Pony cancer?

[Shiromisa]

So, I've heard the word before, but what exactly is cancer? How do I identify it? Does it spread? Anything else I need to know?

[hathorcat]

A quick trawl through threads and I am sure you will come across some info - its an unfortunately popular topic with collectors. This thread has some images - http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,302216.msg292637.html#msg292637

To put it simply it is the plastic of the pony breaking down. It tends to show in one of two ways: 1) mid to dark central brown dot with a fainter circle fading out from the darker centre; 2) light to dark brown "bruises" which look as though they are under the surface of the plastic. Its hard to describe but hopefully that makes sense.

In order to be mouldable and maintain a soft flexibility, plastic has plasticisers added to it along with bromide based chemicals in order to make the plastic flame retardant. These additives in addition to others often mean the integrity of a plastic is not always designed to last forever. Remember that these ponies were designed to be of the moment products and never designed to be hard wearing or of longevity - therefore they were not created or treated in the same manner as products which are expected to have a long life.