Sage tries his hoof at customs!

[Pony_Sage]

Alright everypony, if you didn't already know or guess, I am going to be trying to make customs. Mind you this will be my first foray into the land of toy customization but I figured what the hay. So here goes nothing!!

I started with simple styling, just to get my hooves wet as it were. (With much help from Flutterscotch and RCTwilightsparkle I might add. Thank you ladies!)

If you want a bigger view you can open the image in a new tab!

First up is Pinkamina. I know I know, she does not look scary, but I wanted a simple style for my first go.

Next up was Rarity!!

Then I actually got somepony to like my work!!!! It was amazing! Brianblackberry commented on how "well done" they were and it went from there!!

I remade both Pinkamina and Rarity and here they are! These are the ones that I made for Brian.

I tried new methods out on these ponies. I used actual curlers rather than Nerf darts!! I like how their hair came out better than the originals. I am very proud to be sending these to Brian!

Here is Applejack and Fluttershy!! (Once you start you don't want to stop!)

I just adore Fluttershy! On RCTwi's advice I made her a little more curly than the show depicts and I was very pleased with how she came out. AJ Was just a barrel of fun to make! Yes her hair is bound with actual string. Her bangs are not perfect but I am a perfectionist.

Okay with all that out of the way I'll detail a little how I went about it. After I got them home and whispered in their ears that they were pretty ponies as I brushed their manes. . . I mean what?! NO, I am manly I swear!!! *sighs* Well I did brush their manes when they were dry just to get some of their knots out. That helped a bunch actually. I rand them under cool water and brushed out their knots again. Hasbro is not kind to their ponies hair!

Now comes the washing. I combined orange Dial liquid soap, and Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo in equal amounts and well washed their manes and tails with it. This was done under luke-warm to warm water. MAKE SURE TO GET IT ALL OUT!

This is where I personally ran into trouble. You are supposed to condition their hair and then wash it again. Every time I tried to do this however, their manes came out all oily and just very bad. I was using Suave Professionals Rosemary and Mint, and some to think of it, that conditioner does the same thing to my hair when I use it. So I am not going to say don't condition your ponies. I am sure it works just perfectly for some people. In my case however, I got my best results with just a thorough washing.

I styled Rarity with curlers and bobby-pins, larger curlers for her mane and a smaller one for her tail. A grand total of three curlers. Pinkie and AJ I styled with very tiny rubber-bands. I attached their hair in the position that I wanted it to their legs and that was that. Fluttershy on the other hand was a little difficult I have to admit. I used the large curlers in all of her locks and tail, again a grand total of three curlers. However I did not pull them as tightly as I did Rarity's, and I used more of a "spiraling" wrapping pattern.

Now for the drying, I have tried three different styles and can not tall the difference really, other than the speed with which the process is completed. You can air dry them, simple and straight forward. You can use a hairdryer, just be careful you don't want to frazzle their hair with the heat of the thing. This works very quickly and if you are an impatient pony you might want to try this. Personally I use a heat lamp set in a desk lamp. It is one of those ceramic infrared reptile lamps! (Yes I have a Rose Hair tarantula that needs it. Her name is Lilly.) I set the ponies about 6+ inches away from it and let them dry. I turn them occasionally so that they dry evenly. Again with this method you need to be careful of the heat, they are plastic, you can melt them. This is the middle of the road on speed. It takes a few hours to get them perfectly dry. I like it because I feel that it drys the hair without mussing the style, and it is faster than air drying.

Once they are dry comes the fun part! The reveal! You get to undo their manes and tales and see your work! It will look a little scraggly at first if you are doing a pony that needs curlers, just brush her hair gently in the direction that you curled it and it will start to look much better.

