How to repair MOTU action figures broken legs?

**He-bro** · January 10, 2009, 05:23pm

Originally Posted by Jerno

Whooow! I just remade Spikor today, its just great!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool, I'm glad it helped, post some pictures of it.

**Toyjesus** · January 12, 2009, 08:58pm

OK, I recently contacted one of the customizers that sells figures on ebay and asked how he creates things like slime pit He-Man and what he uses in the legs. He replied that he has NEW rubber pieces for the legs, cast off old ones, and for ten bucks he could take the old rubber out, replace with new, and bam...instant fix. So, I took him up on his offer, excited to see how it turned out and it arrived today!!!! INCREDIBLE. I won this He-Man carded on ebay and was disappointed to see the loose legs inside so I opened him and his legs are just simply perfect. There is NO WAY besides the rubber looking shiny and new that you could tell. And the person I dealt with...absolutely TOP NOTCH. He did the job immediately, emailed me right away, sent it back same day. I had this puppy send and received back in like four days. He even emailed a picture AND a video to show me what it looked like while I waited for it to arrive. Incredible service, cost, and experience. Just letting you know that there is an alternative to drilling into the legs.

**BURTDAWG** · January 13, 2009, 03:23am

Originally Posted by Toyjesus

OK, I recently contacted one of the customizers that sells figures on ebay and asked how he creates things like slime pit He-Man and what he uses in the legs. He replied that he has NEW rubber pieces for the legs, cast off old ones, and for ten bucks he could take the old rubber out, replace with new, and bam...instant fix. So, I took him up on his offer, excited to see how it turned out and it arrived today!!!! INCREDIBLE. I won this He-Man carded on ebay and was disappointed to see the loose legs inside so I opened him and his legs are just simply perfect. There is NO WAY besides the rubber looking shiny and new that you could tell. And the person I dealt with...absolutely TOP NOTCH. He did the job immediately, emailed me right away, sent it back same day. I had this puppy send and received back in like four days. He even emailed a picture AND a video to show me what it looked like while I waited for it to arrive. Incredible service, cost, and experience. Just letting you know that there is an alternative to drilling into the legs.

Sounds like you got a good deal.Can we see the pic and the video?

**Toyjesus** · January 13, 2009, 08:31pm

Originally Posted by BURTDAWG

Sounds like you got a good deal.Can we see the pic and the video?

Here is the picture and video:

**joeybones** · January 13, 2009, 09:53pm

Im not sure if the video is cool, or creepy.

I think its the "thrusting" motion of the leg pull thats throwing me off.

**DairylandDank** · January 14, 2009, 10:31pm

cool, I always had this query myself too

**H-Balm** · February 16, 2009, 06:49am

Originally Posted by Darkness

Think of the US constitution, that thing has existed for over 200 years and it's just paper.
.

Actually....... it's parchment.

A cured animal skin.
Think... Silence of the Lambs.

**sircory-1** · February 16, 2009, 09:12am

Originally Posted by H-Balm

Actually....... it's parchment.

A cured animal skin.
Think... Silence of the Lambs.

It's also in a specialized micro-environment with very little oxygen, mostly nitrogen. If we could afford this for all of our figures, then we wouldn't have anything to worry about!

**Bak-or** · February 16, 2009, 09:24am

I've always tried to keep my stuff in tip-top condition so imagine my dismay when I discovered my Fright Zone glove puppet had all but disintegrated! Has anyone else had this problem?

**RyDell** · February 16, 2009, 02:03pm

My kids play with the vintage guys relentlessly... most have survived, but yea we've had some leg breaks... great solution, commemorative! These guys are like starting over again, and they are holding up really well. There are sooo many lots on ebay, that when we lose a number of characters due to the unrelenting violence on Eternia, we'll pick up another lot for 15 bucks. I don't think Mattel was thinking we'd be passing these toys off, or still collecting them 30 years down the line... that being considered, most of them as well as their play features have held up wonderfully... some modern toy lines break after 2 days out of the package, let alone 30 years.

**Arkangel** · February 16, 2009, 03:08pm

paper, books, hard drives, cd's, these are not likely to survive for 300 years. a plastic figure, i guess it will last way longer than that, except for the leg bands

**Robert** · February 16, 2009, 03:49pm

Maybe all of them will fall apart, but I'll deal with that when the time comes.

**DanielSchenstrom** · February 16, 2009, 04:33pm

I read up on the deteroration of action figures and plastics last week, after being reminded of a few sticky figures as I dusted my action figure shelves. (No sticky MOTU, but I only have two vintage ones, only GI Joe/Action Force and old Kenner Star Wars, and one not too old Invisible Woman form ToyBiz.)

Anyway, from what I read what makes figures sticky is the chemicals mixed in with the plastics (like softeners) that loose their bond. My Action Force Zartan for example oozes something crystalline. Things that accelerate degradation include light, lack of oxygen, chemicals and temperature variation. The last one appaerently is the biggest common crook.

Bags in general is bad for both plastic and paper since they keep out oxygen and include chemicals that do damage. Mostly to paper. For example Mylar bags that comics collector's use needs to be replaced every few years to make sure.

