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

Doll Rescue #3 - GI Joe Restoration from Dog Attack! #1 - Hand Resculpt and Boots

Hey Magicians!
I know, I haven't posted in forever (feels like I'm always saying this!) but school and the pandemic had me shut down for a while.

Today, I'll be showing off a project I've been working on for a good while.  I recently bought some used 12" GI Joe action figures, most of which had suffered a pretty serious dog attack.  I'm talking everything from small tooth marks to entire limbs broken or gnawed off.  But, I figured these guys deserved a new lease on life, so you'll be seeing a few posts from me detailing the process for each one.

Today's Joe had a chewed-up right foot, and his left hand had been totally bitten off (luckily after the wrist).

So of course, the first step was to go in with Apoxie sculpt and fix up the foot:

I also decided to just straight up resculpt the hand.  I've never sculpted a hand before, so I wasn't really sure how to start.  I decided to patch up the palm and then do the fingers in stages, one knuckle at a time.  The first pass looked like baby hands!

Second pass:

Third pass:

Final pass and details:

I also added some color to his face and repainted the worn spots in his eyes and hair.

Before:

After:

The last step was to sand and paint the new foot and hand to match the rest of his body:

I do think the original hand was articulated (since the other one is) so it's sad that he can't move his fingers anymore.  But still, an improvement.

He needed some clothes, too.  This action figure had on a jumpsuit, which I washed and repaired, and these black boots, which had also taken some serious doggy damage:

I filled in the holes and smoothed out the toes with hot glue:

 Then, I sanded everything down for a cleaner finish:

To get a more unique texture, I cut out pieces of faux leather to wrap around the sides of the boots.  The brown side pieces are shown here; I also covered the toes in black faux leather and cut strips for edging.

 With a little paint and some sealer, these boots are looking fresh!

And here he is!  G.I. Joe is happy to be back in action, I think.  I'll be posting some of his buddies' stories soon, so stay tuned!

As always, feel free to comment below 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.
Bye Magicians!

~Miniature_Magic