Mini Doll broken spine repair

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 4:52 pm

Elfie wrote: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

So how did that turn out?

Pumpster · Post by **Pumpster** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 5:01 pm

Capt_Rye wrote:From what I understand they improved the skeleton already.

Yes they seem to have frozen DS Minidoll production until they fix the weakness problem. The doll I'm buying here is second hand one with original design but seller assures it's unused, unbroken and like new. Now I'm just a little worried if it survives the trip... Maybe I'll try my luck because new doll costs whole lot more.

madshagger · Post by **madshagger** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 6:52 pm

For those that have done the repair, when you are resealing the seam back together, do you run silicone right out to the edge and wipe away the excess,then hold with scotch tape while it cures?

In the repair video they say something about plastic sheets, but I cant quite figure out why, unless it is to get excess silicone something to sit smooth against.

I'm dreading making a mess of it.

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:49 pm

madshagger wrote:For those that have done the repair, when you are resealing the seam back together, do you run silicone right out to the edge and wipe away the excess,then hold with scotch tape while it cures?

In the repair video they say something about plastic sheets, but I cant quite figure out why, unless it is to get excess silicone something to sit smooth against.

I'm dreading making a mess of it.

I believe the reason behind suran wrap, or even plastic sticky tape (clear) is to align the two edges of the silicone, and let you see they are indeed aligned.

You want to use an absolute minimal amount of silicone to repair it. I would suggest spreading the glue as thin as you can over the two surfaces then closing them together. You can always add more glue later, you can't remove glue. Iv seen some VERY bad looking repairs where they used wayyyyyy too much glue. Never heard one person complain about using too little glue.

TTNLBTPD · Post by **TTNLBTPD** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:54 pm

Why would you guys accept a broken doll upon arrival, why did you not return it? I hear all this praising of John for sending repair parts when he should have replaced her. This is crazy talk!!!!!

Agreed. That is unacceptable from a vetted TDF vendor.

** I just noticed how old this topic was. Dam Dumpster Divers!

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 8:11 pm

TTNLBTPD wrote:
Why would you guys accept a broken doll upon arrival, why did you not return it? I hear all this praising of John for sending repair parts when he should have replaced her. This is crazy talk!!!!!
Agreed. That is unacceptable from a vetted TDF vendor.

** I just noticed how old this topic was. Dam Dumpster Divers!

You'd be surprised how little many TDF vendors/manufactures will give you for DOA doll.

I don't think its acceptable either, but I do think DS's offer for free parts + discount on a 2nd doll is as good or better then what you would get from 80% or so of the TDF vendor/manufactures.

TDF vetted mainly means you'll get the doll, it won't be a cheap knockoff that's skin falls apart in days (non-repairable), it will be the doll pictured... Basically that they won't scam you and they run a legit business.

TDF vetted does not mean they have the same customer service level you might expect from local stores and businesses in your country, if the product does not survive shipping or is not as high of a quality as you would have hoped.

mahoro · Post by **mahoro** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 2:50 pm

madshagger wrote:For those that have done the repair, when you are resealing the seam back together, do you run silicone right out to the edge and wipe away the excess,then hold with scotch tape while it cures?

In the repair video they say something about plastic sheets, but I cant quite figure out why, unless it is to get excess silicone something to sit smooth against.

I'm dreading making a mess of it.

When I did the repair I smeared a thin layer of silpoxy on the area I had cut open then squeased the excess out of the seam whilst wiping it off with acetone then I just used three pieces of electrical insulation tape to hold the seam together for 24 hours.

Mahoro

haremlover · Post by **haremlover** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 3:38 pm

See my repairs on http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 97#p936297

I could usefully have used less although here I needed to make sure that the inner two layers of silicone were properly stuck and it was this silicone which squeezed out. If you use too little you can always prize open unstuck areas and insert more. Excess poses challenges.

Best wishes

Harem

madshagger · Post by **madshagger** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 10:27 pm

Thanks everyone for the tips. I used to build plastic models and I always used way too much cement! I'll heed your warnings, and go lightly with it.

@harem - looking at your thread didn't make me any less nervous!

If anyone else is doing repairs in the coming weeks please post some photos! I'll do the same when my parts finally arrive.

hollows+fentiman · Post by **hollows+fentiman** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:41 am

There appears to be a lot of topics on damage to Eve and Eva. My Eva came with a broken neck, left shoulder and lower spine snapped in the same place. Looking at the postings, there appear to be a number of different carriers involved - mine was TNT - so I doubt if the fault lies with them, although when mine arrived it was on end. It could be that if she was head down that caused the neck-break but that doesn't account for the shoulder or back. Loose packaging and a brittle plastic skeleton I think is more likely to be the cause. Let's hope the modifications DS are doing before rerelease will stop this happening in the future because they are probably the best looking minis on the market!

haremlover · Post by **haremlover** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:08 am

It's so distressing to see these stories.

But from my last delivery too I know that carriers fling boxes around taking no notice of any labels. It's not a happy situation

Best wishes

Harem

Elfie · Post by **Elfie** » Fri Jul 08, 2016 10:57 am

DarkOne wrote:
Elfie wrote: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
So how did that turn out?

It did not work at all. I am waiting for the part from John.

Pumpster · Post by **Pumpster** » Fri Jul 08, 2016 12:52 pm

I think plastic must be "soft" type before it can be fixed by these "plastic weld" products, "hard" plastic (what plastic buckets, car bumpers etc. are made of) is harder to fix because it doesn't melt.

hollows+fentiman · Post by **hollows+fentiman** » Fri Jul 08, 2016 1:02 pm

I've just started taking the joints apart and realised that the bolts are fully threaded. They shouldn't be if you want movement as the moving part can bind on the thread. Some of the broken bits have quite small hole tolerances on these bolts so any pressure on the limb away from the joint I think might easily bind. When I rebuild to see if I can rescue something from this, I will try smooth shafted bolts and let you know what happens. I will also use lock nuts to stop them undoing so I don't have to do the joint up too tight at first to see what happens.
Any news on the glue/cement side of things? Reading a plumber's blog, it seems you should use a proper ABS cement or solvent on ABS and not one that says suitable for ABS and PVC.

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Fri Jul 08, 2016 2:12 pm

hollows+fentiman wrote:I've just started taking the joints apart and realised that the bolts are fully threaded. They shouldn't be if you want movement as the moving part can bind on the thread. Some of the broken bits have quite small hole tolerances on these bolts so any pressure on the limb away from the joint I think might easily bind. When I rebuild to see if I can rescue something from this, I will try smooth shafted bolts and let you know what happens. I will also use lock nuts to stop them undoing so I don't have to do the joint up too tight at first to see what happens.
Any news on the glue/cement side of things? Reading a plumber's blog, it seems you should use a proper ABS cement or solvent on ABS and not one that says suitable for ABS and PVC.

Tried proper ABS cement on the C shaped tab. Positioned it on its weakest direction (Sideways knee bending force) and hung 2lbs from the other end of the bone after 24+ hours cure time. It snapped after a few seconds.