Vintage my little pony problems?

[DemureGirl]

Hi there

I am a new collector and was wondering what kind of ailments can ponies suffer from? I have read up of the common ones such as age spots and pindot mold (etc) but what else can ponies get? And do common problems, come in different varieties?

Just trying to learn a bit more not to open up a pony and find something unexpected, lol

[Starbright]

Practically *anything* in my experience! Surface dirt, tail rust, regrind discoloration of the plastic itself, "pony cancer," bites from kids or animals chewing on a leg or ear, dirt from being buried in a yard, I think I recall one awful story about spiders. Yikes!

Body fading, faded hair, yellowing on flocked ponies, loss of flocking on flocked ponies, yellowing of white ponies, symbol loss, symbol rust, eye scratches, symbol rubs or scratches, and I know there are more specific to the kind of pony. Some twinkle eyes get rock hard. Some lose the paint on their eyes. Light pink hair fades to white. Flutters lose their wings most of the time. Then there's hair trims, ink marks and highlighter or discoloration from something rubbing on the body.

Unfortunately the 80s generation has aged better than our ponies have.

[Lady.Arachnia]

I think Starbright has said them all! But a lot of things can be resolved, not all but many....

[hathorcat]

Unfortunately the 80s generation has aged better than our ponies have.

Lol! This is perhaps one of the truest comments I have ever seen....

And I would agree with the "be prepared" mantra on this...the state I have seen both bait and recovered ponies in on here is wild - mould, rust, marks, cancer, bites/gouges, hair trims/removal, fading, stains, regrind and general yuckiness...

Good luck - trust me the outcome of making a less than perfect pony almost perfect is worth it!

[DemureGirl]

Thanks for the answers everyone!
So far I have encountered pindot mold, tail rust and completely black insides (all on ONE now very happy Applejack in one case!)

I did buy a sparkler recently with a small amount of white stuff inside her and it freaked me out so much I haven't been near her since, lol.

[reanna-mator]

Thanks for the answers everyone!
So far I have encountered pindot mold, tail rust and completely black insides (all on ONE now very happy Applejack in one case!)

I did buy a sparkler recently with a small amount of white stuff inside her and it freaked me out so much I haven't been near her since, lol.

It's a great feeling to clean up a beat up, dirty pony. It's almost like she's smiling at you when you behold your "new," clean pony! If you're a bit squeamish about whatever's troubling Sparkler, I'd suggest running some VERY hot water and mixing in some strong soap, like Dawn dish soap. Let it soak for a while, and perhaps even give her a second soak, giving her body a good shake for good measure. Though I can't be sure what the white stuff is... Once you freshen her up a bit, I'm sure it'll be easy to tackle the process of getting Sparkler all sparkly.

[kittybethy]

I think most of the problems have been covered.  Good luck cleaning them up!

[Gingerbread]

Best of luck! And please post before and after pics, we loves those!

[LilSpark]

I never realized how many problems we really have to deal with...

[Starbright]

Heh, I didn't even mention hair frizziness or mold in sea ponies. The list goes on and on. It worries me a little that G1s deteriorate so badly sometimes. Will they hold up another 30 years? I hope the G3s won't have the same problems!

[toralei]

Heh, I didn't even mention hair frizziness or mold in sea ponies. The list goes on and on. It worries me a little that G1s deteriorate so badly sometimes. Will they hold up another 30 years? I hope the G3s won't have the same problems!

One thing to keep in mind is that these ponies were played with (many of them roughly) back in the day, and now they are being taken care of and put on a shelf away from "treacherous" conditions