Tuesday 17 December 2013

Tutorial on Repair of Faiz broken knee joint

This is a very simple tutorial on a quick fix on Faiz' broken knee. Now, for those whose faiz's knee is not broken, please be very careful when you are twisting the knee horizontally. The ball joint is somewhat tight and if you keep trying to twist it horizontally, the stress will be on the hinge joint right above the ball joint risking breakage over there. More often it is the outer hinge joint which will break. Sometimes its the inner hinge, mine was the inner hinge. There are a couple of ways to fix it and I'll point it out here. For my case, my joint broke and I have foolishly glued it shut rendering the entire joint useless. So I have to replace the entire joint altogether. Unless you manage to purchase those replacement faiz joints found on taobao, you will need to use revoltech joints.
 
Now the first thing you need to do is remove the metal knee cap from the broken joint and glue it on the lower leg (see photo below). You will need to drill a hole o nthe inside of the lower leg ball socket to allow the revoltech joint to go in. You do not need to drill any holes on the upper leg as there is already a hole you can pluck the revoltech joint in.
 
EDIT: just in case you guys are wondering, you can find revoltech joints in HLJ:
 
 
Here is a crucial junction you need to make a decision. Do you use a 10mm single revoltech joint or a 8mm double revoltech joint? The advantage of a double joint is of course more poseability. However, the double joint is way too long and will render faiz having a longer leg than the other (see 3rd photo below). The way to solve this is to cut part of the upper leg away to fit in the double revoltech joint and still maintain a even height pair of legs.
 
For me I chosed the other option and thats using a 10mm single revoltech joint as the added poseability of a double joint is kinda useless for me (see photo below). Since I have drilled a hole on the lower leg, the revoltech joint will fit right in like the photo below.



 
I then glue the revoltech joint to the upper leg. I do NOt glue the revoltech joint on the lower leg. I ensure that the hole i drilled on the lower leg is small enough to allow friction to hold the revoltech joint to hte lower leg tight. By not glueing the lower leg to the revoltech joint, I allow horizontal movement for the lower leg. The result can be seen below:




Now, I would like to explain a bit on an alternate method of repairing faiz joint without using revoltech joints. This can be used if there is only breakage on the outer or inner hinge and you did not glue everything together.

For this example, I assume that the outer hinge is broken and that nothing is being glued in place.(see item "A" on photo below, the blue lines represent the breakage

First, use a hair dryer and blow on the hinge joint to allow easier removal the metal rod on the hinge joint and then the lower leg from the upper leg (see item "B" on photo below). The removal of the metal rod can be very tricky. Use a screwdriver to push it out. Use something to lever the hinge so that the metal rod can be removed without damaging further the hinge joint.

Then, get a thin sheet of plastic (you can even use those plastic on plastic bottles) and cut a small wheel the size of the hinge joint out of it with a hole in the middle (see item "C" on photo below).

What you do is sand the inner surface of the broken outer hinge and the plastic wheel to allow better connection for glue. Glue the plastic wheel on the broken hinge joint inner surface (see red line on photo below). The plastic wheel will act as a support for the broken hinge joint. Glue the broken hinge joint back in place. Let everything dry.

Use a hairdryer again and blow on the joint and the metal rod. Reinsert the inner hinge joint between the outer hinge joint and reinsert the metal rod back in place.

You should have a repaired faiz joint again with better support with the metal wheel.

Hope this helps! :)

36 comments:

  1. it was very clever of you to utilize the joints of them revoltechs!!

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    1. thanks dude but actually i dont deserve the praise. The use of revoltech joints to replace SIC joints have been around for sometime already just that it hasn't being used on faiz before mainly because its kinda spoil the esthetic from the back view. Its the 2nd method above that is more useful to retain faiz's joint and esthetic :)

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  2. Woots! This was also shared on the S.I.C Lover Thailand page. Btw, if it is not too much to ask, mind posting how to mod the joints of the Kamen Rider Black series? Saw the modded ones with the improved articulations. Look so sugoi!!!

