Pre-emptive DIY fix for knurled shoulder hinge pins?

[GU-11]

Hi, all! Newbie (and long-time lurker) reporting in.

I've pre-ordered a Yamato 1/60 VF-1J Hikaru with GBP Armor back in November '09, and only after reading Graham's and Scorthed Earth's review did I realize the VF-1J's got the dreaded "exploding shoulder" problem--so much for thinking that all post-VF-1D Valks are safe.

Anyways, I've heard that you can actually manually remove the hinge pins and file the knurls down with a metal file. Is there a guide somewhere here for that? How do you remove the hinge pin, actually?

Thanks in advance!

[Valkyrie addict]

welcome

it's very easy, there are 3 screws under the back plate, unscrew them and the plate will pop off, you will then see the screws holding the hinges in place, remove them and take the hinges out, use a small cylinder to push the pin out and sand smooth the knurled section, reassemble and screw everything together and enjoy your brand new full price broken toy that you had to fixed because you're not japanese

[logos]

Also worth noting is that you can loosen the shoulder and upper arm screws by about a quarter of a turn and that helps allot as well as it puts less stress on the joints during play and transformation. I have done that to all the VF-1s I have with knurled pins and the only cracks I have are one the ones that came out of the box like that. I have yet had to break down and file the pins down.

Edited February 23, 2010 by logos

[eugimon]

or, if there is no crack, you can just leave it alone. I have the standalone 1j hikaru and the GBP set, neither have cracks or explosions, caused cancer or autism despite numerous transformations and frequent posing.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

or, if there is no crack, you can just leave it alone. I have the standalone 1j hikaru and the GBP set, neither have cracks or explosions, caused cancer or autism despite numerous transformations and frequent posing.

My 1S Focker had no crack on one of the arms until a few months later. I think it's better to "fix" it now rather than wait for it to happen(on knurled hinge releases).

Edited February 23, 2010 by Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0

[Vostok 7]

Wouldn't pushing out the pins put a lot of stress on the plastic?

[DatterBoy]

Just so you all know, I had a crack, thought it would hold forever, nope, completely broken. Fix in advance if you can... it really sucks. Hoping OverDrive can hook me up.

:Dat

[eugimon]

My 1S Focker had no crack on one of the arms until a few months later. I think it's better to "fix" it now rather than wait for it to happen(on knurled hinge releases).

yes, and I've had my hikaru 1j for months now as well. I have no doubt that the 1s fokker will explode, but I will say the other arm is doing fine on mine.

And pushing out the pin WILL stress it.

And yes, if it's already cracked, fix it, I'm just saying if you have a later release and it hasn't exploded or tried to eat your brain you might want to consider leaving it alone.

Edited February 23, 2010 by eugimon

[Vostok 7]

yes, and I've had my hikaru 1j for months now as well. I have no doubt that the 1s fokker will explode, but I will say the other arm is doing fine on mine.

And pushing out the pin WILL stress it.

And yes, if it's already cracked, fix it, I'm just saying if you have a later release and it hasn't exploded or tried to eat your brain you might want to consider leaving it alone.

So far my VE-1 and VF-1D have been OK, and I haven't been "gentle" with them by any means. Those are the only V2s I have though, since I'm waiting for the DYRL CFs which don't seem like they'll ever get made

But yeah, I wouldn't push the knurled pins out if you don't already have breakage or cracks. That just seems like a good way to GET breakage or cracks

BTW, I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that broken Yamato shoulders caused H1N1 and Toyota recalls.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Vostok 7

[eugimon]

BTW, I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that broken Yamato shoulders caused H1N1 and Toyota recalls.

That's very true, and if you look carefully you can make out "yamato" on the side of Oceana flight 815 as well.

[GU-11]

Thanks, guys! Lots of great info.

So pushing out the pins will stress the plastic? Would it be wishful thinking to believe there are methods to more gently coax the pins out? If anybody knows, please do tell.

I don't want to end up doing more damage to the thing by trying to fix it.

In any case, I just plan to transform it once into Battroid and display it either in GBP-1 armor or as it is, and probably will not be transforming it for the next few months. After all, the Hikaru type VF-1J is at its most iconic in Battroid mode. As wasteful as it might seem, I'm hoping Yamato might someday release a 1/60 -1J Hikaru with NON-exploding shoulders so I can display it in either GERWALK or jet mode, and leave the -1J that came with the GBP in its armor as a standalone display.

And yes, if it's already cracked, fix it, I'm just saying if you have a later release and it hasn't exploded or tried to eat your brain you might want to consider leaving it alone.

Eugimon, I actually heard that the -1J's that came with the GBP is almost definitely old stock from previously unsold standalones and/SUPER packs--most of which have knurled hinge pins. But might there be a chance that Yamato (thanks for Graham) has already been made aware of the problem, and is working on replacing the hinge pins in later batches?

In fact, I'm actually kind of relieved my GBP still hasn't arrived at my store just yet; hoping it's a re-issue with fixed shoulders, or I might get lucky and get one of the later standalones with smooth pins. Anyways, keeping my sweaty fingers crossed.

BTW, how do you fix a cracked or already broken shoulder? And is it safe to use cyanoacrylate on plastic? Sorry for the informed questions; I'm extremely wary about trying to fix a high-end toy.

Again, a million thanks to all for the great info.

[eugimon]

Thanks, guys! Lots of great info.

So pushing out the pins will stress the plastic? Would it be wishful thinking to believe there are methods to more gently coax the pins out? If anybody knows, please do tell.

I don't want to end up doing more damage to the thing by trying to fix it.

