First custom pony, looking for tips

[dippindot]

My friend's daughter is having her birthday party in week, and of course it's My Little Pony themed (she likes it almost as much as her mom and I do  )  She's turning 4, and she already has pretty much everything we can get around her that's MLP G4.

So I decided to make a custom pony for her using a big (styling size, g3ish) fakie pony that I found at the dollar store.  I plan to dye the pony from light blue to purple, and rehair her (she has thin, limp, terrible, pitiful hair, lol).

I don't think I want to use nylon hair.  Bella roughs up her ponies reaally good, so I was thinking maybe yarn or embroidery thread would hold up better?  If anyone knows of a tutorial for yarn or embroidery hair, please point me to it!

The row of holes in her head for hair is pretty short; doesn't extend up to her ears, so I need to poke a few more in there to make her look decent.  Is there a certain way to do that, or can I just make them with a needle?

Thanks!   

[Baby Sugarberry]

Ribbon might work well if you heat-fuse the ends - yarn and embroidery floss tend to unravel easily. New holes (or enlarging existing ones) can be done with a large gauge needle - just be careful if the holes are closely placed, because you can split the scalp if you overdo it, or try to force something too large into the original hole.  Also be really careful while poking new holes!  Safety glasses recommended.  If you are needing much larger holes, a hand held pin vice might be helpful (it's pretty much just a handle for a tiny drill bit.)


Just be aware that dye may not set completely for several months, depending on the plastic and type used.  Most customizers leave their dyed bait to settle for quite a bit longer than a week because of this. 

[AnnaPommes]

hmm, i am no expert, but what first came into my mind was the folowing:
maybe don´t dye it, the color tends to bleed out?
for a 4 year old, maybe use a real styling mlp, not a fakie?  maybe its just me, but all fakies i ever had, had poor quality plastic. so i wont use that, especially if she´s playing wild with her toys?
probably yarn hair would be good for not tangeling, but its a lot harder to brush, i guess?
 for additional holes, i use a bobby pin or these pins you poke into notice boards. they work great! ^^ do you rehair with the tool?

and after all:
i think its awesome you´ll make her a custom, especially such a big one. she will be super happy!!

[Baby Sugarberry]

Ah yes, push pins!  Push pins are great because you're far less likely to end up getting one in the eye while trying to make a new mane plug. >_o  I totally forgot about 'em.  Much safer than a needle.

[lunardolls]

I haven't worked with fakie plastic yet but I would think a push pin would be good for making new holes. If it becomes difficult maybe boil the pony to soften the plastic.

I am not sure about the yarn/floss hairing though, sorry. ):

[dippindot]

Push pins - Check!     That's easy enough, lol.

I didn't know that the dye would take that long to set.   

I can probably get away without dying her, if I can paint some nifty purple designs on her or something.  Bella loves purple and yellow. I thought the dye would work better since it wouldn't chip or rub off, but if it takes more than a week to set then it's really out of the question.

I've already got the fakie, and I kind of like her (she has a cute pose).  I really want to go ahead and use her for the custom, even though her plastic is a little thinner than an MLP.   

Hm... I think unraveled yarn/floss might look cool.  She doesn't do a lot of brushing anyways (which is why the ponies she has are all a tangled mess).  Does anyone have any pictures of unraveled yarn/floss hair?

[lunardolls]

You could always do a FBR as well (:

[dippindot]

  FBR intimidates me, lol.  How difficult is it?  I'm worried that the paint wouldn't stand up to Bella playing with it.

[lunardolls]

To be honest, I've only done one in my customizing career but it's really not too hard. If you get an airbrush it's actually easy and fun almost. Doing it by hand isn't difficult, you just have to throw aside your brushes and pick up some cosmetic sponges to apply the coats. Hairdryers can speed up the drying business immensely.
(:

[dippindot]

Ooh, cosmetic sponges.  I like that idea. 

She's kind of a pale blue right now (think Lily Blossom), so I could kind of dapple her with a darker purple using a sponge.  That way, even if she started losing paint, it wouldn't be horribly noticeable.

[lunardolls]

Oh, that would look gorgeous!

Well, I wish you the best of luck, and I know your friend's daughter will love it

[dippindot]

Thanks lunardolls!

Post Merge: May 09, 2012, 06:18:37 PM

Here's a few pics of my victim pony.

The holes she already has in her head are really small and close together. 
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Her tail is rooted too...
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Here she is next to some of my G4's for comparison.  Her neck is off, and I removed her eyes already (she was a bit terrifying...)

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I am going to get some yarn and try to do a perfume puff kind of thing, super fluffy.  Found a tutorial on here for that and I love how it looks, and it doesn't seem too difficult. 

I'm just not sure if it's possible to get a piece of yarn through those tiny holes... I could possibly poke two new rows on either side of these with more spacing and bigger holes.  The puffy yarn should hide the old holes.  I shall have to experiment.

I don't have any rooting tools.  Does anyone know how to make one?

[Ellis1342]

I do FBR on 99.9 of my customs so here are some ins and outs. If you use a high quality paint (avoid applebarrel like the plauge) It usually has enough flex to it to avoid squishy kids. Also it shouldn't flake rather than peel if its going to come off. For a child you may want to use a primer for plastic, though its likely that the pony will be sticky till you paint it. Its a warning though and may help the paint stick better.  Make sure the head is glued on tight. Ribbon will get tangled easily for a rough four year old. I would suggest super fuzzy or fluffy yarn and when your done glue the inside tight with mod podge, let it dry then glue again. When the pony is finished seal it with testor's dull coat two or three times. The stuff has held up to quite a bit of abuse from me.

When I do an FBR with make-up sponges I will put on a couple coats, seal it and then coat some more so I don't chip or peel off what I already did. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Post Merge: May 09, 2012, 06:30:22 PM

Also get a .5 mm mechanical pencil and tapestry needles. Cut the eye off at a 45 degree angle and put the needle up into the pencil. After its in there glue around the edge with super glue letting it drip down into the cracks.

[dippindot]

What do you use to cut the needle?

[rybett]

Paint, seal, paint?  Thanks!  Gonna try that.