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    1. what really? But its not a custom, its just a repair o_o

      The kamen rider black joints mod are made using a combination revoltech and double joint that can be found from hlj. Unfortunately I have never done that before so i cant post it ;p If you can provide me the link to a tutorial of the kamen rider black joint mod I can always translate the japanese/ thai language to english (not that i know japanese or thai language just that I should be able to figure out what they did ;p)

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  3. HAha you're killing it in Thailand man. For all you know, all the ah gua panties will be thrown at your when you visit :D

    http://robotjapan.proboards.com/thread/12645

    Here is the link. The pics are small and I've not experience in modding so I don't quite know what is going on.

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    1. oh wait those pic links works now ;p alrite toturial coming up ;)

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  4. I hardly go thailand so im save hahaha

    as for the link, those pics are extremely small (and the link to the actual pic already doesnt work) D: ill see if i can better pics for making a tutorial

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  5. Do you do repairs on commission?

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    1. hi dude, I only do repairs on commission for close friends but i dont mind doing it for others if its convenient to meet up to get the figure for repairs etc :) you in Singapore?

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    2. Thanks for the reply!

      Yep I'm in SG, Bishan-Braddell area. Do you have an email I can contact you at?

      Cheers!

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    3. Err can u gimme ur email instead? Ill email u then and see if we can work anything out :)

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  7. I was actually hoping you did repairs on commission also, but alas I am in the U.S.

    I got a Faiz Axel whose right leg was pretty much hanging on a front hinge on arrival and was just considering supergluing the platics together but this tutorial shows a better way that is too far from my level of customizing.

    Any simpler options?

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    1. Hi man! Well using revoltech joints as replacement is as simple as it gets unfortunately. However that doesnt mean there are no alternatives. For example you can actually try to source spare faiz joints on taobao a chinese website. You will need the help of taobao agents (e.g daigou etc). Or seeing faiz axel s d most expensive of the faiz series, simply swap joints with a kaixa or delta figure to make it complete again :) hope this helps. If anyone else got etter ideas plsfeel free to contribute :)

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    2. I would except my current Kaixa and Delta (The more prime candidate for a leg swap) is unfortunately on somewhat of a week hinge that should remain just fine if I leave it be.

      I suppose I could hunt for an additional Delta MISB and use him for spare parts and perhaps use Kaixa as a storage for Wolf Orphenoc if the pieces are compatible (Haven't received the Faiz Vol yet and is literally my last piece).

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    3. wea hinge knees can be strengthened using some kind of liquid glue. I am not sure what they're called in the States though. Its kind of liquid and brownish in color. Quite thick. Its not super glue or hot glue mind you. You can find it in hardware shops You pore a bit on the hinge joint and start movingit about while the glue settles in. Once the glue settles in, the additional glue layer provides friction for your hinge joint.

      All faiz body can fit the Orphnorch armors in so thats an idea.

      Why is your Faiz the last piece? Gonna quit SIC collection? hehehe i wont if I were you ;)

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    4. Oh you misunderstand. My last piece of the Faiz collection and rounds off my Heisei 10 ^_^

      I still plan on more but my collection has rather grown.

      Do you have the link for a picture of the glue or something? I will hunt for it.

      My Garren and Faiz suffered the same issues (Leg broke out of box. Same one too!)

      Hey any advice on shoulder pegs? You would never believe it, but Leangle's snapped off during shipping. I think if I use a small enough nail with a rounded head and get it in there I can emulate the same effect as that crappy ball joint.

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  8. oh dont worry about your collection, it will grow haha, i have 200+ figures myself ;p

    hmm i dont have a picture of the glue coz i am still trying to figure out what i used back then, was one year ago and i didnt use it afterwards coz i just change broken joints with revoltech joints. I'll update you once i figure that out.

