous times.  Well I was in TRU just the other day saw them again and happened to glance at the price tag this time. To my surprise it was around $5. Immediately I thought "No way! That's just the wrong item in this spot." I scanned the item and the tag hadn't lied. To make this deal even sweeter all MLP items were 20% off! I finally got these gorgeous, Sparkly, Rainbow  Dash and Twilight fashion styles I convinced myself I didn't need for under $4.50! <3

Edit: I know they're really not all that special since they're just another version of the Main Six but I really adore glittery ponies and these will look nice along side my other Sparkle Ponies.

Let's say you've just gotten a pre-loved pony whether it was from Ebay, a yardsale or a thrift store. She looks pretty awesome for something used. The hair is tangled but that is not a problem. Other than some surface dirt she's perfect! What a score! You start to clean the pony's body and while scrubbing or wiping the pony down you encounter a stubborn spot. What you thought was dirt is actually some weird mark! She has a few now that you really give the pony a good once-over after cleaning off the initial surface dirt. You bust out the Magic Eraser and even carefully try acetone to remove those pesky spots but with no success. They aren't very noticeable and don't detract from the overall look of the pony but now that you know they are there it really bugs you.

Personally what do you guys do in situations like this? Do you resort to sunfading? Ignore them? Paint over them? Ditch her for that's actually mint? Make a bait out of her?

I've been hearing that magic erasers are pretty good for getting off layers of dirt on ponies but how harsh are they? Gentle enough to go over symbols and other paint or should I avoid using it on paint-heavy ponies? Also, what about glitter symbols? I know it's a bad idea to really scrub them in general but a pony in particular I'm worried about is a G1 Sweetheart Sister Twinkler. The one I've got is fairly dirty and a basic wipe down hasn't been enough to get rid of all of the dirt so I thought I'd try Magic Erasers before resorting to a good scrub. I'm afraid to try it because she is covered in glitter symbols.

Since there are threads for dinosaurs and modern animals I figured perhaps we could have a topic dedicated to any prehistoric species that's not a Dinosaur or any extant species. Dinos are cool and all but they certainly do hog the limelight. Thousands upon thousands of other animals are often forgotten about and are just as cool if not cooler than dinosaurs. Any old critter can be mentioned whether its before land animals appeared, if they lived along side those fancy pants bird-hipped lizards or came afterwards.


Some of my favorites are
Titanoboa:
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Not much to say about why I love Titanoboa. I'm a huge snake fanatic so Titanoboa is absolutely fascinating. Largest species of snake That's ever been discovered. Easily the length of a bus but it wasn't just lengthy, it was girthy, too. Some of titanoboa's smallest vertebrae dwarf even the Green Anaconda's and the longest Reticulated Python alive today would probably look like a baby compared to a full-grown Titanoboa.

Platybelodon. I love modern elephants but a lot of their prehistoric relatives were quite weird. Just look at 'em. What's not to love?
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I also adore Terror Birds, Titanis in particular. Call them chickens if you like but those "chickens" could kick some serious tail. Largest of the bunch was Titanis. Titanis was around 8 feet tall had huge heads, thick legs and teeny little wings, and a sharp, hooked beak most likely meant for taking down their prey.Funny-looking but they were killers none-the-less. >>;
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I could go on forever about which prehistoric animals I love but I think I'll let you guys post.