'...Or it goes in the bin' Princess Sparkle rescue project

[Dusky]

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**updated image*

This is one very, very sad Princess Sparkle (UK release). Her eBay listing stated that if she wasn't purchased she'd be going in the bin, so naturally I caved like the goof that I am. However, I have my own Princess Sparkle from when I was about 3yrs old (owned from new) so this is one pony who can happily tug on those heart strings.

Sparkle took ages to arrive, as well as being sent in a one-layer-of-plastic mailer (thanks, eBay dude!). She has the following issues:
-Glitter loss
-Chew damage
-Grime/playwear
-Head has turned to one side indicating someone tried to pull it off
-Rust AND battery leak goo on her internal contacts
-Missing saddle

But hilariously her hair and tinsel aren't actually that bad. I'm going to assume that she doesn't work and in her current state I'm not even going to try putting a battery in there. I want to restore her as best I can and see if I can jury-rug her up to shine again.

As a general note I'm noticing a lot of 'I HATE PONIES THESE ARE [implied homophobic slur] buy them or else!' on eBay listings, usually to the tune of 'These are so rubbish, I don't know their names so don't ask me' passive-aggression. All at once it makes me want to bid on the Ponies to give them a decent home (even if I gift them straight out to friends/kids whatever), but I don't want to give someone who comes across as that vile any of my money.

[lindsayrose1985]

Poor princess sparkle good luck in restoring her to her former glory. 

[Noepse]

That is one sad looking pony! Good luck in restoring her. 

I don't really buy much stuff on Ebay anymore so I wouldn't surprise me if a sudden trend like that would have started without me noticing, you're not alone though! I would buy all those poor ponies in a heart beat. ♥

[hathorcat]

Oh poor Princess Sparkle but yay you for rescuing her!

You could always turn her into something...some extra pink plastic/vinyl and she could be an awesome pen holder!

[himmie]

Aw, I saw that listing. I am glad you rescued her! I cannot wait to see what you do with her.

[reanna-mator]

:/ I haven't seen any listings like that yet! How nasty some people are. On the bright side, that looks like a really fun restore project. I'm actually a bit jealous that you get to do so much with her to fix her up! Have fun!

[Radha]

My hubby knows a safe and effective way to clean battery corrosion- I'll ask him about it tonight.  That way even if she doesn't work it can stop hurting the plastic.  Can't wait to see how she turns out

[ThriftyPony]

Oh poor Princess Sparkle but yay you for rescuing her!

You could always turn her into something...some extra pink plastic/vinyl and she could be an awesome pen holder!

Yeah, you can totally give her a new purpose.

[Prince Primbrose]

Good on you for rescuing her!

I'm glad I haven't been on ebay enough lately to notice that trend.  Some people are just nasty.

[Roseprincess1]

good luck on fixing this lil lady.. i dunno why people mistreated their ponies so badly when they were young.. never did  understand that..i played with mine but was never dilberately vile to them. some people. ugh

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Corroded battery compartment - baking soda and GLOVES!  Best of luck cleaning her up, she looks like a fun project!

[Dusky]

Thanks for the input! I'll be glad for any hints/tips on cleaning her up.

I always use gloves with rusty ponies, as tetanus is a risk and metal tail washers tend to be sharp when they break off. The current thinking is that I'll de-rust, de-acid and scrub what I can see before deciding if I want to try and fully remove her head. I have NO IDEA how that neck seam works!

hathorcat - A .. pen ... holder? That's bizarre, and intriguing, all at once!

himmie - is that the Sunburst I sold you in your avatar? He looks amazing!

[Sapphire-Light]

Good luck in restoring her 

Pure alchol also makes miracles for cleaning leaked batteries, I have tried that many times and it works.

About the cape, maybe you could sew a replacement cloth cape? like the ones from G1 fashion packs or you could buy an original of those capes. 

[Winter Bones]

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this is one pony who can happily tug on those heart strings.

Augh, indeed, poor pony. Definitely eager to see her all fixed up.

[BowtieG1]

I saw that eBay listing! I was so close to buying her but she just had too many flaws

For re-glittering her I would take her to a craft store, go to the glitter section and try and match the glitter as well as possible. Then I'd dab TINY thin layers of PVA onto the areas that need glitter ^^!

You could ask a member of the arena very nicely for their saddle to borrow? Then I'd use clay to make as close to exact a match as possible.

No idea about the chew damage. If there isn't any limbs that are gone I doubt you can do much.

I would try pushing the head back into its original place, though it could damage the electronics even further.

As other people said, pure alcohol for the battery contacts. Thats what I do when I get Tamagotchis with battery corrosion (which is more often than not. Because I always buy MIP and Bandai put the batteries INSIDE the tamagotchi in the 90s ._.)

Good luck!