Fixing a broken neck.

[Thundershot]

Hi folks.
Thanks to the fact that his head had broken off, I bought this for a song @ last months N.E.C. toy fair.

A.jpg (168.73 KiB) Viewed 1027 times

Fortunately it was a clean break & the previous owner had glued it back on using contact adhesive which, despite looking a mess, was easily removed & hadn't harmed the plastic.

As I've yet to discover a glue that'll work well with this kind of plastic, I figured the best way to reattach it would to be to by using a screw & a couple of washers.

I carefully drilled a hole in the bottom of the neck, starting off with a very fine drill bit & then using progressively larger bits (to not unduly stress & crack the plastic) until the hole was the correct size for the chosen screw.

B.jpg (143.39 KiB) Viewed 1027 times

It was then a simple case of checking the tightness so the head wasn't wobbly yet can still freely move.

C.jpg (179.04 KiB) Viewed 1027 times

Once the figures re assembled it's impossible to tell it's ever been broken.

D.jpg (257.62 KiB) Viewed 1027 times

Jobs a good un!

This is probably a well known repair method to experienced collectors, but it's the first time I tried it myself & have a very satisfying sense of self achievement in saving a desirable figure for prosperity .

Cheers
T'shot.

[Double-Tap]

Great job!!

[Graham_UK]

Looks good! I have another answer to this problem, it still requires being accurate with a pin vice drill. If you use superglue to tack the neck piece back to the head then use a 1mm drill to drill right through the neck and about 4-5mm into the head, then get a length of carbon fibre rod (really cheap from a model shop) cut it down using a razor saw and again use superglue to fix it all together, the glue will stick like sh*t to a shovel on the carbon rod and the freshly drilled hole. It's a nice trick I learned from my Warhammer days, it's basically pinning but with a carbon rod

It's interesting as I've also found it hard to make an old break stick, new breaks seem to adhere much better!

[The Black Major]

Brilliant idea and top job. Looks like it's never happened!

[Chopper]

Exactly how I do it, though I use PC case screws as they are bang on the right size. Same technique can be used for palitoy figures.

[wolforrest]

Must admit that Im too lazy and just stick a ball shaped piece of blue tack on.
Your technique is spot on though.

[Lady Jaye]

Excellent fix Ed!

[SteveD]

Agreed! Really nice tip!

I've found that if dremmelling these heads they tend to get more rubbery the hotter they get, so that's best avoided!

I also chuckled at the pic of him holding his head! It's the "Sleepy Hollow" variant of Steeler!!!

[Thundershot]

Cheers guys

Exactly how I do it

Great minds think alike

Hi Graham, I've not heard of that technique before.. using carbon fibre sounds very'Six Million Dollar Man'

[SteveD]

using carbon fibre sounds very'Six Million Dollar Man'

We can rebuild you. We have the technology.