Mini Doll broken spine repair

Elfie · Post by **Elfie** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:31 am

I dissected her waist and leg. Then I found I got the wrong part sent to me for the leg. The break happened on the lower piece, not the upper piece (thigh) I received from DS. John recommended I might just use a super glue to fix it. How do you think?

For the waist, it's worse. The part was broken in half where the second half (screw part) stuck inside the chest part. I thought about your case immediately. I do not bother drilling it out though because it's too much trouble. I might break the whole thing. So I just unscrewed the remaining broken joint, removed, and stuffed some silicone to fill back the room. It's safer to leave some gap between joints inside her to minimize the chance of the bone poking out while carrying her body; her waist is now floppy which is better than a broken waist.

Post by **LoneRanger** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:39 am

I can't stand looking at these pictures of broken dolls! This just stinks and DS is the biggest pile. Imagine driving your new car home and parts start falling off. The dealer says they will mail you all the parts you need and point to an online video on how to rebuild your brand new broken car.

Elfie · Post by **Elfie** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:42 am

Sorry LoneRanger, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I think of her as a toy and some toy lovers enjoy fixing their toys, right? (same to some car lovers who enjoy fixing their car). Hope this makes you feel better. I can make this whole thing a fantasy; she came to me with a serious injury and about to die then I was able to save her life by fixing her. We develop a bond from this goodwill. Happy ending!

madshagger · Post by **madshagger** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:45 am

LoneRanger wrote:I can't stand looking at these pictures of broken dolls! This just stinks and DS is the biggest pile. Imagine driving your new car home and parts start falling off. The dealer says they will mail you all the parts you need and point to an online video on how to rebuild your brand new broken car.

I have to agree with you. There girls arriving shattered battered and broken and having to repair it yourself is wholly unacceptable.

Post by **LoneRanger** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:54 am

Elfie wrote:Sorry LoneRanger, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I think of her as a toy and some toy lovers enjoy fixing their toys, right? (same to some car lovers who enjoy fixing their car). Hope this makes you feel better.

I also think of my little ladies as toys, very expensive and unique toys. I am a bit of a perfectionist, I want them all perfect and pristine. I did not spend close to a grand to do slice and dice.

I have 1/2 a garage filled with Star Wars (1977 to current), Star Trek, Clone Wars, Mage-knight, 40 K, 40 K fantasy, Dragon 12 inch Historical Dolls, and lots of other stuff I can't even remember (my grand kids better take time cleaning out the garage when I'm pushing up daisies).

Everything is wrapped, boxed and labeled.

If my wife was not being such a butt munch I would have all my ladies dressed and sitting in their own separate glass case.

That's who I am - wife says it's OCD, I say I don't give a crap.

Elfie · Post by **Elfie** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:56 am

madshagger wrote:
LoneRanger wrote:I can't stand looking at these pictures of broken dolls! This just stinks and DS is the biggest pile. Imagine driving your new car home and parts start falling off. The dealer says they will mail you all the parts you need and point to an online video on how to rebuild your brand new broken car.
I have to agree with you. There girls arriving shattered battered and broken and having to repair it yourself is wholly unacceptable.

Have you ever got something unexpectedly impressed (beyond just acceptable) and that was from someone's intention to please you? Now, think of this opposite case when you got something unexpectedly unacceptable from someone's intention to please you (DS crews). Life is uncertain. We just have to admit and move on.

Post by **LoneRanger** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 10:02 am

Elfie wrote: Have you ever got something unexpectedly impressed (beyond just acceptable) and that was from someone's intention to please you? Now, think of this opposite case when you got something unexpectedly unacceptable from someone's intention to please you (DS crews). Life is uncertain. We just have to admit and move on.

Yes, I'm married with children and grand children, that covers everyday of my life, lol!

:haha4:

But that is not the same as buying something and getting nothing and being told, so sorry you loose.

mahoro · Post by **mahoro** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 2:53 pm

Elfie wrote:I dissected her waist and leg. Then I found I got the wrong part sent to me for the leg. The break happened on the lower piece, not the upper piece (thigh) I received from DS. John recommended I might just use a super glue to fix it. How do you think?

For the waist, it's worse. The part was broken in half where the second half (screw part) stuck inside the chest part. I thought about your case immediately. I do not bother drilling it out though because it's too much trouble. I might break the whole thing. So I just unscrewed the remaining broken joint, removed, and stuffed some silicone to fill back the room. It's safer to leave some gap between joints inside her to minimize the chance of the bone poking out while carrying her body; her waist is now floppy which is better than a broken waist.

