Doll Rescue #5 - GI Joe Restored after Dog Attack #3 - Replacing a Broken Hip Joint

 Hi Magicians!  

It's great to be back!  Since I'm on break from school for the holidays, I thought I should get back to work on some of my long-running projects.  This will be the third of the damaged G.I. Joe 12" action figures that I'll be repairing.

TW: This post contains some gnarly doll gore.  (Dare I say "as usual?")

Unlike the two Joes I worked with before, this guy was only broken in one place.  His hip joint had snapped, and (luckily!) the broken-off leg was not lost.

The rotation disc for the hip was still trapped inside the body, but had slipped out of place.  And, because of how narrow the hip peg is, and how close to the leg it was broken, simply gluing the joint back together was out of the question.  

I decided to replace the joint with a three-part Lego assembly, with a rotating socket and spinning disc, to maintain a full range of motion at the hip (just like I did for the prosthetic wrist here.)

The grey half of the disc set had a very convenient manufacturing defect and was already missing the block underneath, so I didn't even have to grind it down.

The first step was to hollow out the head of the hip joint.  I used a Dremel Stylo to cut through the plastic:

...and pliers to help pull away the rubber surrounding the hard plastic of the joint.

The joint was sealed tightly into the leg and consisted of both hard plastic and rubber discs.  On action figures like this, the joints are incorporated into an extremely hard plastic core that runs through the entire limb segment, so they are very tough to remove!

I used a different bit on the Stylo (along with a craft knife) to finish hollowing out the hip socket.

I also hollowed out and enlarged the original socket on the body to make room for the Lego pieces, since the joint assembly was going to be a bit longer than the original:

Finally, I also ground down the Lego pieces as much as I could without damaging their range of motion.

Using hot glue, I attached the rotation socket onto the body...

...and the disc set into the hollowed-out hip, making sure to only glue the grey disc (so the black half can still rotate!)

Before the glue had fully set, I made sure the pieces still fit together and had not gotten clogged with glue.

Since the leg cannot rotate axially (in/out), I also had to make sure the foot was pointing forward and not skewed in or out when Joe tries to stand.

Because the joint still has two degrees of freedom, it can both bend forward (so he can sit) and open outwards, just like the original hip.

To strengthen the joint and help it look a little nicer, I used Apoxie Sculpt to build around it and smooth out the front:

I also did the same for the socket, so it won't pull out:

When the two pieces click together, you can't even really see the Lego pieces!

Adding the Apoxie also made the joint a tiny bit stiffer, so it stays in place and Joe can stand by himself - always a good thing.

Finally, I color-matched his skin with acrylic paint and gave each side of the joint a few coats.

Adding a matte acrylic spray sealer not only protects the paint, but also makes its texture more similar to the plastic, so it blends in quite well. 

Now that it's painted, you can hardly tell the joint has been replaced!  

The only other thing bothering me about Joe was his weird, neon-yellow hair and awkward beige lip color.

A trip to the acrylic-and-pastel salon has him looking a bit more natural.

And that's all!  I sewed a t-shirt for Joe (from my own pattern) and found him some pants and boots.

As I hoped, the full range of motion in the hip has been restored. He can stand, sit, and bend it just like the other side. 

This repair went way faster than I thought it would - including drying and curing time, it only took two days!  So I may actually have time to post again before I go back to school.

Thanks for reading!  As always, you can comment below this post or email me at modelhorsemagic@gmail.com.  And don't forget to check out my YouTube channel, Miniature_Magic, for unboxings, collection tours, DIY tutorials, and more.  I also have another blog, the Stablemates Model Workshop, where I focus more on model horses.

Bye Magicians!!

~Miniature_Magic