PQOTD #14 12/31/16 What is your opinion on customizing g1's?

[Artemesia's Garden]

Testor's as recommended on the MLP preservation project!

[gabumon]

I think I have the same opinion as most here. Unless the pony is truly bait and in no way restorable, then it's ok to customise.

I generally agree with this too.
We crowd-sourced a Bait Guide in the wiki a few years ago:
http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Bait

there's a link to it in my signature.

[Vettefromm]

Thanks!

Testor's as recommended on the MLP preservation project!

[Carrehz]

If it's unrestorable and isn't, like, a Mimic or something, I don't see the problem with customizing

[Jorgito93]

I'm like most of you here, custom should only be done if the pony can't be saved.I'm against customzing common ponies that are not in a bad condition too, because if everyone is doing it they will not be common for long.

[Artemesia's Garden]

I think I have the same opinion as most here. Unless the pony is truly bait and in no way restorable, then it's ok to customise.

I generally agree with this too.
We crowd-sourced a Bait Guide in the wiki a few years ago:
http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Bait

there's a link to it in my signature.

Useful page. I never knew Twist's stripe was fading pink bc I've never had one in hand.  Does anybody know, is Whizzer not in the head/body mismatch section because it's caused by regrind? She always seems to have it so I didn't collect her, but I just got one for Christmas.

[pinkkittywinks]

I made that Starshine! I don't take before pictures unless I'm doing a restoration.

Love pkw xxx

Oh I didn't know that it was yours  . Yeah, I found it on the Internet and thought that it was so pretty that I wanted it on my PQOTD!

thank you, I'm glad you like her.

This Starshine is kind of a restoration/rehair she has quite a lot of marks, I was able to sunfade some, but not all of them. She had a bad hair cut and her symbols were rubbed to almost nothing. I cleaned her, sunfaded her, repainted her symbols and rehaired her with nylon that I dip dyed

I'm not a fan of baiting ponies that are not bait. If I have a "boarder line" pony, I'd sooner clean her/him up and rehome her than bait her/him.

Love pkw xxx

Love pkw xxx

[Shabi]

To be fair I don't like the idea of customizing a pony that's not an ugly fakie. Be it super rare or common pony. I'm fascinated by the idea of restoration and I'm in the process of restoring some regular G4 ponies at the moment. Twilight Sparkle may be common, but the unicorn one with bangs is kind of rare and if I didn't have one already I would kill for one. So if I'd ever see G4 ponies with bangs being customized I'd be a sad pony But to each their own I guess. People are free to do whatever they want with the stuff they bought. I've seen videos of ponies being burned or crushed in a meat grinder. And while I think destroying any useful thing is disgusting I can't stop them. I just tend to ignore things I don't like.

[FarDreamer]

As long as the are common and baity, then I don't see an issue with it.  If folks want to see more of them restored, then they'll have to be willing to buy restores, or buy baits to fix up themselves.  Also, people really need to stop telling other collectors that they've "ruined" their pony when someone tries a restore.

I used to avoid doing any customs from real Hasbro ponies, but I figure my baity ponies are probably being bought by customizers anyway, so I've been dabbling in it here and there.

Post Merge: January 01, 2017, 08:02:11 PM

Testor's as recommended on the MLP preservation project!

Too funny!  I literally just learned about that product from a customizer and only added the info to the site recently.  It's been working really well for me.  I'm probably paranoid, but I paint on two coats of paint, each very thin and making sure the first coat is dry, spray with mod podge, then paint on two more coats and seal it with the testors.  I'm just paranoid about the paint peeling off.  I bought the AirBrainz airbrush last week and am pretty happy with it so far.  I water down craft acrylic for paint.  It's hard to get the mix right so that it doesn't constantly clog the opening, but I've done two bod repaints with it and so far so good.  https://www.amazon.com/Testors-AirBrainz-Airbrush-Turquoise-Lime/dp/B01CUSCRO6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483329708&sr=8-1&keywords=airbrainz

[Shy Violet]

I have mixed feelings about customizing G1's. In general I don't like the idea because they are a finite resource and even the common ones can become uncommon if too many are customized. I like the idea of restorations more but the problem is not many people are looking to buy restores. So then it becomes a matter of if it's worth my time and the cost of supplies to restore a pony that no one will want?

For example the only 2 G1's I've customized in the last 20 years are a baby Surprise and a baby Glory. Baby Glory was in decent shape but had all her hair chopped off. I already have 2 other baby Glory's in my collection so I decided to customize her into a baby Majesty which I adore and she now has a special place in my collection. Baby Surprise was in much worse shape and probably considered more bait by most standards. She had almost no symbols, eyes were rubbed off, hair was cut, highlighter marks on her body and she has 3 chunks out of one wing. No one is going to want this pony except another customizer. I have several baby Surprises already so no point restoring her for myself so I made her into Baby Paradise and she is so so beautiful even with her highlighter marks and chunks missing. Both babies got a new life and will be staying in my collection.

