Nendoroid Repair: Broken Joint (Stuck Join)

Before the tragedy....

Today, I wanna share something about Nendoroid reparation. Actually I just got a little accident with my Nendoroid Miku Support Version. I swapped her face with an expression from Nendoroid Luka (yup, see the picture!). It was so cute at first time but then it turned into a huge nightmare when Luka's joint broke and the part of it were stuck inside Miku's body!

But luckily, I've found a way to fix the problem! That's what I wanna share. My case was a part of joint got stuck deep in another Nendoroid's body. Here's my way to fix it ^^

First, you'll need these equipments!

A hair dryer and a pair of compasses! That's all you need! For girls, you can also use your blackheads cleanser tool (the one shaped like a big needle with circle on the top of it). It has a sharp point which can be as useful as a pair of compasses! And as you see from the picture above, I use the thick needle on the compasses, not the thin one =D

My method is like this in the picture, I'll give more explanation below it ^^

Here's the steps:

1. First, heat the area around the stuck joint with the hair dryer. Be careful not to melt the Nendoroid while doing that. Don't bring the hair dryer too close with the Nendoroid. 2-3 cm from the are is hot enough =D
2. Since Nendoroid is made from PVC which is a kind of plastic, it will become slightly softer after you heat it. Turn off the hair dryer when you feel that it's soft enough, once again, be careful not to melt it. Then with the thick part of compasses, make a scratch around the stuck joint and the Nendoroid body. Make it slightly bigger than the original size so the stuck joint can be removed.
3. If the PVC starts to harden again, heat it again and repeat step 2. Try to dig a little space between the joint and the body.
4. After there's a little space, insert the thick part of compasses (or your blackheads cleanser is fine) to the little space. Push it softly so it can go a little deep into the space. Make sure that you can move it between the space. The PVC may become hard again so you need to heat it again.
5. After the PVC is soft enough, slowly and softly, dig the broken joint out of the Nendoroid body. Be careful while doing this because the shape of the body may change.
6. The broken join will pop out from the body. Remove it immediately. Then check the Nendoroid body. If there's any dent, fix it while the PVC is still warm and you're done!

 The broken joint has been removed successfully

It's actually so simple! Heat, make a space, dig the broken joint out, and you're done! Your Nendoroid may become a bit dent, see the area that I mark with (＊)! It's only a small dent so no one will notice it. Many people say that heating PVC will make it melt. It's true, so my advice is use your feeling when doing this. If you feel it soft enough, stop heating it and slowly make the space ^^

The end result, you'll get the stuck joint out and a bigger hole in the Nendoroid body so a joint won't get stuck again XD

And by the way, I also got some other way to remove broken joint from my friends in Facebook!

Charlie Anthony (animaster)

• Use a tweezers to take it out or,
• Use a pin vice or,
• Pierce the join with a needle then pull it out or,
• Soak the Nendoroid body with warm/hot water (to soften the PVC) then pierce it with needle or a pair of compasses, after the needle is in the joint (about 1-2cm) then slowly pull it out.

Ren-san (from rendoroid shoppe)

• Drill it using a small drill (very small drill, to be exact) or,
• Pierce it with a pair of compasses or,
• Glue and rejoin it with the other part of broken joint (I suggest with super glue, or glue for metal) then try to pull it out again.

Rachmat J. Greywinds

• Make a small hole (0,1-0,2mm, made with pin vice) in the stuck joint, then place a needle (or small iron rod for more strength) that has been covered in Alteco (a kind of glue) inside the hole. After the Alteco is completely dry and hard, pull it.

Billy Goetomo

• Use a small screwdriver to drill the stuck joint, after the screwdriver is inside the joint, pull it slowly.

Also try the method from Mikatan! Click here to read it! You can also find out how to connect the broken joint there ^^

For those who are facing this problem, you can try the methods above before you try mine. But if you don't have the equipments (like me, Alteco and pin vice are kinda hard to find near my house), you can try my method ^^

I use the hair dryer because I don't have the proper equipment and I'm too weak to pull the joint! It's hard to pull it with a needle. I got a dent needle instead of removing the stuck joint. I also failed to pull it with a tweezers T_T

End words,
Huge thanks for all who gave me many advices to fix the problem! I won't get the idea to use hair dryer without advices from you all! >.<