How to Switch Roboto's arm Tutorial by HKC

[Hunter Knight]

Hey guys, I put together a quick tutorial on how to switch the arms on that messy motuc figure. Hope you guys find it useful!

[kk2]

Hey guys, I put together a quick tutorial on how to switch the arms on that messy motuc figure. Hope you guys find it useful!

Cool vid, thx for sharing.
Awesome with the Final Fantasy music, especially when you finished the fixes on Roboto

[KalesDad]

"So much for being un-biased", LOL!!!

Great video man! I never thought too much about boiling the plastic actually changing its' properties like that, good point. What I've done in the past, when I wanted to readjust He-Man's hair piece, all I did was throw his head into a cup full of steaming tap-water for just over a minute, and it did the trick; softened the glue and made the plastic pliable enough for removal.

I think when I open Roboto for my Son, if I feel like switching out his shoulders, I'll probably fix one of them my way, and the other the way you showed with the hair dryer. Wouldn't the heat from the hair dryer end up making the plastic brittle later-on as well? Or is this something you've tried before? EDIT: Also wanted to add, why do his biceps look so small, or is the shoulder peg that goes into them actually too long?

Also very much in agreeance with you on the fact that we should've been told about this issue up-front, before Roboto's release. Though of course I can understand from a business point-of-view about wanting to sell-out of their product... but still.

Anyway, as I said, great video! Thanks.

[kk2]

Wouldn't the heat from the hair dryer end up making the plastic brittle later-on as well? Or is this something you've tried before?

Boiling is at 212 F, I don't think your hairdryer will get that hot
At least I hope not

[KalesDad]

Ugh, science and math!! Actually, it would be my wife's hairdryer, and that thing is a MONSTER!! So I really wouldn't put it past anything from her lady-stuff being a little over-the-top, lol.

For now, my steaming water trick does the... well, trick!

[Inhibitor]

Hey Hunter, have you actually seen a figure break later on after being boiled? I had no idea that would be an issue down the line! Thank you for the considerably drier(dryer) method, I'm going to attempt that on my next roboto (too much warping occurred on his neck with mine).

[THE RAW]

very helpfull!
thanks for taking the time making this video
it´s way easier to follow compaired to text
rock on!

[DO4M]

I wonder how long we'll have to wait until we see a HKC Kick-ass 200X Classics-ized Roboto custom... Somehow I feel that this custom will happen.

[kelddorr]

great video too! and yeah i broke a figure boiling it, the original bucks from the 80's figures, yeah they get real brittle=fragile! cool video! oh and hunterknight, did you ever get a broken nose, maybe a fight or, well i broke mine around 4 times fighting, i like fighting, i do mostly in the dojo, but was wondering if you were a fellow martial artist!

[jiveSEVEN]

Great vid, I might have to try it out sometime. I'm clumsy when it comes to this stuff though. I even super glued my TRU He-Man and Prince Adam's left ankles shut lol.

[Dr Kain]

So boiling a figure is bad? Then why is that the way everyone told me to do it for years and I have?

Anyway, cool video, good to know, but I know that if I tried to open his body, I would break a piece off it or something.

[nicholighkun]

Aweseome stuff man. Nice choice of music too. I'm surprised you didn't mention "the original" burst that appeared on so many peoples Roboto, including mine. Thanks again Mattel!!

[Hunter Knight]

Hey Hunter, have you actually seen a figure break later on after being boiled? I had no idea that would be an issue down the line! Thank you for the considerably drier(dryer) method, I'm going to attempt that on my next roboto (too much warping occurred on his neck with mine).

Yeah my super early Simon Belmont from castlevania 4. It was a custom I made in 2004 using a 200x he-man as a base. Both shoulder discs broke when I was posing it.

very helpfull!
thanks for taking the time making this video
it´s way easier to follow compaired to text
rock on!

So you saw my earlier ones hehe... I did not posted them on the org cause Adora swears too much and i don't know if that is allowed here. Your art is a great source of Ideas man, My Dekker begun as an inspiration I took from your designs. Thank you!

great video too! and yeah i broke a figure boiling it, the original bucks from the 80's figures, yeah they get real brittle=fragile! cool video! oh and hunterknight, did you ever get a broken nose, maybe a fight or, well i broke mine around 4 times fighting, i like fighting, i do mostly in the dojo, but was wondering if you were a fellow martial artist!

Haha well never broke a nose, although I have a black belt, and studied martial arts with the Peruvian army (my dad was an officer)...my weird nose is part of my Italian heritage...Its so big it has its own zip code hehehe!

So boiling a figure is bad? Then why is that the way everyone told me to do it for years and I have?

Anyway, cool video, good to know, but I know that if I tried to open his body, I would break a piece off it or something.

I suppose is a very popular method, but I do not use it also cause for me is unpactical. I work on 15 figures a week on average and boiling water for each...well...

Aweseome stuff man. Nice choice of music too. I'm surprised you didn't mention "the original" burst that appeared on so many peoples Roboto, including mine. Thanks again Mattel!!

Final Fantasy is king man! yeah I forgot cause none of the ones I ordered came with the burst and when that issue started popping the vid was already edited...Gotta love matty hehe

Cool vid, thx for sharing.
Awesome with the Final Fantasy music, especially when you finished the fixes on Roboto

Final fantasy was my drug back in the late 90's man! wish I had the time to play the new ones!

Great vid, I might have to try it out sometime. I'm clumsy when it comes to this stuff though. I even super glued my TRU He-Man and Prince Adam's left ankles shut lol.

Oh man! nice punch out avatar!

[Lookie]

Thanks for doing this tutorial. I may have to give it a try.

