Meet The Herd: Raincurl

When I decided to start collecting My Little Pony in October, I assumed that Ebay would be basically the number one place for finding G1 ponies. I wanted to find them in the wild, but knew that it would be a difficult feat considering how most people who grew up with them have either already gotten rid of them or have kept them for their own collections. I decided to check out a local flea market, anyway, and try my luck at finding a G1 in the wild for the first time.

(Click the photos to view full size)

Here's Raincurl when I got her home. 

I got very lucky and found Raincurl in a bin full of old McDonald's toys. The booth owner wanted $1 for her, but I talked him down to $.50. I had no idea which pony she was, or how lucky I had been to find her for that price (or in this condition!) until I got her home and googled her.

Here are some photos of Raincurl before I cleaned her up:

She's even beautiful while filthy!

I think this was dried cola on her face, but I'll never be sure. It was sticky. YUCK!

The beginnings of pony cancer, or just dirt? I had no idea.

Frizzy factory curls are still factory curls!

Dirty, dirty, dirty. She could have been much worse, though!

I brought her directly to the bathroom after taking "before" photos. I didn't know what some of the marks on her were, and I was nervous about cleaning her up. I had never cleaned up a G1 pony before and I thought I would ruin her somehow, but she was actually surprisingly easy to clean.

Those curls!

I cleaned the majority of her body with Dawn dish soap and a soft tooth brush. Most of the dirt and muck came off this way, including the sticky mess on her face. I was afraid to touch her curls. I didn't wash them or anything at first because I was so nervous and sure that I would ruin them.

Hello, Raincurl!

 My son ended up trying to "help" me while I was in another room tending to the baby, and he brushed out all of her curls. I was bummed out, but figured I would just re-curl her and decided it wasn't the end of the world since now could wash her hair without being worried about the curls. I washed and conditioned her mane and tail using Suave shampoo and conditioner (the strawberry scent) and combed it all out. Then I separated her mane by color and twisted the hair in the direction that the base of the remaining curls wanted to turn. Once she dried, her factory curl had sprung back to life! The frizz was all but gone, and she looked incredible.

Super clean and ready for display.

Raincurl is now the pride of my collection. I love her so much, and she jump started my deep love of white ponies. I'm so glad to have her.

Pony Name: Raincurl

Year of Release: Year 8 (1989-1990)

Set: Rainbow Curl

Pose: Tootsie Pose

Body Color: White

Hair Color: 'Fading Pink,' yellow, turquoise, and purple

Hair Style: Ringlet curls

Eye Color: Pink

Symbol: Rainbow (yellow, pink and purple) with a pink cloud and purple stars

Scent: None

Accessories: Raincurl was originally released with a purple shooting star brush and a yellow ribbon.