Now I know that most Collectors frown upon this part, but I am a stylist not a collector so NYAH! I give them haircuts! *gasp* I know it is a scary thought! You don't have to do this part. I choose to because I think that it makes them look much better. I have my own pair of very sharp skizzers (scissors) that I use to cut manes. You can do this however you like. You can cut it like you would cut people hair and try to make a rounded edge or some such. But for a nice straight cut I suggest finding your spot, folding the hair over the bottom blade, and making a swift cut straight through. ALWAYS ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION! If you are not sure about cutting it but want to. It is easier to make the mane LONGER than you want it first and then trim it up. You can't put the hair back if you cut it too short though!

Well there you go! That was my escapade into Styling ponies! I assure you that there are more to come! Even some actual Custom Ponies!!!! *winks*

On the horizon is the styling of Twilight and the rehairing and subsequent styling of Rainbow Dash!

I would love to hear your opinions on my work! Also HERE is my Flickr stream so you can see some of the "Behind the Scenes" shots!! And before haircuts and such!

Again a HUGE thanks to Flutterscotch and RCTwilightsparkle! Without you ladies I would have never been able to do this!!

[Pony_Sage]

Hello again! Yes it is me, I know you are tired of listening to me. Well too bad. I wanted to post this in a separate post because it is such a drastic departure from what the first post was speaking of. Let's get on with it!

CUSTOM PONY TIME!!!

ooOOoooOOoo Exciting I know! Just today I finished my first custom pony. Mind you it is not your typical custom. With that in mind I present you with . . . *drum roll* . . . Ether! The queen of the internet, or something!

Ether is watching you always.

Those are her hoof ornaments.

Forgive me I am not a skilled painter. That is her Cutie-Mark. 101

Well there she is! She is a complete rehair with multi-strand telephone cable. Her necklace, hoof ornaments, and even her tail scrunchy are the same material as her mane. Her cutie mark is " 101" Binary code. Really I don't know her back story or anything, just her name. The thought came to me as a, "Hay wouldn't that be neat." So I found my loom of wire and away I went.

She is a Rarity base model if you can't tell. I pulled all of the stock hair out and enlarged the tail hole first. Threaded the wires through individually and then bound them together with, of all things, a soda bottle pop-ring, thingy. Once that was done I went about the mane. This was the hard part, Hasbro is SLOPPY with their hair placement number one and number two the holes were TINY! I had to make a "Hole-poker-make-em-bigger" tool. These I am selling for $20 each. (Just a joke there, I sharpened a paper-clip to make it.) I fed each wire through each hole individually again and pulled them through the neck joint with a pair of hemostats. After tying a knot in each wire I would pull them back into her head and move on to the next hole. I did her in a row manner. As in I worked across her mane and not down. That saved me a TONNE of trouble. I put her back together, painted her Cutie-Mark on. (After wiping Rarity's off with 100% Acetone.) Then it was just a simple style and photo shoot!!

Anyways, I hope you like her. She is my first jump into real customization of ponies. If you have any questions or comments on any of my work feel free to ask. I don't bite ... much.

And FLICKR again for her behind the scenes shots and such!

[CherryRie]

Oh wow, the I/O ports, she has them all XD Have you submitted these to EqD at all?

Very nifty Sage, can't wait to see what you come up with next ^^

[flutterscotch]

I love Ether. She cracks me up to no end.

You realize there is no going back now, right? This is the next to last step in pony immersion before getting pony tattoos.

[Pony_Sage]

Hay again! Thanks for the kind words Cherry and Scotchie!! I have not submitted them to EqD, I am not sure how to be honest. *ponders pony tattoos* But how would they look when I was 80? HAHA

Here are some shots of my new and improved Work-space! I am rather entertained that I now have a Pony modding works-space to be honest. I never thought that would happen.

Anywho, lets get on with it shall we? I have started another custom pony and am planning on posting the WIP to this thread. As well as editing this post in particular to show all you crazy ponies what I spend my time and money doing.