Another factor is what type of plastic that was used and which chemicals were added, in a particular batch of figures. Still, the rubber will go before the plastic and the plastic in these action figures will outlast us all even if it becomes sticky and colors run (Two Bad is a common example from MOTU).

So, mild/cool room temperature with ventilation and no lights is the ideal.

**Darkness** · February 16, 2009, 06:06pm

Originally Posted by DanielSchenstrom

Bags in general is bad for both plastic and paper since they keep out oxygen and include chemicals that do damage. Mostly to paper. For example Mylar bags that comics collector's use needs to be replaced every few years to make sure.

WHAT?!? Are you sure? I buy mylars specifically because they needn't be replaced, have I been lied to?

I still think there has to be a way to preserve your figures without having to sell your first born in order to pay for it.

**DanielSchenstrom** · February 17, 2009, 11:26am

No, sorry, my bad. Mylar should be the safe option, I meant the regular cheaper comics polybags.

**RyDell** · February 17, 2009, 01:08pm

I've noticed that if u wash figs with soap and water, the stickiness does indeed go away... it may take a few washes. None of my vintage MOTU have gotten the stick however, all are doing just fine, well except for the bands... nothing will help that nonsense!

**Hordak Alpha** · February 17, 2009, 03:36pm

Originally Posted by Robert

Maybe all of them will fall apart, but I'll deal with that when the time comes.

Me too. I think mine are as decent as they are because they are for display now. I don't play with them and I'll never let my nieces play with them. Even my 200x stuff is off limits. Mine should be fine for decades to come and after that I won't care because I'll be dead.

**sircory-1** · February 17, 2009, 03:49pm

Originally Posted by DanielSchenstrom

I read up on the deteroration of action figures and plastics last week, after being reminded of a few sticky figures as I dusted my action figure shelves. (No sticky MOTU, but I only have two vintage ones, only GI Joe/Action Force and old Kenner Star Wars, and one not too old Invisible Woman form ToyBiz.)

Anyway, from what I read what makes figures sticky is the chemicals mixed in with the plastics (like softeners) that loose their bond. My Action Force Zartan for example oozes something crystalline. Things that accelerate degradation include light, lack of oxygen, chemicals and temperature variation. The last one appaerently is the biggest common crook.

Bags in general is bad for both plastic and paper since they keep out oxygen and include chemicals that do damage. Mostly to paper. For example Mylar bags that comics collector's use needs to be replaced every few years to make sure.

Another factor is what type of plastic that was used and which chemicals were added, in a particular batch of figures. Still, the rubber will go before the plastic and the plastic in these action figures will outlast us all even if it becomes sticky and colors run (Two Bad is a common example from MOTU).

So, mild/cool room temperature with ventilation and no lights is the ideal.

I can see how light and temperature can be the two biggest culprits here. Paper (such as what the card backs are made of) will have a shorter half life if you give it plenty of oxygen. Anything biological in origin (like paper) needs to be kept out of oxygen rich sources or it will deteriorate. This is probably in contrast to plastics which have very little (if any) organic composition, thus probably survive better in more arid, oxygen-rich environments.

To make a long story short, you are faced with a dilemma with vintage carded action figures: to preserve the card, or preserve the figure? Unless you design a system that has the proper mixture of gases (oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen) and controlled temperature and lighting. But for the most of us the "mild/cool temperature with ventilation and no lights" recipe will work just fine.

**Darkness** · February 17, 2009, 04:06pm

Originally Posted by DanielSchenstrom

No, sorry, my bad. Mylar should be the safe option, I meant the regular cheaper comics polybags.

eep.

You scared me there, I thought I was going to have to change up again and it would have driven my comic shop crazy.

**Heidi** · February 18, 2009, 01:51am

Nothing in life is permanent, all things deteroriate. I try not to get too attached to anything material.

There's enough to worry about the living beings around me.

heidi

**j-bird** · March 28, 2009, 06:39pm

Oh, if only I'd had this information when I was 7 ...

When I think of the "amputee" figures I had as a kid ...

**Amberbratt** · March 31, 2009, 04:18am

ya i woul dlove to get this info... so i could start building my Motu collection

**danbrenus** · March 31, 2009, 10:04am

Oh, well, with the He-bro way I've fixed dozen of my figures, don't mind if the loose value, they will be forever mine!
Now a question, nobody knows how to fix the leg joint of other knock-off AF? I just purchased a lot with three Remco figures with their hard-plastic joints brocken, it's a glue-proof damage, anyone knows how?
C'mon He-bro, you're the genius here, make me dream!

**He-bro** · March 31, 2009, 11:44am

Originally Posted by danbrenus

Oh, well, with the He-bro way I've fixed dozen of my figures, don't mind if the loose value, they will be forever mine!
Now a question, nobody knows how to fix the leg joint of other knock-off AF? I just purchased a lot with three Remco figures with their hard-plastic joints brocken, it's a glue-proof damage, anyone knows how?
C'mon He-bro, you're the genius here, make me dream!

Is this what you have?

**danbrenus** · March 31, 2009, 12:09pm

Yeah, damn those joints!

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