Blueshirt surgery?

[yorktownjoe]

Okay, maybe I'm just being a coward, but an O-ring snapped on one of my TRU Blueshirts. No prob, right? I've got plenty of O-rings sitting around.

So I remove the screw and the torso doesn't budge a bit. (Normally, they just kind of fall open at that point...)

Any advice from customizers for my dilemma? Are these just overly tight torsos that need to be gently pried apart, or might this require exacto-knife work?

I don't want to do anything stupid, so I thought I'd ask...

Thanks in advance for any tips. :confused:

[gung ho]

i've had a few of my figures do this to me just take your exacto-knife run it don't the crack in the torso and push it through the crack and the move it side to side the torso should come open

(dang that sounded X-rated) lol

[General Scarlett]

Yeah man, the only way really to do it is to use either an Exacto knife or a flat edged razor.....just take your time and work it. You'll do just fine.

The problem is the glue they use is like SuperGlue so it take patience to get it apart the first time!!


Let us know how it works out for you!!

[General Jones]

Would this technique work with the 84 Zartan and the 86 Zandar?

[General Scarlett]

[QUOTE=General Jones]Would this technique work with the 84 Zartan and the 86 Zandar?[/QUOTE]

Yes it will.

But you have to remember that the original Zartan, Zandar and Zarana were 'treated' for the sunlight color change. To 'break through' their torso's you really have to work at it!! But they will come apart.....just have patience!!!! ;) :cool:

Let us know how it works for you!!

[yorktownjoe]

Thanks for the tips. Now I know why I don't see too many customs using these fellas!

I'll try later and be careful not to injure myself!! ;)

[Lava Boss]

Some were glued and some weren't apparently.

I had trouble taking one apart, and no trouble with another.

[Urban Saboteur]

I actually used a scalpel on Zandar about two christmas's ago.. Zandar's torso swiveled and I impaled the scalpel in my finger.. :o :(
Be careful.. it's highly dangerous work!! :D

[yorktownjoe]

Ouch!

Rich, maybe I should start a new thread of hobby related injuries. I know the worst freak accident I witnessed was my mother-in-law trying to open a plastic mylar tube containing several mini-packs of play-doh for my sons. She was trying to open it with a paring knife... plunged it into her left hand between pointer finger and thumb. Knicked an artery, but she kept saying she was going to be okay.... We had to run her to the hospital. :eek: A few stiches and she was all right.

I'm clumsy anyway, so I'll put the piece in a clamp of some sort... :o

[Lava Boss]

It's risky but I had a used Zartan I dipped in boiling water, which made cutting him apart easier. But the hard plastic can warp out of shape and has no "memory", that's the risky part. I know I ruined a used Serpentor with a stripped screw...oddly the screw fell out, but I left the torso in too long...warped beyond usage and discolored strangely.

So, not recommended. But I mentioned it anyway. ;)

[ender098]

If you don't wanna risk an exacto knife, just put a screwdriver in the hole at the base of the torso and use it to gently pry it open. That's usually how I do it unless I think it's glued (as in the case of the BJ's 8 pack Storm Shadow and any of the Ninja Force Figures), then I pry with the screw driver and slide an exacto knife to work the seam slowly.

[Prince Adam]

Also you could leave it in the feezer for a bit. That tends to make the glue brittle and will make your work easier.

[Acantilado]

You may hav already try this, but before using any cutting device, try tu move one of the arms (holding it by the upper half) as a lever to push the two sides of the torso appart.