So the concept!! First off her name is Guinevere and she is an archer pony! (Thanks Dio and Scotchie for coming up with a silly idea that I could jump off of!) She uses her magic to manipulate her bow and is an expert markspony. Her pelt is a "Lichen Green" and her hair will be a dark brown. I am planning on having it in an up-do such as a bun. Her tail will he cut short and tied back on its self.

You may ask yourself what good is a sniper-esque pony with out camo. That is a good question! Thusly she is going to have camo paint on her face and fore-hooves. Along with her bow she will be equipped with a Gillie suit to better blend into her surroundings! I know it is AMAZING!

Now on to the pictures! These will be in chronological order as best as I can manage!

That is where she came from and her first coat.

Close up of body coat.

Close up of noggin coat.

No she isn't a zebra. Those are her camo-stripes!

Face Paint!

Looking stealthy!

Alright I am not going to post a step by step at the moment but I will post some of what I have done. I am using acrylic paint for all of this. I am fairly sure that everything will come out alright. I have lots of tiny paintbrushes that make life SO MUCH easier. The base I am putting her on will be semi-realistic like terrain. I am going to make her a gillie-suit, quiver, bow, and some arrows. She will be levitating the bow in the process of making a shot when she is done with. As for now I have much more work to do! And I can tell you that it has been a blast so far!

----------------------------------------------------------------Update----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright ponies!! I have some more pictures for you! I have only worked on her hood for the gillie suit and some of the flocking. Confound work, it takes me away from ponies. I am not 100% pleased with the hood so I am going to make another one in a different style to see how it comes out. This one is more like a head wrap than a hood.

Gwen standing on the Flocking.

Flocking and sand-ing-stuff done.

Hood / head-wrap.

Back of the noggin cover.

Noggin cover from far away.

I shall update if I do more work on her! I am most likely going to have the hood completed by this evening! *hooves crossed*

----------------------------------------------------------------Update----------------------------------------------------------------------------

At this point in time I have not worked further on the hood. It was just far to annoying. I will try to get it done eventually. But I have progressed on other parts of the project. I have gotten the Gillie saddle almost completed, and I painted her cutie-mark on. I have cleaned up some of the missing paint spots and the like. I am getting a little better at painting, even though I am still not very good. So here are the pictures!

This is the painted base for the Gillie Saddle.

Gillie saddle with the second under coat.

Gillie saddle with the added top brush.

Cutie-Mark!!

Well for now that is all I have gotten accomplished! There will be more to follow, along with the stand. I still have to do some work on the base where Gwen will stand. Adding grasses and what not. Also I am waiting on her hair along with other the hair for my Rainbow Dash and Rivet. So more updates will be soon in the making!!!

And Flickr yet again for her behind the scenes shots and such!

[Thunder Boomer]

Look at that nice, clean workspace! My customizing stuff is all over the house. XD

[Pony_Sage]

Thanks Tunder! Really the work-space was just set up when I took that picture, it won't stay clean for long. I have art supplies in cabinets in other rooms, and all sorts of industrial stuff out in the shed and garage. I am not a very neat person! Haha. I am honoured that you looked at my thread! Your custom ponies are just astounding really. I am going to try my hoof at a 80's Cheerilie and a Twilight.

Now did you make the pony's "clothes" by hand or did you find them somewhere. At the moment I am trying to make a hood for Gwen and although I have made one, it clings to tightly to her noggin. I want it to hang more loosely so I can actually fit her mane under it. ^^ Any advice on pony clothes making would be appreciated greatly!

[brianblackberry]

Oh man, even your customized hair Fluttershy is awesome. I'll be very curious to see how Guinevere comes out.

[Thunder Boomer]

Now did you make the pony's "clothes" by hand or did you find them somewhere?

For the bandanna I one-offed a little "screen print" of the checker design so that it would be to scale with the pony. It wasn't sewn, just sorta fray-stopped/glued and pressed with an iron. The sock was died with some acrylic paint so it would be the right color, then I stitched the top and bottom with a machine. After I put it on, I went back with a needle and hand-stitched it so it hugged her leg a little better.

