Breakability of Figures

[Hubert]

I dunno if anyone's ever created a thread about this (there probably has been), but I thought it might be nice to talk about the fragile aspects of some figures and how easily some seem to break. Figured this might be a nice reference for people to choose which figures might be the most durable choices to buy, as well as what figures to be careful with when handling. And for the rest of us to amuse ourselves over-analyzing figure breakage.

One that immediately comes to mind for me is the Vaudeville Statler and Waldorf. My first set of them came out and worked fine, and later their legs broke. Any more sets that I've bought since seem to break the second I get them out of the packaging.

 

[crazy chris]

i see broken janice's on ebay all the time... i dont know what people are doing with these figures to break them? besides giving them to the kids to play with... leave em on the card... or display them... too nice to be gnawed on by the kids or dog...lol

cc

 

[Hubert]

Janice's legs break off really easily, I have too broken ones. You don't necessarily need to give it to a kid or dog to break them, simply trying to display them or even too roughly getting them out of the packaging make them break.

While on the subject of EM legs, Floyd's legs break off very easily as well.

 

[ncchuck]

my floyd's hand broke just getting him out, I only have him dr teeth and link opened so 1 out of 3 broke just getting it off the card

 

[Hubert]

Hm, interesting, I've never had a problem with Floyd's hands, only his legs. My Dr. Teeth had a hand problem, but I think that was actually my fault and not something that usually happens,

 

[ncchuck]

i didnt really pose them, i had an extra floyd and dr teeth but the bubbles were yellow so i opened them and put them on my shelf, but the 3 i have is the only loose ones i have ever had. i am more of a moc collector because i hate to see them break

 

[CaseytheMuppet]

Half of my Clifford's mustache kept falling off, and I ended up losing it because it was so small. So I have a Clifford with half a mustache.

 

[Mister Muppet]

My Cabin boy Rizzo's tail snapped off I'm gonna super glue it back on soon

 

[Muppetboy09]

I understand that this isn't necessarily a figure, but awhile ago, I bought a Swedish Chef Hallmark Keepsake ornament. Almost immediately, all of the lobsters snapped off. I have glued them back on since then, but unpackage that think with caution!

 

[Dearth]

Vaudeville Statler and Waldorf have a very fragile piece of plastic for their 'pelvis'. It's too brittle and too thin-walled, and I have actually seen them broken IN the package before they were ever opened.

I've done some successful 'hip replacements' on them by cutting a thicker piece of wooden dowel to replace the plastic.

This requires some dremeling of the inner portion of the legs, to accept a larger post, but once reassembled, the modifications are invisible.

~~~

Janice tends to break easily due to how slender her limbs are, which meant they had to experiment with very small posts inside her shoulders and hips. They used a clear plastic for this, which is unfortunately too brittle.

I have yet to come up with a good way to reattach her limbs and retain all of her poseability. Sorry.

~~~

When opening a figure for the first time, I recommend snipping the wire-ties around them from the back side of the blister with a pair of nail-snips.

As you move their points-of-articulation for the first time, the places that tend to break the most often are hands or other things that have a post that inserts into another part of the body.

This can be caused by paint which was still tacky when the figure was assembled, and has dried for YEARS in that one position. (Ironically, they'd have been easier to move if you bought them when they first came out, so there's something to be said for opening your toys after all.)

When moving the hands for the first time, if you encounter resistance, STOP applying torque, and definitely do NOT tug it away from the arm. You're actually just twisting the hand off its own internal post.

Try pushing the entire hand TOWARDS the lower arm as you gently try to rotate it.

You might also want to consider heating the arm with some warm water or a hair dryer to make the plastic slightly more rubbery, which will also make it more forgiving.

Alex