Custom Pony Etiquette?

f i s h

Teeny Tiny Baby Pony
Joined
Jul 10, 2022
Messages
13
Hello!:satisfied:
I belong to a few other customization communities and was wondering if it’s frowned upon to customize older or even rare ponies? I realize this opinion could differ for every collector, I completely understand why some might be upset to see a custom of a pony that they loved the original paint for and all. Or if it’s more acceptable if the pony was damaged or something. Or if people don’t mind at all, because it’s my opinion that if it belongs to me, i should be able to do whatever i like! But I also don’t want to offend or upset anyone :unsure:
I’m also new and don’t know about custom blanks, I’ve heard of them but don’t know what they are or where they can be bought?

Thank you! <3
 
Customizing rare/old toys can be a hot button issue. I'm in camp "it's your pony, do what you want". Life is short and they're just things. Not everyone feels that way though.

It's generally accepted that if the pony is beyond restoration it falls into the "bait" category and therefore up for custom fodder. Tho beyond repair is also up for debate too lol. Personally if I wanted to customize a pony I would try to find one that needs a lot of work and leave the nicer ones for collectors who like to restore.

You're probably thinking about the HQG1C blanks. They're a great alternative to using vintage toys. You can find them here:
 
I usually customize ones that have some flaws already but I also think it’s your pony, do what you want with it! But some people (not people on here, everyone here is super nice) do get mad an leave not so nice comments if you customize something they think was already perfect. I once customized a Bratz doll and shared it and you wouldn’t believe how many people got mad at me for changing her
 
In my opinion.

I would rather own a messed up "rare" pony just to say i have one before it was made into something "new"

Id rather find a common to do that with
 
I usually customize ones that have some flaws already but I also think it’s your pony, do what you want with it! But some people (not people on here, everyone here is super nice) do get mad an leave not so nice comments if you customize something they think was already perfect. I once customized a Bratz doll and shared it and you wouldn’t believe how many people got mad at me for changing her
I think some of the Bratz vitrol stemmed from the Change Tree Dolls debacle. Collectors became even more resistant to customerizors b/c Change Tree inspired a whole lot of copycats trying to make Bratz look "natural". :/

The MH fandom used have a pretty hard line between the collectors and the customizers (it may still, I'm just not that involved anymore lol). But folks could get downright nasty over customizating rare dolls.

I get it somewhat. I totally have mixed feelings seeing customs of dolls I wasn't able to snag for myself and now there's one less in circulation. But functionally it's no different than someone having an army pony. The toy is out of reach and you just make peace with it.

Plus, I'm always excited to see people enjoy their collections and how creative they can be. Dolljunk on instagram/tumblr is an excellent example of someone who restores and customizes rarer dolls/toys and shows how it can enhance your love of an item.
 
It's your pony, you do what you want!

Me personally, if its a rare pony worth 100's, I probably wouldn't customize but try to restore best as I could and rehome to someone that would love it, damaged and all. I'd use more common ponies to customize.
 
I think some of the Bratz vitrol stemmed from the Change Tree Dolls debacle. Collectors became even more resistant to customerizors b/c Change Tree inspired a whole lot of copycats trying to make Bratz look "natural". :/

The MH fandom used have a pretty hard line between the collectors and the customizers (it may still, I'm just not that involved anymore lol). But folks could get downright nasty over customizating rare dolls.

I get it somewhat. I totally have mixed feelings seeing customs of dolls I wasn't able to snag for myself and now there's one less in circulation. But functionally it's no different than someone having an army pony. The toy is out of reach and you just make peace with it.

Plus, I'm always excited to see people enjoy their collections and how creative they can be. Dolljunk on instagram/tumblr is an excellent example of someone who restores and customizes rarer dolls/toys and shows how it can enhance your love of an item.
Yeah I read a little about the tree change dolls but I’m just like ok cool she made them into a doll that fit her vibe more.
And I kinda get it if it was like a limited edition doll or something but I just got her at a thrift store in a bag of other dolls.
Oh cool I’ll have to check them out, thanks :D
 
When I customize MLP my general rule of thumb is to use a “common” base. So like, your Surprise, Moondancer, Applejack, etc and then I look at the condition on the pony it’s self. If it’s a displayable piece, I tend to leave it for a collector, if not (hair cuts, damage to vinyl, etc) then I will use for a custom.

Obviously, I wouldn’t custom a bait condition Rapunzel or Mimic because they’re sought after by the collector community even in “bait” condition.

Having said that, I too am in the “do with what you like on your pony” camp. Just be sure to keep note and obviously disclose any alterations/restorations done for future owners and sign hooves when doing customs.
 
