G3 It’s Finally Happened To Me… My Divine Shines Ate Their Glitter.

StormMaeker

StormMaeker

Blank Flank, Pony Thrifter
Joined
Jun 16, 2020
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Tonight I decided I’ll bring my ponies out for photos as I am enjoying my phone picking up beautiful colours in the garden with the low-light settings I now have on my phone. I thought my sparkly Divine Shines would look gorgeous. I grabbed them and took them to the garden. When I picked up Glitterbelle, I realised she didn’t quite seem right and then… it hit me. She’s ate her glitter. I checked Flower Garland and she’s the same too. These ponies are not sticky at all either.
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Please excuse my quick photo setup.
I wonder how they got this way. I’m sure they were fine last month or the month before that. I also wonder if their dirt inside somehow preserved them, they’re my childhood ponies and this is how they were before cleaning them. This was how they were in one of my other posts here too. I am sure I had other photos of them on here too that I can look back and enjoy as well…

I always thought of my childhood Divine Shines as being pretty lucky to not eat their glitter yet but it seems it’s begun and there’s probably no way of stopping it… it’s pretty upsetting :sleepy:
I get keeping them in a box of ponies squashed up probably isn’t ideal but back in February when I got Star Catcher and Citrus Sweetheart, they had more room to breathe in that box. Perhaps having some more air could have set it off? But they’re underneath Sweet Steps so I don’t think so. They survived last years awful heatwaves too… maybe it’s age. I just don’t know. I know this happens anyway, especially also to MIB ponies. It’s such a shame. At least I still have a bit of glitter left to enjoy
 
Leave a Whisper said:
*hugs* I'm sorry this happened Storm
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Thanks, LaW :sadpony:

I wasn’t sure if I still wanted to proceed with their photos tonight but I did it anyway. The colours are pretty I guess but the full glitter would be even better. I guess this thing just happens
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I sure hope they don’t get the munchies again and start on their heads
 
Poor girls, I hate it when they eat the glitter like that. I really do wonder what causes it. I suspect temperature, air flow, and moisture have something to do with it (like you mentioned) but it seems like the situation is always different
 
I didn't even know that was a thing with G3s! I have focused on G1 in my collecting so the ailments of G3s are new to me but yikes! What a interesting thing to happen and it does make you curious about the science behind it. So weird, in comparison the G1 Sparkle ponies don't "eat" (that reference did make me giggle) their glitter and they're almost 40 years old! The body may discolor but that glitter stays put, makes me curious about the makeup of the plastic and how this happens o_O
 
blueming said:
Poor girls, I hate it when they eat the glitter like that. I really do wonder what causes it. I suspect temperature, air flow, and moisture have something to do with it (like you mentioned) but it seems like the situation is always different
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It does seem like the situation is always different. I had read a lot as much as I could when I first found out about this kind of thing especially around the time I was going to clean them out. It seems hard to pin down. I guess it comes down to whatever Hasbro used
Gingerbread said:
I didn't even know that was a thing with G3s! I have focused on G1 in my collecting so the ailments of G3s are new to me but yikes! What an interesting thing to happen and it does make you curious about the science behind it. So weird, in comparison the G1 Sparkle ponies don't "eat" (that reference did make me giggle) their glitter and they're almost 40 years old! The body may discolor but that glitter stays put, makes me curious about the makeup of the plastic and how this happens o_O
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I am glad they didn’t go a weird brown-ish colour like how I’ve seen some go. It happens to MIB Divine Shines too, isn’t that crazy?! Interesting, but crazy!
starbritesprinkles said:
You can slow it down by storing them in bags with silica gels packets. I think the degradation is inevitable, though.
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I’ve read once it starts it doesn’t stop but that’s a good idea
 
ArchdevilAntidot said:
I wonder if glitter is just biodegradeable?
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You know what, that could be it.

When I have zoomed in to the pictures, it seems to disintegrate from the middle outwards
 
StormMaeker said:
I’ve read once it starts it doesn’t stop but that’s a good idea
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This is true. You can wash them off periodically until all of the plasticizer has leached out. At that point, they will likely feel harder and be discolored, but they shouldn't get sticky anymore.
 
starbritesprinkles said:
This is true. You can wash them off periodically until all of the plasticizer has leached out. At that point, they will likely feel harder and be discolored, but they shouldn't get sticky anymore.
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Weirdly enough, the ponies aren’t sticky at all but instead of feeling harder, they feel lighter. It’s very strange
I think @darklys has one that’s had all the glitter disappear on one side? If I remember right, it looks like a nebula. Or did at the time
 
Grace Ruby said:
Oh no, perhaps a glitter top coat would bring back some sparkle?
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Perhaps? I do need to get some new tinsel for the tails at some point. I lost strands when washing them out

So I took the pair outside for a closer look in the sun. Actually, they don’t look too bad but I like a bit of sparkle. I think it hit harder when I discovered what was happening to them because I had a rough evening… Little kid me loved all things shiny, so much that I would bin-dive in primary school for shiny scraps of paper after we did creative stuff. I know, strange, so these ponies were perfect for little kid me
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So, here are closer looks. I couldn’t get Glitterbelle’s head off. She’s solid. I remember hers being hard when cleaning anyway but now she is really solid. Remember, these ponies are not sticky at all
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Here is a closeup of it dissolving from the middle outwards.
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I tried to have a look inside. I can see slight marks were the bits used to be
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I also stuck a brush inside her head and gently brushed near the mane to see if anything happened and I made this discovery:
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It definitely looks like the glitter dissolved somehow - weird how the heads are fine!
 
Grace Ruby said:
It definitely looks like the glitter dissolved somehow - weird how the heads are fine!
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Definitely odd! But the heads have begun… since pony bodies are in two parts I reckon that’s why they’ve not began at the same time
 
Omg so weird! Did it just drift through the plastic? :O
 
You sticking the paintbrush in gave me an idea for when they've completed the glitter eating and plasticizer leach process. What if instead of a glitter coating outside, you brush some clear glue and glitter inside? It won't be the same as being injected obviously, but it'll bring back some of that pretty sparkle.
 
oh nooo! I'm sad this happened specially to your childhood ponies :cry:
A few months ago I got all four G3 Divine Shines ponies, and they are all in really good condition, still very sparkly!
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But now I'm worried that they will also eat their sparkles eventually... Any advice on how to preserve this ponies so that their sparkles will last?
 
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