Broken Figures, Crazy Mods?

Paul Kian · August 3, 2020

Hi fellow Coaches & Tudor Forumites,

I received some prepainted teams in the mail today, and unfortunately two of my figures arrived broken off at the heels. 😢

I'm not posting to complain though; I completely understand that shipping is a rough trek for any packages, especially fragile little plastic guys, and after reaching out Tudor is going to send me a couple replacements, so thank you Wyatt at Tudor! 😁

My post is actually in regards to the fact that I now have some leftover broken bases and broken Figures (including a couple bases and legs from snapped TTQBs) that I can potentially modify. What are some of the craziest mods you guys have done, and what would you suggest I try to do with them? I was thinking about stripping the paint off completely and trying to make some Mascots, refs, or tackling dummies; has anyone done something like that before with their broken figs? 👍

Thank you,

PK

Edited August 3, 2020 by Paul Kian

The Major · August 3, 2020

Paul,

This does pose a bit of a problem, but not insurmountable. The good ol' dremel drill and pin to the rescue. What I have done in cases like this is to Drill up from the bottom of the base through the foot and out of the ankle making the hole as close as you can to the center. In the case of the piece of broken leg that is at an angle to the base, just drill down as deep as you can until the break point without drilling through the leg (this is so much easier to demonstrate than verbalize).

On the figure itself you drill a corresponding hole in each leg--again making the hole as near as the center as possible. Then simply cut a length of steel or brass narrow gauge wire and insert it in one of the holes on the figure itself. Then with a little super glue run the other end in to the base side holes and hold them together until the glue sets. If the pin comes out of the bottom of the base, trim it flush. Otherwise, trim it prior to gluing.

If the join is still mostly flush, you shouldn't need to fill any significant gaps. Paint will likely be sufficient. However, if a significant gap remains, you may need to use putty or "green stuff" as it is most commonly known as.

Hope this helps!

Paul Kian · August 4, 2020

1 hour ago, The Major said:

Paul,

This does pose a bit of a problem, but not insurmountable. The good ol' dremel drill and pin to the rescue. What I have done in cases like this is to Drill up from the bottom of the base through the foot and out of the ankle making the hole as close as you can to the center. In the case of the piece of broken leg that is at an angle to the base, just drill down as deep as you can until the break point without drilling through the leg (this is so much easier to demonstrate than verbalize).

On the figure itself you drill a corresponding hole in each leg--again making the hole as near as the center as possible. Then simply cut a length of steel or brass narrow gauge wire and insert it in one of the holes on the figure itself. Then with a little super glue run the other end in to the base side holes and hold them together until the glue sets. If the pin comes out of the bottom of the base, trim it flush. Otherwise, trim it prior to gluing.

If the join is still mostly flush, you shouldn't need to fill any significant gaps. Paint will likely be sufficient. However, if a significant gap remains, you may need to use putty or "green stuff" as it is most commonly known as.

Hope this helps!

Thanks Major! I'm glad to know that they can be saved!

Luckily I'm getting replacements, so I will definitely experiment with these two dudes and their 9 intact brethren. I think the first thing I'm going to do is strip them of paint.

Strange as it sounds, I'm thinking about making the AP guy a kicker figure, since I'll probably have to use Green Stuff anyways. I've seen some cool spring leg Kickers that look basically like an AP Fig with, well, a spring leg.

The Lineman is probably a candidate for the attached Tall Guy's Lineman Mod. 😆

RickLM30 · August 4, 2020

Paul, I generally try to salvage broken players by using the Major's method, basically because I'm old and my hands aren't as steady as they used to be for really close work. Good luck though with your modifications. Can't wait to see how they turn out!

The Major · August 9, 2020

Here's some of my work that used when drilling and pinning different legs, heads, torsos and arms together. A bit of a Frankenstein's monster, but they clean up nicely.