A Horse Named ‘Regret’: A Long FINISHED Post

StormMaeker

Blank Flank, Pony Thrifter
Joined
Jun 16, 2020
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EDIT FEB. 13: FINISHED on page 3! Hop straight to the post!

My custom project at the moment is undoing a custom that I only view with much regret.

A few years ago, I attempted a pony custom.
I think I only decided to do one because I must’ve been inspired by all the amazing customs I had seen. I did a lot of research into materials and stuff and then decided to go ahead and make one feeling I knew what to do.
I didn’t have any actual “bait” ponies so I used my Heart Bright. Her wing mechanism didn’t work anymore, lost her wings and my little sister gave her a haircut and tail trim when I told her not to many years before this time.
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As you can see, all I really should have done is just rehair her and maybe make her some new wings and maybe all this regret could have been avoided but no, I went down the creative route.
I researched on materials to use and came across polymer clay. I decided to turn her into a dragon because I love dragons. I was only planning on sculpting on parts and instead, heck knows why, I covered her fully. The tail sank a bit so it wasn’t how I planned either. I think I also wanted to dye her body because I also removed all the paintwork too.

Then the stupid part happened.
I put her in the oven to bake (because polymer clay has to do that) and she melted because I forgot to remove the magnet.
So that ruined it for me but as I got that far, I thought I’d better finish it.
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I dug out the magnet after because the dragon couldn’t stand properly. I couldn’t even finish the wings and they fell apart anyway. I didn’t even come up with a name for it.

Now let’s fast forward about four(?) years later to Monday this week. After thinking about it every now and then, it was time to undo this regret.
Many times I had thought about trying to cut it all off her and fix her up as best as I possibly can. I decided to go ahead and do it.
This was the state of her after spending all afternoon/evening on her Monday:
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Other angles:
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It is long and painful work. I was using two different knives and tweezers to pick it all off and I caused myself many injuries doing this. I hope when I finally get this all off I can heat up the body again and mould the legs back into shape. It seems very likely to work because I did that today thinking it’ll be an easier way of doing this (and it kind of is) and I could twist the body and such. I have a pencil rubber stuck inside the front leg because I tried to fix it too early.

Today I am just focusing on doing the head. Heating up with a hairdryer and dipping it in boiling water is very helpful. For some strange reason, the bits I have done using heat doesn’t leave red stains on the pony underneath. Strange.
Instead of sharp knives, I am using tiny screwdrivers from a Christmas cracker (broke one of three already) and the tweezers. So far, only one injury. It’s working though!
Here is the progress so far from today:
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I am very happy with the progress so far. I am also poking in all those hair plugs with a pin too.

My plans for this is to make Regret into a tribute to Heart Bright called Heart Break. If it ends up turning out bad... I have a black net veil for it to wear. I might also grab some of those charity shop fakies to try my hand at rehairing...

I’ll continue Regret/Heart Break’s journey in the comments.
 
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Oh boy she’s had a tough time hasn’t she :surprisepony:
I actually think your sculpting looked pretty good, and while it’s obviously not the pose you wanted even after she melted she doesn’t look too bad. Kinda like she’s about to lay down.
Hopefully you can get her all cleaned off without hurting yourself too much! Good luck:smile:
 
Oh boy she’s had a tough time hasn’t she :surprisepony:
I actually think your sculpting looked pretty good, and while it’s obviously not the pose you wanted even after she melted she doesn’t look too bad. Kinda like she’s about to lay down.
Hopefully you can get her all cleaned off without hurting yourself too much! Good luck:smile:
Thanks!
I thought the sculpting was fine too but then the melting happened... I really hope I can get her out the pose after it’s all off
 
Good luck on your project
 
Looks like you’re doing great with the rehabilitation.
 
Today I finished off the head. I am very glad there was still a pony head in tact under all there.
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There are still patches that need obvious attention like the left eye and ear. That side is also kind of darker but that’s because that is the side that burnt from the magnet. Parts also need smoothening out too but that will happen when I finish with the body.
Not that many injuries this time round but my fingers and thumb are quite sore from doing this all afternoon so it was kind of hard to poke in the hair plugs with a needle. They closed up again but I’ll redo that when I come to rehair which I think I’ll do.
I am unsure what I’ll do with that accidental huge scrape in the back of the head. Maybe the hair will hide it...
The red pattern is actually kind of nice but I am still deciding what to do about it
 
Oh wow, after all she's been through her head is looking surprisingly good! Thank you for posting this, her sacrifice will save many other ponies from suffering a similar fate at the hands of us less-experienced customizes.

