 You can't make a custom if you don't have a pony! First of all, let's define "custom bait." Typically, this term refers to a pony that's been damaged somehow. Terrible haircuts, marks, stains, symbol rubs, chew marks, etc -- any of these can potentially turn a pony into bait. How bad does the damage have to be before the pony is officially bait? It depends on your preferences as a collector and/or customizer. Keep in mind that if you customize a perfectly good pony (especially one that's somewhat hard to find), you're setting yourself up for some slings and arrows. If you're not a collector, do yourself a favor and do some research to make sure you're not customizing a rare pony. The idea of custom bait changed a little with the release of the "G3" MLP line in 2003. You'd probably never want to customize a mint-condition pony from the original 1980s line, but most of the G3 line are commonly seen as fair game. Again, if you're not familiar with the line, do a little research, especially before customizing a pony marked as an "exclusive." Some are common, some aren't. I've mostly given up customizing 1980s ponies, and have focused on the G3 line. This makes my custom bait of choice pretty easy to find. When I discover a sale or a special offer (like the 2-for-1 promo packs in 2003), I stock up:  Crazy! (Oh, and as a collector, I also kept some of those MIB for my own collection.)
Once you have bait handy, you need to start thinking about a design. Make some notes, do some sketches. I don't usually start off with a definite idea (that's just the way I work), but I knew I wanted to tinker with a Minty:  (Yes, I know Minty I is fairly sought after now. This tutorial was written in 2004. No, I don't have extras for sale.) Don't forget to grab the accessories Okay. I know I'm going to be rehairing this custom, so the first thing I have to do is remove Minty's head. G3 heads can be frustratingly hard to remove, especially compared to the G1s from the 80s. If you can remove a pony's head properly, you'll find an inner lip on the part of the neck that's attached to the head. That lip goes inside the part of the neck that's attached to the body, anchoring the two pieces together. It's always good to try that method first. To do so, I first try to loosen the head/body seam with an X-Acto knife (be careful!). When I have a section of the seam loosened, I start gently twisting and pulling to see if that inner lip is going to pop out:  In this case, it wasn't budging. There was too much glue; that seems pretty typical of the G3s. Finally, I just used the X-Acto knife to cleanly slice off the head:  As long as I have some really good glue to reattach the head later, I'll be fine. Plus, removing the inner ring makes rehairing a little easier.
With practice, it gets easier to remove the heads without cutting. And that's certainly preferable to slicing them off, as I did with Minty. However, if I'm faced with a choice of twisting and pulling at a neck seam that won't budge for half an hour, and making a careful X-Acto knife slice in thirty seconds, sometimes the quick way wins. I want to keep Minty's hair for another custom down the road. First, I use a pair of needlenose pliers to pull out the tail from the inside:  Then I divide her mane into sections according to color, rubber band them off, and cut them as close to the scalp as possible:  With most of the older ponies, it was possible to remove the mane plug by plug. I have yet to find a G3 that'll let me do that. Their manes tend to be held in by a veritable jungle of glue, and I think the factory hairing process itself has changed. With the cutting method, I do lose a little length. However, the hair can still be used for a custom with a slightly shorter hairstyle, or for a baby. Once I've cut off the mane, I put the saved hair aside and yank the last stubby bits out of the pony's head from the inside. Again, needlenose pliers are my friend. When it's all been removed, I have a bald pony:  (She's not only the founder of the Hair Club for Ponies; she's also a client.) But I still have to get rid of that pesky symbol (especially since we all know that a pony named Minty should have shamrocks as her symbol, heh heh). It's time to pull out my favorite noxious chemical, Goof Off:  People, read the warnings on the Goof Off before you use it. Use it outside, watch out for the fumes, wear gloves, and keep in mind that it can damage plastic. It's never damaged any of my bait, but if you want to test it on the bottom of a hoof or something first, you'd be wise to do so. And no, Goof Off does not remove the shimmery look from G3 plastic. I'm often asked where to find Goof Off. I get mine from the home improvement department in Walmart. One can runs around $3 and lasts me about two years.
All right. So I put a little Goof Off on a rag and blot the symbol. And oh, happy day:  The symbol begins to disintegrate before my very eyes. This is a far cry from the messes I used to make when I'd remove symbols with acetone nail polish remover. In a matter of seconds, I've wiped away all signs of paint from Minty's body:  If you're planning on doing a complete eye repaint, this is the time to remove the original eye paint, too.
Afterward, I always give the pony a really good scrub to get rid of the Goof Off residue and odor. Believe me, this stuff stinks like no other. And then it's on to: :main tutorial page: :dye jobs: :rehairing: :symbol painting and final prep: |
MintyTip: Look for sales and multipacks. Chains like Walmart, Target and Toys R Us
sometimes put individual ponies on sale or have buy-one-get-one offers. Multipacks, like those that come with
free babies, are also good choices. I like to keep my average bait cost under $5, although I make exceptions when I
need certain colors and poses.