    For Garren with broken leg, best to replace it with 8mm revoltech double joints.

    For Faiz, you can use the double joint but i advice you use the second method listed above if the joint isnt all broken into pieces.

    For shoulder pegs, use double ball joints you can find on hlj. They work wonders. Please see my Garo mod tutorial and see what i did to his shoulder pegs:

    http://kriderworld.blogspot.sg/2013/04/your-s.html

    I am actually not sure if you mean his shoulder peg or his shoulder pad's peg. If you mean the latter, then you are correct to use a small nail as a replacement. You dont need to find a rounded head nail, just add super glue on the end of the nail 2 to 3 times to form a rounded flexible joint for the shoulder pad to attach to.

    Leangle is the most fragile SIC figure there is (besides the obscure and incredibly britlle movie realization Ultraman series which luckily for SIC, hardly anyone knew it was from the same series) so it comes with no surprise they are already broken out of box especially if its being kept in the box MISB all these while. I have heard numerous case of this happening.

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  9. I am unsure how to remove those parts for Garren as (with Leangle) I can not see the knee parts and am unsure how to rip it out altogether, and thats without getting the revoltech parts and figuring out how to mod it without damaging it further.

    For Faiz, I am unsure how to pop off the knee without taking a piece of plastic with it, hence why I wanted to get glue instead (The knee is connected to the part of the plastic that broke off with the lower leg. Removing the ball joint with the knee connected may seem easy, but I ruined a Ryuki arm removing a ball joint from a socket before, but then all I had to work with was a ball stuck in an arm.)

    I should really get a tool list from the professionals.

    I was looking to get another Garren anyway only because I want another Chalice to double up with Joker (unless you know a good place for me to get the skeleton parts to build chalice. Taobao is a great place but I have no clue what its selling in the description sometimes).

    I will check out the Garo mod.

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    1. ah! sorry my bad! should have mentioned in the tutorial that those joints can be removed quite easily by usig a hairdryer and blowing hot air on the joint for about 20 seconds. Then either use your hand, tweezer ora plier to pull out the joint. The heated joint willbe easily pulled out.This can be doe for Garren, Leangle o Faiz. This method should be used for other instances such as armor change for SICs such as Ryuki to avoid breaking the joints.

      My tutorials usually state down the tools you may require for repairs or customs :)

      Well its hard to tell you the best place for you since you are in the States and I'm in Singapore:/ Taobao definitely a good place, if yu dont know the descriptions in there get a proxy to help you translate. The best place to gt spare bodies is actually to physically go to SPC shop in Mongkok, Hong Kong. He has all kinds of spare replicated bodies for Blade, Ryuki, Decade, etc. However these bodies are made of moe fragile materials and theirjoints are quite loose.

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    2. Ok taking them out seems easy enough then, but how about putting the parts back together? I mean of course for that metal part keeping the joints together. In the above you make it look like part B could be easily removed and put back in while I have always had the problem of putting it back in ( I am able to get a spare for Faiz leg but it doesn't have the metal part included).

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    3. ahh the metal rod, yes, i have tried two times removing the metal rod; one time it came off and I was also able to put it back in. The second time i didnt manage to put it back in. So I really cant say if it works or not unfortunately :( You bought a spare faiz leg but doesnt have the metal rod? how come?

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    4. I am able to get the spart parts from taobao

      http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.93.JK8MOb&id=12532158007

      With the part inside (I saw another spare parts section without the metal part, cant find it now. May have been a Hibiki spare parts collection)

      Now my question becomes: How does the knee come off? I see the part in the tut that had glue (I dont agree with glueing it in) but how did you get it off? Forceably?

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  10. oh i see! I was thinking you were referring to the metal rod! You meant his knee pad. That part is half glued to the joint, you will need to remove it by force and then glue it onto your new joint.

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  11. You were right I did mean the rod when I found the replacement parts... but I think I was mistaken.

    Any easy way to remove the knee from the joint?