PS. The "Heart Break" idea is SO creative and symbolic, I'm a real sucker for customs with a story like this.
 
Oh wow, after all she's been through her head is looking surprisingly good! Thank you for posting this, her sacrifice will save many other ponies from suffering a similar fate at the hands of us less-experienced customizes.

PS. The "Heart Break" idea is SO creative and symbolic, I'm a real sucker for customs with a story like this.
I was hoping her story may be useful too. I’m glad you find this interesting

I had to take a week break from her because the hard use of tweezers used to pick it apart had numbed my finger and thumb and it felt like forever to get feeling back in them but I’m back at the body this week. It’s almost done and I’ll post a picture of the body once it’s free from all the polymer clay!
 
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Thought I’d better update this since I haven’t given up on Heart Break yet.

The body is taking a really long time. These last parts are really hard to get off the body but I know I can do it because I have done the head. I know it’s possible!
I also need to keep taking breaks if I want my finger and thumb to keep being able to function.
What I’ve found really surprising is that the markings on the hooves are still there! Wow, pony bodies are strong. Also, I didn’t know I didn’t actually get the whole magnet out when I did those years ago because I had to scoop some magnet out earlier on
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We can do this, Heart Break. We will get this done! Progress may be slow but I can see the end in sight
 
WOW, cool to see the "aftermath" on the pony body. She's coming along! I'm rooting for her :flutter2:
She sure is coming along just fine.
The body has been twisted in all sorts of unnatural positions during this process and I feel in a way there’s been some things to learn from it, like how the small details like nostrils and hoof markings can survive in an oven under polymer clay

I am never going to do something like this ever again afterwards. I’ll leave the customising of Hasbro ponies to the more experienced pony people
 
Another Heart Break update!

So this is where we are now at:
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The head is being kept on for now with sticky dots until I can properly secure it. I have gotten off as much as I can. The remaining parts are pretty smooth and I would rather I could get it all off completely. They probably need a little more scraping but it is very hard since I’m trying not to damage the body any more than it has already been.
What I got to do next is try my best with reposing the body...
I am thinking of either covering the back up with either a saddle, something else or filling it in with something. I’ve seen pictures of ponies cut open for plants but I don’t want to dirty the inside and want the pony to be able to feel a part of the herd again

These are what I’ve taken out the pony:
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The wing mechanism thing is pretty much impossible for me to fix and it was broken anyway but now it’s totally ruined. The ring thing was the remaining magnet plastic and the white bit was the broken cutie mark button thing, also totally broke. Please excuse the second picture being noticeably darker, I had to darken it to be able to see the white parts properly. It was too bright

This pony body looks pretty spooky ready for the spooky season!
 
I can relate on the custom regret... *looks at past projects and cringes*

I'm glad you found inspiration to breathe new life into her, and I look forward to seeing your future progress
 
I can relate on the custom regret... *looks at past projects and cringes*

I'm glad you found inspiration to breathe new life into her, and I look forward to seeing your future progress
Thank you! At the moment I’m trying to figure out how to get her in better shape with the pose... she might just have to stay in that weird pose though and figure out how to cover her back
 
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So after being stuck for a while with needing materials to continue, I decided I’ll go ahead and spray paint her because I don’t like using paint, I want it to be a smooth coat and I don’t think I can dye her lighter as she is already... that colour.

I’ve spray painted a hare statue before so with that experience, I’m hoping this goes well.
Just waiting for the first coat of paint to dry right now. Pictures soon. I hope it went well

EDIT:
Okay, so I don’t know if she was completely dry or not so I gave a light dusting of another coat and now she’s sticky... my hare I spray painted isn’t sticky but maybe that’s because of the matt protector I sprayed on after. I think also I had a problem with the amount coming out. With sprays, I’m either too close or too far. I’ll leave her tomorrow to see how she turns out
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It’s rainy today so no photo outside this time. I was hoping to give a light spray on the head so the marks were still visible but I didn’t move her far enough away when doing the body
 
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Hopefully the paint dries properly. If not, you may have to soak her in PineSol (or similar) for a few days and then try again.
I have a feeling that may be the case. I haven’t gone to see how she’s turned out like yet but thanks for the tip!
 
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