Cloud Dreamer gets a long overdue restoration!

[reanna-mator]

So... a few years back I bought a "bait box" lot on eBay. Most of them were actually okay enough for me to consider them viable additions to my collection, but a few were rather hopeless. One was this Cloud Dreamer:

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The poor girl. Not only are there the issues you can clearly see, but she had some rust in her, and her head was broken off unevenly, so most of the plug was still glued to the body.

I didn't even wake up this morning with the intention of finally fixing her-- I'd instead thought about working on a custom, but once I got out my box of craft stuff and I remembered poor Cloud Dreamer, I got her out and went to work. The fact that I already had white Dollyhair helped!

The result isn't perfect. I'll admit that... I've only repainted symbols twice before and they were much simpler ones. But I can at least display her now, and the fact that I worked hard on her makes me love her despite her issues.

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All in all, I:
Retailed her
Cleaned her body
Fixed up her hair
Repainted her symbols
Glued her head back on

Tell me what you think, I'm open to constructive criticism. One issue was that the white paint of her large cloud came out a little uneven and despite my best efforts I had to struggle not to get it to run. Who knows how long it'll be before I have to restore a symbol, and I'd like to continue to improve.

[invaderhorizongreen]

She looks lovely, you did a great job. 

[mlp4me]

The cool thing is that there's color changing paint out there if you decide you want to make her work again.
Well done!

[reanna-mator]

The cool thing is that there's color changing paint out there if you decide you want to make her work again.
Well done!

Whoa, I didn't know that! Would you mind pointing me in the direction of where I might procure some?

[QueenStarglow]

She looks great! Her new symbol is so cute.

[northstar3184]

Beautiful work!

[Ionn]

Wow, good job! I tend to steer away from really pink ponies but she looks very nice!

I know from my own CM Breyers that getting large patches of white can be difficult. The paint has to be thin enough to brush out smoothly but thick enough to cover without a jillion coats. Did you cover the new symbols with a clear coat, or is the shine from removing the old symbol? I only see it in one pic, but it kinda distracts that half of her side is shiny. An just as an aside, what type of glue does one use to undecapitate a pony? Just in case I ever run in to that...

All in all, I thinks that's a restoration anyone would be proud to have!

[Beckie-Ann]

Wow! Nice job. MM symbols get so icky but I'm too afraid to attempt repairs!

[reanna-mator]

Wow, good job! I tend to steer away from really pink ponies but she looks very nice!

I know from my own CM Breyers that getting large patches of white can be difficult. The paint has to be thin enough to brush out smoothly but thick enough to cover without a jillion coats. Did you cover the new symbols with a clear coat, or is the shine from removing the old symbol? I only see it in one pic, but it kinda distracts that half of her side is shiny. An just as an aside, what type of glue does one use to undecapitate a pony? Just in case I ever run in to that...

All in all, I thinks that's a restoration anyone would be proud to have!

Aww, thank you!

I used a gloss over the top of it... just to make sure that I don't have to touch anything up later. It is a little conspicuous in person, depending on the angle you're viewing it at... as for the glue, I used a relatively weak glue, just in case I need to open her up sometime in the future. It holds her head on, but I could pull it back off fairly easily if needed.

[mlp_loving]

She looks so much better now! I think you did a great job with her. (:

[mlp4me]

The cool thing is that there's color changing paint out there if you decide you want to make her work again.
Well done!

Whoa, I didn't know that! Would you mind pointing me in the direction of where I might procure some?

Thermochromic paint, I found out about it by asking JPP few years back. I never did end up trying to find the stuff because I upgraded the magic message pony I was going to try it on.

[Mirnyj]

She looks lovely. Well done

[Sapphire-Light]

Looks mush better now!  the  rehair looks factory made and the castle looks smooth

My Cloud Dreamer has nice symbol and hair however she has a faded body    her symbols are frozen  in the "revealed" state, but she has a dragon instead of a castle in  her NDS ,   did your  Cloud Dreamer had symbol left in the NDS?

[hathorcat]

Oh thats such a cool idea to paint her symbol back on that way! She looks great - brilliant work.

[reanna-mator]

Looks mush better now!  the  rehair looks factory made and the castle looks smooth

My Cloud Dreamer has nice symbol and hair however she has a faded body    her symbols are frozen  in the "revealed" state, but she has a dragon instead of a castle in  her NDS ,   did your  Cloud Dreamer had symbol left in the NDS?

:O You're right! I assumed both sides would have the same symbol... perhaps I'll have to change her NDS to be accurate. Shouldn't be hard. Thanks so much for pointing it out!