Sorry to hear about the problems you've had with your repairs

When I opened up my Lara I also considered just removing the joint and just sealing her back up as well but thought I've gone this far I may as well try to fix her as I hadn't really got much to lose with a replacement doll on order that incidentally I still haven't heard news of and the fact that I wanted her to be able to sit unaided but I can fully understand you not wanting to drill out the joint.

That leg break looks painful and you are unlucky to have the lower joint break but I wouldn't recommend super glue as I feel that not long after sealing her up the joint would more than likely break again so I would wait and get the lower leg joint off John even though I know it will pain you to leave her unrepaired.

I feel one good thing has come out of this and that is all the new DS mini's will have reinforced skeletons from now on so hopefully our replacement dolls should be ok if the shipping agents don't try to trash them before they get delivered to us.

Mahoro

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Wed Jun 22, 2016 3:40 pm

Agreed. about the only suitable repair for that would be to drill holes through the 2 pieces and put metal pins in to connect them, then glue with epoxy.

Although it looks like that plastic bar could just be replaced with a replacement part easily enough.

luckyleaf · Post by **luckyleaf** » Thu Jun 23, 2016 1:50 am

....I don't know.....I still don't understand this kind of demur and solution coming from affected people with broken dolls. Why do you choose the complicated way and repair the doll for yourself instead of to reclaim the case to the shipping company? DollSweet always ships their dolls as an insured package with tracking number. The shipping is always secured. Otherwise the insurance doesn't make any sense. Here in germany we always proceed like this and we never think about it to pay for insurance and repair something. That's non-rational.

Can someone explain it to me?

Elfie · Post by **Elfie** » Thu Jun 23, 2016 1:07 pm

luckyleaf wrote:....I don't know.....I still don't understand this kind of demur and solution coming from affected people with broken dolls. Why do you choose the complicated way and repair the doll for yourself instead of to reclaim the case to the shipping company? DollSweet always ships their dolls as an insured package with tracking number. The shipping is always secured. Otherwise the insurance doesn't make any sense. Here in germany we always proceed like this and we never think about it to pay for insurance and repair something. That's non-rational.

Can someone explain it to me?

I've already reported the damage to UPS carrier as John requested me to do so because that's how DS can claim for the compensation (if I understand correctly). I also then received the response from UPS with a link to check for the tracking progress of the case.

I fixed the doll because I had time to do it and it's kinda fun and challenging to do. I actually have a compassion toward the UPS shipping crews as well since I believe everyone wants to do the job as best as they can because of the humans intuition to establish the meaning of their existence that makes their life worth living. This made me want to do my part as best as I can do as to make a happy ending to everyone involved. If you think with your mind, you will realize that happiness in life comes from giving after all (giving to yourself and others), not getting.

Elfie · Post by **Elfie** » Thu Jun 23, 2016 1:22 pm

Let me try this product first and see if I need the lower leg joint from John. It's claimed to be a better plastic super glue compared to all others. It bonds the plastic by biting it (melting) together. And it's in the gel form which makes it easy to control the glue area.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301979178909?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Pumpster · Post by **Pumpster** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:29 am

Reading all this about DS minidoll almost makes me afraid as I'm *this* close to buying this doll. Is the doll OK durable when operating it normally or does it crack it's "bones" eventually? Especially that spine joint looks a bit weak. I suppose it's pure luck if courier company delivers it unharmed, it's going to be shipped in that simple brown box with white square foam around the doll supporting it's head and box is filled with some kind of foam bricks.

Capt_Rye · Post by **Capt_Rye** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 12:30 pm

Pumpster wrote:Reading all this about DS minidoll almost makes me afraid as I'm *this* close to buying this doll. Is the doll OK durable when operating it normally or does it crack it's "bones" eventually? Especially that spine joint looks a bit weak. I suppose it's pure luck if courier company delivers it unharmed, it's going to be shipped in that simple brown box with white square foam around the doll supporting it's head and box is filled with some kind of foam bricks.

From what I understand they improved the skeleton already.

Rackstar · Post by **Rackstar** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 4:38 pm

So I guess DS will be going back to the drawing board on this one......

Great concept but metal may be needed a certain STRESS points...Like where the doll will bend.