omg i love that you warned that it was graphic, seriously! it really upsets me when people post things like that without a warning; ponies have feelings, people!! Getting back on track, this looks amazing and you did such a stunning job! Posey is very lucky to have you! She looks great and this really inspires me to get the courage to do this to a few of my ponies!

Oh bless you, that's adorable.  I think she liked it.  It can't have been nice having all that crusty stuff inside and all that rust clogging up her tail.  I was gentle with her, too.

You should give it a go, it was therapeutic!

** photos transferred to imgur and now working with no weirdos following me. yay **

Hi everyone,

Warning this post includes graphic images of a decapitated G1 pony and her decaying innards, which some may find distressing.

I had ponies as a child in the 80s but just started collecting a few weeks ago. Thanks all who have made me so welcome. One of my favourites is Posey but she came to me in a very neglected state, poor girl and it looks as if she may have had some baths or swimming adventures in her career.  She has a serious case of tail rust and was very grubby looking (much worse than appears in the photo), with suspiciously opaque feet and some random blobs of red nail varnish on her face.  Her mane was nice and silky (although forelock a bit wild) but her tail was completely tangled and dry.

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Her head popped off easily -- but, YUCK!!! Full of disgustingness which scattered everywhere (didn't get a photo of that bit), most of it had already fallen out when I took these photos which do not capture the full horror. Don't click on spoiler if eating your lunch:


I managed to ease out her tail from the inside, thick as it was with rust.

Then, using a baby toothbrush and a mild organic lavender body wash I scrubbed out as much mould and rust as I could.  Cotton buds and pipe cleaners weren't long or strong enough to really clean the inner hooves though. I did what I could with my fingers and nails and by cruelly straightening her bent legs.  I guess I should look for a very small bottle brush for future deep cleans.

I don't know how safe nail varnish remover is on pony skin?  So don't shoot me. But I risked it
with a tiny amount of acetone-free forumlation and gently lifted off the two splodges of red nail varnish, quickly rinsing off afterwards.

I was only partially successful with the tail, using several applications of whitening toothpaste and working it in well with my fingers. Some of the remaining colour is actually traces of the original pale pink though. 

I detangled the tail using a gentle detangling brush and mild conditioner. I was pleased by how well the tangles came out but will need to give a deeper condition using something stronger (Pantene? I see is used by some?).

I soaked the tail washer in vinegar overnight and scrubbed off the rust with aluminium tin foil, then when dry I gave it a couple of coats of clear varnish to prevent further corrosion.

Here she is drying on my windowsill.

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I was very paranoid about any water being left inside so dried her inside down to the hooves with clean dry pipe cleaners and left her in the breeze from the open window.

Here she is, clean and dry before re-assembly:

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Close up of the tail with the cleaned and varnished washer:

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The tail is still quite dried out and frizzy at the ends so will need further work.

Here's her lovely clean face:

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Hooves gleaming, tail swishing:

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I love her so much!!! Does anyone else find that cleaning and caring for their ponies makes them bond with them? She wasn't my favourite of the herd before, but she definitely is now. 

Am I crazy that I actually think she looks a little bit happier and is carrying herself just a little more proudly?

I have never seen her before but I like her a lot. I like the Posey pose, I think it looks free and dynamic, I love yellow ponies (despite that yellow is meant to be the worst colour for leaching chemicals in vintage plastics/vinyls), I love rainbow ponies and that symbol is one of the cutest I've ever seen. However I imagine she'd be well out of my price range if I ever came across her.
I know what you mean about her body being the same as Posey's, that does slightly take the edge off.

I love all ponies with tinsel or glitter. You have a sparkly pony? Im going to love it!

I also love so softs. I remember when I started collecting I thought they looked kinda.. Well, not my thing. But once I got one in a lot, I instantly fell in love. SS ponies with good flocking are so adorable!

I dont really care about baby ponies. They're ok, I will keep them if they come in a lot, but I would probably never buy them. Unless we are talking about jewellery babies.. 

I am completely new to collecting and to the forum so not sure I have the right to comment, but....

I don't really like baby ponies either.  I think partly it's because in my head the "adult" ponies are really just older children, so I can't conceptualise them as "mummy ponies" having to look after babies.  I also think the "adults" are just way cuter than the babies, it's as though the baby ponies are trying too hard to be cute or something. Edited to add: oh yeah, I also just thought of another thing which is that they are nothing like actual baby ponies i.e. foals who have long wobbley legs and are the opposite of the dumpy MLP babies who look more like piglets than ponies.

I also don't like sea ponies. At all.  To me they look like they are deformed.  I am amazed at the prices they can command.

However, not particularly unpopular but contentious I guess: I adore the G1 Collector's Pose and I was very surprised to see the number of people on here who don't like it. I think it's adorable!  This is probably helped a lot by nostalgia as I am old enough to remember the first 6 ponies coming out in the UK in collector's pose.

Interesting thread!

Hi everyone, thanks for the lovely welcome 

Hi Sander, great to meet you and it's very interesting to hear about your interests. I'm very new to collecting MLP but I'm so happy to find others who get comfort and pleasure from pastel ponies! I haven't heard of your favourites but will google them now. I can't pin down one favourite but I love the early earth ponies like Bow Tie, Snuzzles and Parasol . Also Midnight Sparkle from G4.
Sorry to hear you sometimes feel anxious, having a relaxing interest is a great distraction.
Flicka x