[Pony_Sage]

Alright everypony! I /just/ finished re-hairing my Dash. Oh boy was that an adventure!! There are all sorts of variables that you have to take into account. ANYWHO let's get on with the explanation and tips and hints!

My first tip is to get your hair from http://www.dollyhair.com , that is a wonderful place with all sorts of colours and great prices!

My next tip is to definitely slice out the neck joint on the head side of the Mini. You are going to really need that extra space. Slice both sides of the neck joint out and remove the hair. I would also suggest cutting the hair like a buzz cut before you try yanking it out of the head. The tail is easy enough to pull out. HEMOSTATS!! They make your life SO MUCH EASIER!! Once you have the hair removed from both sides, now comes the fun.

I always start with the tail as you can see below. I had to make Dash's tail hole bigger to accomidate her new tail. I just used my Leatherman 9000 's awl to auger it out a little. Then you fold the hair plug, Plug from here on out, back on its self to form a loose loop. Put some thread through that loop, then feed it though the blank's body and yank the plug though the hole. You are going to want to secure it so that the plug won't pull through. Scotchie was kind enough to suggest a Zip-tie. These work wonderfully!! Then pull the plug back out through the hole when you are done making it secure. POOF!!!! You have just made your first tail plug for a custom pony!! Aren't you so proud of yourself?

Dash's Tail done.

From here on out it gets much harder. The principle is the same though. Take a chunk of hair, pull it through the hole with a needle and thread, tie a knot in it and then pull it back out. There are several tricks that I found that can make life so much easier though. The first trick is hemostats, I can't stress this enough, they help so much! Alright next up, when I tie the knots what I do it place a small dab of crazy-glue on them so that they don't come undone. Knotting Nylon hair is very hard to keep knotted. Now another trick is to work from the top down and not from side to side. This way you don't have to contend with the knots that much.

Dash's bangs complete.

The next step after the bangs is the back mane. This is where I got a little flustered. You need a curved needle definately. I made my own by heating it over a blowtorch and just bending it, although this may be a little hard for some ponies to do. You can buy curved needles, you might want to try that before breaking out the blowtorch. The next tip is to not pull the plugs back in as soon as they are completed. Pull them back in, in groups of about five to twelve. This makes it easier to thread the needle and other plugs through. This helps the needle not get snagged on the other knots.

Dash's mane in progress.

Once that is done just dump some superglue or liquid stitch inside of the head so that the plugs wont be going anywhere and you are done with the re-hairing. Mine took me about 12-18 hours of work to complete. Mind you this was my first go at re-hairing so as you do more your time will progressively improve! Finally glue the neck joints back in, let them dry. Then press the head back onto the body and POOF you have your first re-haired custom!!! Again aren't you proud of yourself? It was so much work, but boy does it look pretty!!

Dash looking great after her re-hairing. Sonic rainboom anypony?

Well that was my first adventure into re-hairing! I hope that it has helped any of you other ponies out there that want to try your hoof at this stuff. Again I could not have done this without the help of Scotchie and RCTwi. Both of you thank you very much!! Now I just have to style Dash and get you all some pictures!

And Flickr yet again for her behind the scenes shots and such!

[TheWereCat]

Wow! Your certainly a brave brony; I've restyled my Pinkie and Twilight's hair, but I'm too afraid of rehairing to fully customize a pony! Yours look great

[Pony_Sage]

Thank you very much! I figure if I mess anything up too badly I can always go out and buy another one! They are only Five USD after all. I am not very good at rendering arts, but the physical / industrial arts is what I excel at so I thought I would give ponies a go! They are loads of fun to mess around with. You should give it a try!!

~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

[flutterscotch]

Dear Pony Sage Freddie whatever the hell your name is.

FINISH GWEN OR ELSE!

Sincerely, Flutterscotch.