[Hunter Knight]

thanks for doing this tutorial. I may have to give it a try.

awesome avatar!

[diosoth]

I don't use boiling water. It's unnecessary. I've found running the piece under the hot faucet tap water is sufficient to heat the plastic enough to be flexible without being too hot. G.I. Joes and smaller toys need maybe 15 seconds, 30 seconds for MOTUC limbs as they're larger.

[Tyke]

I sold all of my Classics' figures and will not renew my subscription.....so this thread didn't really interest me at first...a couple days later I watched it and it hit me: THIS IS A REALLY WELL-DONE TUTORIAL.

I'm very glad I watched it! Well done, sir.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Unfortunately no tutorial is going to help with my Roboto. He came with 2 of the same shoulder. Even if I switch them around, it will still look the same.

[kylun flac]

this was very helpful. love the video very fun. I'm a little worried about braking him or getting supper glue on him so I will wait. but I will remember this in case I decide to try.

[Skell-Skells]

Thanks for the video, very informative. I actually didn't know that the shoulder-to-bicep articulation was just a big fat ol' plug joint, and thus could be removed with heating like the mid-calf cut (I've swapped out several boots). I think I tried it once on a He-Man's bicep and found it really resistant, so I didn't persist it any further. Is this definitely the standard construction for all MOTUC figs?

But as far as Roboto goes... I dunno. It LOOKS like an easy enough fix from your video, but given the rigid nature of the clear plastic the chest is made from I'd be extremely nervous about trying to crack him open like a lobster. It seems like there'd be a very high risk of causing stress-fractures in the plastic, especially considering some people have reported their Robotos have little chest-cracks right out of the packet.

I'd LIKE to do this fix, but frankly I think the risk of damage seems too great when I don't own a spare, and also personally I don't think the difference with the reversed shoulders is all that significant to the overall appearance of the figure, especially considering those circuits don't really line up anyway if you pose the arms in any position other than straight-on.

[davidlogan]

Great video! I'm cautious to try this because I just myself getting a bit too forceful and cracking that clear plastic.

However, if nothing else I did learn something from this video. I'm gong to stop boiling figures. I've done this in the past with SEVERAL of mine and I hope it doesn't lead to issues down the road.

P.S. The Final Fantasy victory tune made me smile.

Great vid, I might have to try it out sometime. I'm clumsy when it comes to this stuff though. I even super glued my TRU He-Man and Prince Adam's left ankles shut lol.

I have had to put glue in the ankles of at least six of my MOTUC figures straight out of the package so they could stand.

In the case of BA He-man I must have stopped moving his joint too soon because I froze his ankle joint in place. I tried applying hair dryer heat to him and just moving it back and forth and working with it to regain mobility and it didn't happen.

However...this summer while I was away from home for a few days it got hot in the house with no AC. When I returned his ankle could move again. So all is not lost for your frozen ankled figures!

[Hunter Knight]

Thanks for the video, very informative. I actually didn't know that the shoulder-to-bicep articulation was just a big fat ol' plug joint, and thus could be removed with heating like the mid-calf cut (I've swapped out several boots). I think I tried it once on a He-Man's bicep and found it really resistant, so I didn't persist it any further. Is this definitely the standard construction for all MOTUC figs?

But as far as Roboto goes... I dunno. It LOOKS like an easy enough fix from your video, but given the rigid nature of the clear plastic the chest is made from I'd be extremely nervous about trying to crack him open like a lobster. It seems like there'd be a very high risk of causing stress-fractures in the plastic, especially considering some people have reported their Robotos have little chest-cracks right out of the packet.

I'd LIKE to do this fix, but frankly I think the risk of damage seems too great when I don't own a spare, and also personally I don't think the difference with the reversed shoulders is all that significant to the overall appearance of the figure, especially considering those circuits don't really line up anyway if you pose the arms in any position other than straight-on.

Early He-man versions used a low quality plastic that made them quite rigid and/or fragile. I would advise not to touch that one. The reissue ones have a much better quality and are easy to work on.

[General Hawk 7]

Hey HK,

Fellow Florididian here!

I just wanted to say thank you for that video and review. I gotta also say I agree with you 100% on everything you said man! Especially about the 200X style Roboto vs ....the "Lack'O'Detail" one we got for MOTUC.

Keep up the good work man! And I recommend you do figure reviews for the MOTUC line on a regular basis!
I like Pixel Dan's reviews, but sometimes I think he's a bit too...NICE about the products, whereas you didn't pull any punches but were respectful at the same time.
I'd watch them!

- Hawk

[Rodster6]

As soon as I tried to pry the chest open stress cracks appeared so I stopped before they got any bigger. Is their any way to losen the glue first using the hair dryer? I dont know if the heat would make the glue come unstuck or not?

[synthalus]

Thanks for the great review Hunter Knight!

I never boil figures either. I used to use the hairdryer method, but I had some melted plastics which made me stop using that method. Putting the parts under running hot tap water is always sufficient enough to do the trick for me.

In my personal experience, water doesn't harm figures.
I've been cleaning used figures for over 15 years by putting them into a bath of hot tap water with antibacterial dishwasher soap. I didn't run into problems at all, they are still in great shape. If I didn't clean them, they would be wasted by now for sure because of fungus and rot caused from the grease, dirt, grime that where on them. So it is always wise to clean your figures. Not to mention... the dead bugs that where inside some of the used vehicles. Used vintage toys are always full of surprises!

There is another way to crack open the chest. Fill the torso with water and put the figure in the freezer for several hours. The water will expand and crack open the torso.
Since the freezing of the water is such a slow process, there won't be any stress marks. The trick is to get enough water in there otherwise it doesn't work.