Takatoku fix

[jenius]

Is there any way to fix the old vintage valks (and Jetfire's) shoulders when they break? I just got one off Ebay and may have been ripped off (i'm currently inquiring about a refund if i return the item). Anyway, it's in beautiful shape if it weren't for the shoulder joint being messed up. Can you guys let me know if it can be repaired?

PS- i quickly tried a search on the subject but failed. Let me know -

[drifand]

Can you post some pix of the damage?

[jenius]

Gladly, here it is:

Edited January 22, 2005 by jenius

[jenius]

Here's also a side shot. I dont' see any broken plastic anywhere but the should is just disconnected. I imagine there should be a spring of some sort somewhere??

[jenius]

Here's another so you can see there's nothing in the shoulder of any help...

Edited January 22, 2005 by jenius

[Opus]

Since the screw is still in attached I'd say you'll probably need a new shoulder. The little piece that holds it on is probably broken.

Here's a crappy pic that might help.

[jenius]

a hypothetical for you, do you think i could use some sort of material to rebuild the part that has either shaved off or been broken? It looks like it's just a plastic ring, almost like a sleeve formed by a half on either side of the shoulder. So, is it possible to disassemble the shoulder, rebuild the half ring, and then screw it back on to that screw? If so, would this also make that joint "click" again on that ratchet or is there another procedure that could be used for livening up that ratcheting shoulder sprocket? Sorry for all the questions, I just really love this guy and would love to make him work like he ought to (and like I paid for him to).

[Opus]

It's kind of a C shape on one side and flat on the other. It may be possible to rebuild it, I've never tried. My main concern would be the fact that it's under alot of tension from the spring. On a good note, the ratcheting part is seperate from the shoulder so if you can rebuild the C shaped piece it should still work.

I took some pics that should hopefully help you see the parts and how they relate to each other.

Edited January 22, 2005 by Opus

[jenius]

wow, thanks a lot for your help! I investigated the inside of the shoulder and it looks like it's just ever so slightly shaved. I actually can pop it back on and it will stay there as long as I don't tug. Unfortunately just doing that doesn't effect the ratched spring assembly so it just lets the shoulder spin on the screw. So now if I'm stuck keeping it the decison will be whether or not to just pose him in the display case so you can't tell there's an issue or to actually do some surgery... yikes. Thanks again for the pics and showing me exactly what I'm dealing with.

If anyone has some helpful advice about the "surgery" that may be done here from anecdotal or personal experience I'd love to hear it. Always better to be over-prepared -

[Opus]

It souds like you could probably slip a washer in between the screw head and the shaved bit and be okay.

[Solscud007]

Definatley not worth you time. You should just sell it to me j/k it is easliy repairable.

[promethuem5]

Yes, it should be a no problem fix. Just unscrew the screw and slip a very small machine screw washer onto the screw that will fit in the assembly. If you ahve trouble finding one, i could probably hook you up with one as my dad has loads of mechanicl stuff, and we have a big sorted container of small washers and such.

[jenius]

Thanks again for your help everyone. I actually think I may be able to get my money refunded for the purchase so it may not come to my having to fix this afterall. That being said I did just find my old Jetfire that has this very same problem so I'll probably give this a try on him. You guys rock -

[promethuem5]

tell him you want your money back FIRST, adn tehn dont send it back.

[jenius]

nah, i'm a firm believer in some sort of karma-driven existence. Then again, i do have this person's address if I think karma needs a hand