squished ponies?

[CrimsonEtClover]

Ugghh, I just wasted way too much money on a box of filthy common ponies - but worse than that, many are squished?! Totally misshapen. Especially Dancing Butterflies, who was the pony who tipped the scales toward buying. The ones that arent squished have awful black smears, like they were run over.

So, is there any way on earth to make these ponies the correct shape again? This is so sad!

[Alatariel-Silimaure]

sometimes filling the ponies with boiling water to soften them and then while they're drying stuff them with paper towels or tinfoil can help to keep the shape while they dry.


How bad are they? I'm always looking for ponies in horrible condition to either customize or restore too. I've got a pony that got partially squished I'm going to try reshaping her tomorrow, so we'll see how well it goes :3

[egyptiondragon]

oh thats horrible  i hope the person didn't squash them on purpose

[ShannonInPonyland]

Did you see pictures of them before you bought them? Did they looked squished then? If not then I would complain to whoever you bought them from...

[Dragonflitter]

I just recently found one of my childhood ponies in the bottom of a box and she looks like someone ran over her. >.< Too much stuff piled up on top of her. Poor Up Up And Away! I set her on her hooves in the open air (which has been pretty warm lately) and she's been kinda ballooning back into shape...

[CrimsonEtClover]

haha! I never thought of that - I sure hope they weren't squished on purpose either!

Alatariel - thanks, I'll try that. I hope I can fix the ones I really like! Dancing Butterflies already has sort of an awkward pose - now, much more so! I'll have to really spend some time with them to determine how bad they are - so far, none have bites, cuts, or anything like that - but lots of black smears

Shannon, I did see pictures, but they totally did NOT look squished, and I realize now they were all strategically placed so that the yucky flaws didn't show. I'm kind of wondering if they were smashed during shipping?

[Alatariel-Silimaure]

acetone would take care of the black smears, but it will take off the symbols and eyes too so don't use it near those areas... if it is on the symbols try rubbing alcohol that won't take off the symbols.


if there are any you can't fix, i might be willing to buy them off you so you could at least get some of that money back n.n

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Could you pop the heads off as many as you can, and re-inflate them with the power of your lungs, maybe?

[hathorcat]

Warm air or warm water is your best bet...depending on which part is the most squooshed! The best success I have had is warm water...I had a particularly squashed Love Melody...after removing her head I let her body soak in warm water for an hour or so each day for a week then I stuffed her with cotton wool and pushed a foam hair curler between her left side and right side legs and left her standing in for about a month...removed the wool, the curler, popped her head back on and voilà fixed pony! I also had to do the soak and stuffing with a Baby Backstrokes head...this didnt work out as well as she now looks as though she has permanent toothache! So I would just warn to not "over stuff" lol

[CrimsonEtClover]

haha, Zelda! the thought occurred to me! I hope that it ends up being that easy!

Dragon, that's good, she's coming back into her shape - I'd love an update from you sometime!

Alatariel, I know that I don't want two of them for sure - both collectors pose, though! But I'll definitely let you know! <3

Hathorcat, this is probably a stupid question, but did you take Love Melody's tail out, so it wouldn't rust? And what is something to use as stuffing? real stuffing, or crumpled newspaper...? I know that the old Dam trolls are stuffed with sawdust! It feels icky to squeeze them, but I bet that was for keeping their shape... hmmm...

thanks a lot for your input, guys<3  I have hope for my poor squished girls, now! I have one more question: should I mention this to the seller? I would have been okay with this lot if they weren't so gross, but as it is, I feel like I wasted at least 25$ (out of the 55$ I spent!) The lot was described as "in good used condition" but absolutely no mention of squishedness (which I can see a non-collector overlooking) and no mention of VERY DIRTY PONIES (which even a non-collector should have seen. They are so dirty, you get dirt/ink on your hands by handling them!)

Also, the description said "seaponys" not "a  seapony", like it did with "a bird" and "a giraffe"... I didn't see two in the photos, but its kinda lame she listed those as plural, when there is only one... Am I nitpicking?

[michelle53]

That is terrible!  Those poor little ponies
Do the black smears rub off with your nail?  I like to use Oxy-Clean and a magic eraser to remove yucky spots. 
I'm so sorry that the lot of ponies didn't turn out as nice as you had hoped:(  I bet with a little love (and hot water!!) you'll be able to make them look just heavenly!   

[hathorcat]

Hathorcat, this is probably a stupid question, but did you take Love Melody's tail out, so it wouldn't rust? And what is something to use as stuffing? real stuffing, or crumpled newspaper...? I know that the old Dam trolls are stuffed with sawdust! It feels icky to squeeze them, but I bet that was for keeping their shape... hmmm...

Yes I did take her tail out...a tail-less, headless pony! And I used a poly cotton wool type stuffing - you can pack it down tightly and yet its easy enough to remove again with long tweasers...and worse comes to worse and you cant get every single bit that you packed into the pony out its gentle and its not going to cause any damage or leave a scent or mark on the inside of the pony. Its the same stuff a lot of plush and soft toys are filled with [like this http://www.worldofwool.co.uk/products/68/fibre_fill_and_wadding/carded_polyester_fibre_fill.htm]

[CrimsonEtClover]

Okay, just an update... my dear friend came over (he is my personal pony and doll stylist - he fixed up my Totsy and several Fairytails for me so far, a total glamour transformation!) and after a long, difficult beheading, he boiled Dancing Butterflies for me - and she's beautiful! He also fixed a few of the unicorns that were squished<3

Now I just have to be careful that when I struggle to put her head back in, I won't squish her all over again!!!

Thank you all for your advise!<3

[mlpfan]

i am glad they got fixed, i would contact the seller and probable leave bad feedback , I always store mine standing up, because the plastic is thin and it takes very little force to smash them, and if they stay smashed for a long time they want to stay that way!

[Lavender_Lace]

I'm glad you got your Dancing Butterflies to pop back into shape!  I just wanted to add that if you do plan on boiling any more of them, always remove the head.  I had a Fizzy completely deflate and get stuck that way because I boiled her trying to soften up her legs so I could get her to stand up again.  For ponies that aren't too badly squished or just need their legs spaced back out, you can also try leaving them in a hot car for a few hours and then putting things between their legs or whatever is needed and then letting them cool.  (careful about direct sun though!)

edit: The hot car trick also works when trying to get their heads off!