Restored or flaws?

[NigheanRuadh]

I'm just curious:  Would you rather have an original pony with flaws (e.g. rubbed glitter symbols, missing some hair, maybe a mark or two) or a restored one?

I'm not a hard-core, must-have-mint-condition collector, so I don't mind a few imperfections.  And I'm currently enjoying re-glittering some of my childhood friends who have lost some of their shine.  I'm loving how bright they are again. 

How do you see it, though?  Is it better to have "unretouched" Ponies, in your opinion?

[lunar_scythe]

For me, it all depends on the pony. I like looking at most of my G1s and being able to tell how loved they were; it helps remind me no matter how hard to find they are, they were made to be *toys*.  It's strange, I tend to like the more common ponies in better condition?  But the rare or non-US ones I'm completely happy with hair cuts, pen marks, and so on...

[Leopard_Print_Unicorn]

It depends on the flaw, and it depends on the pony. I have done a lot of restoration to really common ponies because there's not a lot of value loss one way or another altering a pony that is in bad condition. I have deflocked almost an entire set of So Soft's, but most of them had mangy flocking to begin with. I have rehaired an entire set of Sunshine ponies, except Beachball, because the color changing hair gets very, very frizzy over the years and can't be flat ironed or it will melt. I could have probably held out and spent more and found the ponies in better condition, but I would have paid a lot more.

Ultimately, I collect because I enjoy ponies and I'm not really a seller. I would rather repaint an eye than have a pony with her eye completely rubbed off. I know that restoring a rare or Nirvana pony may change her value, but I'd rather have one that looks like this
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


than almost completely bald and covered in marks like she was when I got her. I paid ~$30 for the pony plus a bit for the rehairing supplies, and this girl was going for $80-100 in good or very good condition at the time so I still came out ahead since I don't mind that she's not original.

This girl, on the other hand, is a little more rare and her haircut is not nearly as severe, so I'm leaving well enough alone.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I've also bought some rehairs knowing they were rehairs and I'm perfectly happy with them, and got a discount compared to what they would have cost me if they were in original condition. I absolutely would not even do minor alterations or restorations to a very rare, high dollar pony like a South African or Piggy, but then again I'm not really in the market for that level of pony anyway.

There are some flaws that I just won't try to fix, like bite marks and structural damage to the body of the pony, so I avoid those ponies when buying. Others, like minor symbol rubs or some glitter loss, don't bother me much at all so I display them as they are. Some like "cancer" and regrind are unavoidable in plastic that is 30+ years old, so I just try to find ones that aren't too badly affected.

[Sky_Rocket]

Flaws.  Give me flaws!  Unless I can't tell at all that any restoration has occurred.

I've seen a fair number of restoration jobs that are borderline custom jobs, so I'd rather have the flaws

[Elisto]

Depends. I generally don't want to buy touched-up ponies because I can do it myself, and if I can't do it myself, I usually prefer the flaws. Although the only thing I'll repair fairly consistently is eye scuffs (or symbol wear/scuff on cheap ponies). I used to have black acrylic that was perfect for the ones with black eye-lines, and you really couldn't tell.

[Baby Sugarberry]

I only like restorations that are near indistinguishable from original.  Rehairs in the correct color, thickness, and length, for example.  Most repaints, particularly symbols, make me cringe because they almost always look terrible.  Glitter in particular, that awful chunky craft store stuff just doesn't look right.

[Featherwurm]

For my personal collection I don't mind restorations at all.  I do prefer to do them myself, but that's just me.  I love rehabbing ponies/toys but beyond good and careful cleaning I'm not inclined to do much more for sale knowing that buyers have a variety of preferences.

[pickwick_pirate]

I wouldn't purposefully buy a restored pony, mainly because I could do it myself. And I don't mind a bit of hair frizz or symbol or eye rubbig ... Or in some cases a nibbled ear. Because they are toys, as long as I can make them look pretty again.

Then of course sometimes I can only afford to buy a battered pony, especially Nirvana's. My Greek Blossom has a few pen marks, no tail and a Mohawk. I replaced her tail with a matching spare tail bit I've left her mane because I kind of like her well used look

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[hathorcat]

I much prefer original over restored but I am a fussy collector so unless the issues were minor I would simply hold out for minty

However, I do agree that a lot of it comes down to the pony and what the issues actually are.

[Artemesia's Garden]

I don't mind restorations if I can't tell. If I can tell and it wasn't specified in the sale then I send back. There seems to be lots of ponies repinked with the wrong shade on eBay which isn't great imo. If I restore something it's because I'm keeping the object in my own collection but if I do end up selling I will tell the buyer. I have sold very few ponies that I've restored aiming for original condition because I usually keep them for a while before doing any work and only do it if I'm sure I want to keep them. I've sold a few deflocks and alt rehairs though which I call customs.

[Wardah]

Tbh if I were to choose between a restore and a custom I'll go for the custom. As for noticable flaws I'll get them if I can do something about them. I'll try to leave well enough alone so if it has intact hair but the cutie mark has been destroyed I'll just give it a new cutie mark or if everything about the body is fine but the hair is chopped off it gets new hair in new colors. Things like that. The way I see it if it isn't factory what difference does it make if it matches the original design or not?

[Aerora]

I'd prefer a restoration, as long as it wasn't incredibly sloppy, I think! I don't mind most flaws at all, but a nice-looking pony is a nice-looking pony to me, whether or not all of its paint is original.

[Leave a Whisper]

Both. I'm happy with restorations if the pony was seriously manky like,missing body parts, missing manes, pvc breakdown, mold and I'm okay with some flaws like regrind, pen marks and missing tails.

People put love and effort into restores,which is way better then people demanding outrageous amounts of cash for something that looks like it just crawled out of the city dump. I've seen some seriously scary ponies that people were asking an awful lot for and they couldn't even be bothered to clean and brush them.

[Eskara1862]

It is super rare that I'll buy a restoration because I love to do them myself so much! My restoration and customization skills are actually what got me the job I have now (Visual Display Specialist at American Girl). I actually brought in a portfolio of my previous restoration work to the interview.

I agree with what some people have said about rather buying a custom than a restoration; however, sometimes, a pony is so loved by a person that they'd rather have it restored fully, even if it is mostly a custom at that point. I was given a super grungy Baby Ember at the Pony Fair to restore. It had been the owner's favorite pony since she was two and went everywhere with her in her purse.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

(More Photos)

Ooh, PonyRN, you can fix color changing hair! I've done it numerous times and it still changes It took some trial and error, but I can now do it reliably.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

(More Photos)

I sell a lot of ponies on my website as well as my services as a restorationist. I'd be embarrassed to sell a pony that looked anything less than perfect.

[SkyCakes]

I have some ponies with flaws I dont mind or I may find charming and even some with age spots but as long as its in a NDS or someplace not noticeable. I have one pony shes got a pen mark on one cheek. I got cuteasaurus with some black marker on NDS.  Though at least I have them and some maybe place card holders until something else better comes along.