Sorry for such a long winded post but I guess my point is that it's really a case by case decision. Unfortunately there isn't much of a market for restores but a well done custom would have some value whether it's for selling or for having a place in my collection that would otherwise have been taken already by the original pony. Badly done customs upset me a bit. :/

[Shaz]

I made that Starshine! I don't take before pictures unless I'm doing a restoration.

Love pkw xxx

I thought that was yours! I'm the person who bought her


With regards to the question, I think I agree with the 'don't customise unless it's really bait' mentality. On the whole, I like to restore rather than customise - but then certain types of restoration practically are customisation, and I do really like alternate rehairs. I think you just have to decide on a pony-by-pony basis. Every pony deserves a new lease of life, whether that means being restored or being customised.

[Taffeta]

I don't customize ponies myself but I don't mind someone using a G1 bait if it's truly a bait pony. That being said I don't think ponies with minor flaws should be baited. 

Ponyfan

This basically sums up my position on this. I don't mind people customising ponies that are wrecked. Sometimes it's the only way you can save that pony, and I consider heavy restoration, such as rerooting and repainting and such to be customising of a different kind.

I don't believe in alt-rehairing ponies unless they are in a really sorry state hairwise. I'd like to think nobody takes a decent condition (if common) G1 and riips out the hair just to make money from rooting different colours in the mane and tail - but who knows.

I think baiting G4 is fine as they are in the stores, unless it's one that people are struggling to get hold of in other places (ie Holly Dash was a good example of this). I think baiting G3 - same rules apply as to G1, because they might be plentiful and cheap now, but that won't necessarily always be the case. G1 was a lot more plentiful and cheap in the past. Because of that, a lot of good condition ponies were baited. Some of those ponies are now much harder to find...so the rules have changed.

So yeah. Bait ponies are fine. Other ponies, in my opinion, not, unless they are still on sale in stores and thus still being produced.

[glitterball]

For me, if a G1 pony has their hair drastically cut, or is in a terribly frizzy state, then I feel a re-root is justified, as that poor pony can't look any worse!

Whether it is the original hair colour-way or a new one I think depends on the owner of that pony, each to their own!

Buying good-condition G1 ponies and then totally re-doing them, I reckon, is a bit of a shame in that there are limited numbers of G1 ponies;  however, in the hands of a skilled artist, some amazing re-inventions can happen!

I guess what I am trying to say is practise on common G4s or fakies until you are confident that the pony won't be ruined, use the best quality hair and acrylic paints that you can afford, practise your re-root techniques and plug-sizing, take your time and make a masterpiece!

I obtained a well-loved G1 pony recently, her hair was cut, her symbols were 70% worn away and too complex to re-paint. I thought hard, hard, hard and decided to acetate her faded symbols away, give her an oxy-bath (dirty inside) and carefully pull out what remained of her straggly hair.

Apart from a few stubborn body marks, she is now a clean, deep/mid pink blank canvas ready for a re-root; I have a selection of nylon pony hair in lots of funky colours and am just deciding on what scheme to go for!

I want to make her look TOTALLY FABULOUS so I am taking my time in deciding what to do and justifying sacrificing her original, albeit baity, G1 state. 

[buttonso]

I think customizing G1 is fine, but I really prefer people use "baits" to do it- its kind of nice seeing thrashed ponies get a new lease on life. Customizing good condition G1s does seem.... I dunno, wasteful.... but I don't think I'd give anyone a hard time over it or lose sleep over it.

None of these are going to last forever so I think people have a right to get enjoyment out if their own things as they see fit.

((Btw to me, "bait" means serious hair loss and/or major body damage))

[Leave a Whisper]

On regular ponies, I think it's okay for example, it's near impossible to sell a Posey with faded hair, even for 1£, and if she can become a custom that will be cherished in a collection rather than an unwanted, unsold double - that's way better IMO. Even if the only issue was fading hair, otherwise perfect condition.

Personally, I bait G1s if they have haircuts AND permanent marks - if they are common. Like baby Moondancer, Glory, Sparkler, Lily.
I recently customized a very bait Sparkler - Pindot, hair and tailcut, permanent marks. The result is, despite me not being a superb customizer, a pony I very much want in my collection and to me, that makes much more sense than trying to restore her

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That TAF Buttons is superb!