[Josh Z]

Per discussion in the ARAH Hauls thread, I'm going to post instructions for one method (not the only possible method) to repair a vintage G.I. Joe figure whose o-ring is damaged but the chest cannot be opened. I cannot take any credit for this technique, as I learned it from a Facebook group ("GI Joe ARAH Vintage Toy Line 1982 to 1994").

I used this method to repair a B.A.T. whose back screw was stripped beyond any ability to drill it out. This is also relevant for any figures whose torso halves came glued together, such as Zartan, Zarana, Zandar, and all of the Ninja Force figures.

You will need some elastic crafting cord. I used this one and it worked pretty well. You might be able to find something else cheaper.

First and most importantly, do not remove the broken o-ring. You will need to use it to fish the cord through the torso. Without that, getting the cord through is exponentially harder. (I haven't had luck with it, myself.)



Tie a piece of string or dental floss (floss may be stronger) to one side of the o-ring and to the elastic cord. I recommend using a much longer piece of cord than you need. That will give you leeway to work, and you can cut the excess off later.



Grip the other end of the o-ring with a pair of needle-nose pliers. If the o-ring hasn't completely snapped yet, you can cut it now.



Very gently and slowly use the pliers to pull the o-ring out and drag the floss and ultimately the cord through the chest cavity.



Once you've gotten this far, the hardest part is done. Next, loop the cord through the t-bar and tie the ends together with a square knot and a figure eight knot.



Then just cinch the knots tight, cut off the excess cord, and you're done.



The end result may be a little looser than a good o-ring, but you shouldn't have to worry about the figure falling apart.

It worked for me. I hope some of you find this helpful.

[Josh Z]

And yes, that B.A.T. does have a weird chest plate. That's a whole separate discussion.

I thought I knew where this figure came from, but it turns out I was wrong.

[TommyTx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CombinedArms

Greetings all,
I recently retrieved all of my vintage Joe figures and vehicles from storage at my parents' house and plan to do some restorations. The first project is to get the figures into shape. I'm going to replace all of the broken/loose o-rings and rusty screws but I have some questions:

• Are the o-rings and back & thigh screws standard sizes that I could find at a hardware store?
• If not, are there any recommended vendors for those? (I know smalljoes.com sells o-rings. What's the HT consensus of that site? I also see a lot of eBay sellers, but would like some HT expert recommendations.)
• I also have one figure with a broken t-bar hook. Are there any reputable vendors for that part? (Same question about eBay sellers.)

Thanks for the assistance!

My 2 cents:

As for the O-Rings, I bought some at the hardware store, but found the ones at SmallJoes.com (bulk) were more economical, as I had about 50 figures to repair. Now I have extras in case of more breakage. I ordered a bunch of foot plate stands from there as well. Only a few of the plates were defective out of a box of 50 or so. The O-rings from smalljoes.com were perfect. If you only need a few, the hardware store offering should do fine.

[Cross Country]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Z

And yes, that B.A.T. does have a weird chest plate. That's a whole separate discussion.

I thought I knew where this figure came from, but it turns out I was wrong.

Thanks Josh. Clever. I have a Zandar that may need this trick.

Funny thing is I've been using existing copper lines as a drag when upgrading to fiber for decades. It never occurred to me to use that trick for the O-Rings.

[BeachheadMatt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Z

And yes, that B.A.T. does have a weird chest plate. That's a whole separate discussion.

I thought I knew where this figure came from, but it turns out I was wrong.

This is very cool. I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to knot tying. Can you dumb down the very last step for me?

[Josh Z]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeachheadMatt

This is very cool. I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to knot tying. Can you dumb down the very last step for me?

I learned it from this video, starting at 5:30. This guy explains it better than I could.

It worked for me to hang a Skystriker from my ceiling, and the same knots worked on this.

[Josh Z]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cross Country

Thanks Josh. Clever. I have a Zandar that may need this trick.

Funny thing is I've been using existing copper lines as a drag when upgrading to fiber for decades. It never occurred to me to use that trick for the O-Rings.

I have a broken Zartan I've been experimenting on. Unfortunately, the o-ring came out of that one, and I've had no luck getting anything through the chest without it. I'm sure it's possible, but I'm not skilled enough to do it.

[Cross Country]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Z

I have a broken Zartan I've been experimenting on. Unfortunately, the o-ring came out of that one, and I've had no luck getting anything through the chest without it. I'm sure it's possible, but I'm not skilled enough to do it.

Not sure what tools and supplies you may have access to but if it were me I’d try stripping a foot or so of insulation off of some 22 or 24 gauge copper wire with some needle nose with a wire stripper in it. Discard the wire and try the then skin rubber insulation. Maybe dental floss. Or put a hook in the stripped 24 gauge copper and try to hook it through?

[Cryoguns]

I'm currently working on restoring a Terror Drome I just picked up, but I thought I would share a couple of others I have done in the past:

First is a Snow Cat. While the original looked a bit rough, it actually cleaned up really nicely. I replaced the missing headlights, air vents, and replaced the back panel for a broken footpeg. Polished the non-frosted portion of the windshield.

Second is a Skystriker. Overall in very good shape, but it had picked up a lot of dirt, lost a few stickers, and had some color fading on the remaining stickers. I still have the original seats with parachutes, but opted to display it with spare seats minus the parachutes since they take up a lot of room in the cockpit. Also polished the canopy in addition to disassembly and general deep cleaning.

[Cryoguns]

This is probably more of a custom than a restoration, but the same principle applies. Just wanted to show a before and after of using Novus 1-3 polish on clear plastic.

Below is a HAVOC I had customized. I loved this toy as a kid, but even then I knew how dumb an all glass greenhouse was on something that was essentially a light tank. The before picture is actually after I had washed and scrubbed it with soap...the fingerprints and grease/dirt over the years just doesn't like to come out and leaves it looking frosted. The After polishing picture (when it's painted) still helps to show how much it cleaned up. The top part of the canopy actually cleaned up just as well, I just repainted it (and the blaze orange) due to not liking those particular aspects of the toy's design I have a Tomahawk canopy that was just as bad and cleaned up nice and clear as well, but I don't have any Before pictures of it.