Is it worth to fix Baby Surprise?

[Sweet_Stuff]

Hi ponies, I have a value / restoration question regarding a G1 Baby Surprise. .. I got her free at a garage sale when I was a young girl. She had tail rust; that's why no one wanted her.. I recently have applied a plain whitening toothpaste "paste" to eliminate the outer rust, and she cleaned up nicely. My question is, is she really worth to fix completely..? Should I spend the extra money and energy to do it, or should I just plan to get an upgrade? I know I could find another fairly easy if I looked hard enough.. Just wanted to get some thoughts. And if I do decide to get her fixed, does anyone know of any restoration folks in or around the state of Texas?!..thanks!

[Baby Sugarberry]

Is tail rust her only issue? If so, then it's a pretty simple fix you can do yourself.  The first set of baby ponies are usually very easy to pop the heads off of, the glue is minimal and old.  Do so, and then you can pull out her tail, discard the rusty washer, clean up the remaining rust; there's no way to properly get it all from the outside alone.  Let everything dry then reassemble using a ribbon to pull the tail back through.

Baby Surprise isn't particularly rare or expensive, but like all G1's there's a limited supply out there and it's worth a bit of work to preserve an otherwise nice condition pony.

[Elisto]

Yeah, if tail rust is the only problem, that shouldn't cost you any extra money to fix, and you can probably do it in the time it would take to look for a buy another one, but nothing says you have to put in the effort.

[Sweet_Stuff]

Thank you, ladies! Hmm.. yeah, I am kinda scared to do it myself, I know it's not too difficult.. It's just that with my luck, somehow I will end up making her look worse than she already is.. She's in good condition aside from the rust, considering her age. -sigh- I'm really thinking about paying someone to do it for me with new 'original' materials...But anyways, on the flip side, part of me really doesn't want to go through the effort.. I know that sounds horrible as a pony 'mom' and collector..I don't consider myself a restorer, and honestly I don't want to become one.. lol. Anyways, your comments are appreciated! I need to think some more on this.. 

[mlp4me]

I think you have some great advice! Honestly, if tail rust is the only issue take 10 mins and clean her out. She should dry within a few days to re-assemble. :o)

[Sweet_Stuff]

I think you have some great advice! Honestly, if tail rust is the only issue take 10 mins and clean her out. She should dry within a few days to re-assemble. :o)

Yeah, I don't know why I'm so scared!.. I think it's the popping the head off and on and rust.. If I don't find anyone to take on the project, maybe I'll get brave and do it.. poor pony..

[rosierjay]

it is an easy fix, but you can also sell her if you like and put that toward an upgrade too.
up to you.

[Sweet_Stuff]

it is an easy fix, but you can also sell her if you like and put that toward an upgrade too.
up to you.

That's true! Thank you 

[Katika]

I think you have some great advice! Honestly, if tail rust is the only issue take 10 mins and clean her out. She should dry within a few days to re-assemble. :o)

Yeah, I don't know why I'm so scared!.. I think it's the popping the head off and on and rust.. If I don't find anyone to take on the project, maybe I'll get brave and do it.. poor pony..

The way I look at it, if you're open to the idea of replacing her to begin with, use her as your "test pony" to get your feet wet and learn how to safely pull ponies apart Most of the time, it's not nearly as scary as it sounds/looks, and we *all* had to take that first leap of faith at some point in our collecting/restoring lives.  Yes, G1s are limited in quantity, but it'd be much better to learn this sort of thing on a relatively common pony than someone more rare.  A steady, gentle twist of the head ought to loosen the glue on a G1 (and if it doesn't, you can try "rocking" the head back and forth) and then you just sort of peel/pry it off.  I've never run into this problem with babies, but sometimes the plastic between the head and the plug/ring is thin and will try to tear when you're removing the head, but if you're careful, odds are good you'll be fine

[Sweet_Stuff]

I think you have some great advice! Honestly, if tail rust is the only issue take 10 mins and clean her out. She should dry within a few days to re-assemble. :o)

Yeah, I don't know why I'm so scared!.. I think it's the popping the head off and on and rust.. If I don't find anyone to take on the project, maybe I'll get brave and do it.. poor pony..

The way I look at it, if you're open to the idea of replacing her to begin with, use her as your "test pony" to get your feet wet and learn how to safely pull ponies apart Most of the time, it's not nearly as scary as it sounds/looks, and we *all* had to take that first leap of faith at some point in our collecting/restoring lives.  Yes, G1s are limited in quantity, but it'd be much better to learn this sort of thing on a relatively common pony than someone more rare.  A steady, gentle twist of the head ought to loosen the glue on a G1 (and if it doesn't, you can try "rocking" the head back and forth) and then you just sort of peel/pry it off.  I've never run into this problem with babies, but sometimes the plastic between the head and the plug/ring is thin and will try to tear when you're removing the head, but if you're careful, odds are good you'll be fine

Very good point! Hah, since I've posted this question, I've seen a lot of Surprise babies for sale..I'm not even trying to look! And it does make sense to practice on her since I got her for free.. There was a huge box of G1 ponies at that sale, I guess they felt sorry for me, or the pony...I remember it like yesterday. Thanks for your input. I think I'll be brave and attempt to fix her myself... I'll maybe post my adventure here..eek! 

[hathorcat]

I think the question is do you plan to sell her or keep her?

If the latter then I would put the effort in to making her lovely. If the latter then for the amount of effort that may be required you may be better to simply sell her on for a lesser price.

[Sweet_Stuff]

Thanks, Cat! I appreciate yours and everyone's comments..  I have decided to keep her. Since posting a question about finding a restorer, several folks have reached out to me...I found someone in the US who is willing help me and do this work (along with another project I have) free of charge . I know I will pay shipping costs, but I feel like the money will be well spent, especially since I will be keeping them.