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    1. I looked at d taobao link looks like a complete knee to me.

      As for the knee pad nope dont know other ways except to pry it out. Using ahairdryer on it beforehand might help a little but the metal knee pad gonna be pretty hot so use a towel to help you

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    2. So, good news!

      I got a spare Delta and used its knee to repair my faiz Accel (same knee design) so that worked well...

      Even better, the left over parts were great for my Wolf Orphenoc figure... except (and you wont believe this) the part were the knee joints are for the wolf feet were cracked and they both completely fell off the rod (half the plastic is still attached to the other half of the knee area, but the other half is broken and bent out the none broken half).

      I dont know if this tutorial will help me now as the knee portion for the Wolf Orphenoc legging is a bit more narrow than the Faiz rider counterpart.

      Since the legs are mostly static anyway I am reconsidering strong glue for plastics again but I am not entirely sure what to do.

      On a good note, my Faiz came with strong knees (weird right) and Den-O arrived too, rounding off my Heisei 10 ^_^

      Must hunt down Den-O's other forms (see if I can use other figures as platforms for alternate form of Zeronos) and hunt down Gatakiriba without that ungodly inflated price (dont know why its all up in price while Tajadol lost blaze and Shauta is far more reasonable).

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    3. ahh thats good news your accel's saved ;)

      the knee joint broke? replace it with revoltech then, dont use the second method coz using delta or any faiz figure to house the ornoph armors cause great pressure on faiz's original knee and will eventually breaks anyway. If you dont mind a forever bended knee wolf ornoph, then super glue the broken joint but not the ball joint below it.

      Gatakiriba enjoyed the most meteoric rise in price due to its limited number above its limited series price tag. However, I understand that there might be another release of Gatakiriba with a different head sculpt, but the key word being MIGHT. Anyway I'll be away from today until 6th feb, see you all after the chinese new year holidays! ;D

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    4. Yeah the knee joint snapped on the Wolfs leggings. I think revoltech and drilling is the better option, and the leg pads will had the revoltech pegs very well and the knees will look just as normal. I will be going to a local hobby shop to see if they have the parts.

      You do know that the Wolf Orphenoc has no ball joint on the knee right? The plastic around the metal rod on the knee portion was the only thing keeping it together (no ball joint on that part of the leg). If I super glue it though, i suppose it will be limited anyway. You have seen the SIC wolf right? Never looked like it had a lot of leg posability but all the same I think I should drill.

      Heres hoping for a second Gatakiriba. Too bad the Greeed releases werent articulated.

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    5. Ah Quite a few of my SICs are falling apart too. Blade at the knee balljoint too. Its a conspiracy!

      Happy new year.

      Found someone that could mod/fix these figures. Not exactly cheap but if it can be fixed, probably better than risking my money on a brand new one and it ends up being another lemon.

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    6. yo!! Im back! :D

      dont worry about broken SICs all can be fixed ;) It also gets easier when you repair more of them hehehe

      Oooo good to hear you found someone to help you. Can I ask how much he charges? Want to know so i know if i am charging reasonable rates or too cheap hehehe

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  12. My guy at the store said there is a modeler that fixes plastics professionally as he uses molds, mods, plastics, etc. Said the repair rates could go anywhere from $20-$80 for an S.I.C depending on the damages (USD). Hell even at about $80 it does sound reasonable when he may use his own plastics/molding to create a new stronger joint for the broken one.

    Good deal?

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    1. Ooooo so he completely cast new joints for you. If in this case and if he charges anything lesser than usd30 to help recast the faiz joint then ill say its a fair deal. Its hard and tedious to cast joints using two part molds

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  13. But since its 2 joints you think he would probably charge me $60 which is kinda no good (could by another faiz but risk getting damaged wolf legs again).

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  14. I know more about the Swords now than I did then, thanks for the sharing relevant query ..

    Gladius
    Chess Set
    Viking Axe

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