Damaged Goods Part 3: Plastic damage

Ah, the First World problems of a Collector.  Those of us who collect vintage (and modern) toys tend to get a little obsessive about flaws, problems, and wear.  What can we live with, what won't we allow across the threshold of the Pony Room?

The unfortunate truth about vintage Ponies is that very few of these 30+ year old toys has made it this far without sustaining some kind of damage.  The even more unfortunate truth is that we're only going to see more damage coming out on these beloved friends as time passes.  In the next few weeks, I'm going to explore some of the more common problems that we see in vintage ponies, with an eye toward educating new collectors and warning FIM fans about what they might expect from their Ponies in the coming years.

Chews, Dents, and Other Damage to the Plastic

Many ponies, unfortunately, have fallen prey to household pets.  It's not uncommon to find 2nd hand ponies with varying degrees of chews, dents, or other damage to the plastic.  Sometimes, these are minor and easily hidden with a clever hairstyle or displaying in a certain way.  Sometimes, they are more drastic.

In these drastic cases, there is little to do but to alter the pony.  It is possible to cut off the affected portion and replace it with clay, or to fill in missing pieces in the same way.  They clay can be formed and smoothed to replace the missing part.  In cases where I've done this, I've tended to customize the pony afterward.  This allows for some creativity in painting the new body part.  Restoration is possible, but matching the body colour with paint is difficult.

Elf