I agree with previous posts. I take ponies that are in tragic shape and, if cutie marks are gone, I feel a bit more “free” to make changes to benefit the new “life” of the pony (new hair color, etc.). Right now, I take on the pony cancer cases more often than not- those take a long time to fix, most folks give up on them quick, and I don’t mind doing it, being older and more patient. Lol. Your pony, your property, your imagination, I say!
 
I, too, agree with the previous posts in that I will sell or find a home for nirvana or rare ponies that are baity rather than customize. If you want to customize a pony, it is your pony and your choice. If you do customize something rare, be prepared for a bit of flack. I also feel that if you want to restore a rare pony because you want to keep it in your own collection it’s really not anyone’s business but your own.

I am with Skybreeze on making sure that you keep records of what you’ve done, so that if you sell you can disclose any work done on the pony.
 
Personally I would use a pony for custom if it’s a very good/convincing fakie or the pony is very damaged. I’ve made customs from doubles in my collection as well that were very common ponies (like G4 Pinkie Pie) as well but my intention of these are always for my own collection. I wouldn’t want to customise a more harder to get pony though…

If a pony comes into my collection who is damaged but I don’t have them already, I would be happy to keep them, fix up what I can if possible as well

If you want to customise one of your own ponies, that’s up to you as it’s your own
Just be sure to keep note and obviously disclose any alterations/restorations done for future owners and sign hooves when doing customs.
I also agree with this
 
At the end of the day, everyone is free to do whatever they want with their own ponies.

But as far as my personal feelings go, it's similar to how I feel about people making oddbody furbys. The number of vintage toys in the world is not only a finite number, but can only reduce as the years go on. This is especially true for the rarest items. I certainly would never stop anyone from removing a rare pony or furby from the world, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me a little sad to see them go. If I were a customizer I would definitely only use HQG1 bases or baits.
 
There is a near infinite supply of beatup Peachies and Cotton Candies (I got like 5 and that bright bad quality repro with zero intent to), pre-BasicFun repros and fakies in G1 mold, plus HQG1C for the wealthy (in the sense you'd pay more for the custom base than for materials), but most G1 are usually wasted on customs (wonder how and why most pretty and intricate customs are often G3), and let's all remember that poor spanish "piggy" who got turned into Fluttershy.

I'd say depending on idea, and exhaust the source stated above first.
 
I have yet to try and restore a rare pony- if I got a rare one, my goal would always be to do everything I can to retain and restore the original colors and style for those. Cheesy as it sounds, it is a respect thing. Lol. I have only recently considered changing one pony’s identity so far- she was in such bad shape that it took some time to figure out who she was to begin with- see attached photo. Welcome to ideas on what to do with her- still on the fence. Believe it or not, she is “Sweet Stuff” but now I call her “Sad Stuff.” Suggestions? Lol. I honestly am debating about finding a way to restore her to her original, but these are the cases that I know most folks would say it would be ok to customize(?).
FC88A854-D60A-498D-AE94-D009AEED8245.jpeg
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I have yet to try and restore a rare pony- if I got a rare one, my goal would always be to do everything I can to retain and restore the original colors and style for those. Cheesy as it sounds, it is a respect thing. Lol. I have only recently considered changing one pony’s identity so far- she was in such bad shape that it took some time to figure out who she was to begin with- see attached photo. Welcome to ideas on what to do with her- still on the fence. Believe it or not, she is “Sweet Stuff” but now I call her “Sad Stuff.” Suggestions? Lol. I honestly am debating about finding a way to restore her to her original, but these are the cases that I know most folks would say it would be ok to customize(?).
View attachment 56248View attachment 56249
Unless you want to keep her as-is, I would call her a bait. Note:That is just my personal opinion.
 
I agree with the general sentiment that it's your pony, but also if it's in good shape leave it for a collector. But also, I've had ponies that I thought were in pretty good shape that I didn't want to keep and so I *tried* to sell them and they didn't go, or if they did they went for bait prices. So at that point, how do I "leave it?" How long do I have to keep a pony I don't want in the hope that it finds a perfect forever home?

Also, I love a good restoration. But if you dug a pony out of a garden where it was buried for 40 years and you had to clean it and peroxide it and rehair it and repaint it because it was trashed, the only thing that differentiates that restoration from a custom is that the person who did it knows what it was originally. I'm not trying to throw shade, but the line is pretty arbitrary.

And most of our collections are gonna end up at Goodwill when we die anyway. I only have a couple rareish ponies, nothing in crazy demand I don't think, but they're on the shelf next to a Firefly and a Glory and nobody I know is going to bother to individually google these ponies to check their value if I get hit by a bus tomorrow. So I say, enjoy the ponies you have now, in the way that you like best.
 
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