In any case, I just plan to transform it once into Battroid and display it either in GBP-1 armor or as it is, and probably will not be transforming it for the next few months. After all, the Hikaru type VF-1J is at its most iconic in Battroid mode. As wasteful as it might seem, I'm hoping Yamato might someday release a 1/60 -1J Hikaru with NON-exploding shoulders so I can display it in either GERWALK or jet mode, and leave the -1J that came with the GBP in its armor as a standalone display.

Eugimon, I actually heard that the -1J's that came with the GBP is almost definitely old stock from previously unsold standalones and/SUPER packs--most of which have knurled hinge pins. But might there be a chance that Yamato (thanks for Graham) has already been made aware of the problem, and is working on replacing the hinge pins in later batches?

In fact, I'm actually kind of relieved my GBP still hasn't arrived at my store just yet; hoping it's a re-issue with fixed shoulders, or I might get lucky and get one of the later standalones with smooth pins. Anyways, keeping my sweaty fingers crossed.

BTW, how do you fix a cracked or already broken shoulder? And is it safe to use cyanoacrylate on plastic? Sorry for the informed questions; I'm extremely wary about trying to fix a high-end toy.

Again, a million thanks to all for the great info.

The 1j with the GBP set is definitely old stock, graham confirmed this with yamato. But until Graham had the sad misfortune of his breaking, no one knew because no one else here had reported a breakage.

I'm not saying it's not going to break, or that it will, I'm just saying I own a dozen of these things with more than a few on the "bad shoulders list" and the only one I have had problems with is 1 shoulder on the vf-1s strike focker.

if it cracks, some people have had luck with superglue or epoxy, I didn't. I ended up making a little metal insert and attaching it to the hinge.

[m0n5t3r]

lubricate it w/ baby oil before pushing the pin out.

...and i don't believe that pushing it out stresses the plastic, in fact it relieves the stress coz after you take the pin out, some of the whitish stress marks disappear. what stresses out the plastic is the knurling that's bulging the plastic from inside the hole. but yeah, having knurled pins doesn't equate to a 100% chance of it breaking/cracking. it's all up to you if you want to do it or not.

Edited February 24, 2010 by m0n5t3r

[eugimon]

lubricate it w/ baby oil before pushing the pin out.

...and i don't believe that pushing it out stresses the plastic, in fact it relieves the stress coz after you take the pin out, some of the whitish stress marks disappear. what stresses out the plastic is the knurling that's bulging the plastic from inside the hole. but yeah, having knurled pins doesn't equate to a 100% chance of it breaking/cracking. it's all up to you if you want to do it or not.

I think it all depends on which direction the pin went in in the first place. If it went in knurled end first, pushing it out with stress the plastic because chances are you're not going to follow the grooves it cut going in and the burrs with stretch everything out or the burrs will just stress the other end out whilst being pushed out.

If it the knurling went in last, you'll just push them out the same grooves they cut going in and then you won't stress it.

my personal theory is that the workers were putting the pins in knurled end first and by the time the pin reached the other side it had so much plastic debris wrapped around it that it stresses or cracks the hinge.

[m0n5t3r]

well, i'm assuming it was smooth end first coz that's the obvious logical way to do it... the other way would be massively dumb! maybe some factory worker was thinking "head in first!!!" coz he was daydreaming that he was having... ...or if it were an all female assembly line, maybe they thought it was some di1do that went into the hole...

Edited February 24, 2010 by m0n5t3r

[eugimon]

well, i'm assuming it was smooth end first coz that's the obvious logical way to do it... the other way would be massively dumb! maybe some factory worker was thinking "head in first!!!" coz he was daydreaming that he was having...

I think when you have some person making pennies an hour, making these things as fast as humanly possible in assembly lines, they don't give a flying crap what end of the tiny 1/2" pin goes in first.

[m0n5t3r]

but isn't that what QC/QA is for?

[eugimon]

but isn't that what QC/QA is for?

wait...we *are* talking about yamato here, right?

[m0n5t3r]

wait...we *are* talking about yamato here, right?

oh yeah... and also forgot about "made in China"

oh well, guess that's what KY jelly is for, so it won't hurt as much when you have no choice but to take it up the arse...

Edited February 24, 2010 by m0n5t3r

[regult]

I thought my standalone 1S would never crack after months of having it on display, until one day I realized it was cracked already, and now it does not hold anything let alone the gunpod. Then I thought my fastpack bundled 1J TV Hikki would never crack, until it somehow cracked holding the gunpod in battroid mode.

No, they don't cause cancer, they just need to redesign the shoulder hinges and they already did it.

[GU-11]

Phew! All in all, I guess if I see any stress marks on the plastic hinge, the pin's definitely coming off for a filing.

Disgruntled, minimum wage factory workers and poor QC...WTF, Yamato?

And yet my heart still flutters every time they announce a new perfect-transformation Valk...

So, in short, I would actually do more damage if the hinge pin went in head-first? How can I check to see if it did go in head-first?

Edited February 24, 2010 by GU-11

[David Hingtgen]

There's almost no way it'd go in head-first. It'd shred the entire shoulder to pieces if it did so. Plus it'd take so much more force to even try. The pins are about as one-way as they can be. It'd be like trying to un-do a zip-tie by pulling it apart.

[eugimon]

There's almost no way it'd go in head-first. It'd shred the entire shoulder to pieces if it did so. Plus it'd take so much more force to even try. The pins are about as one-way as they can be. It'd be like trying to un-do a zip-tie by pulling it apart.

you would think that, but not really, the pin's knurling isn't barbed or hatched, it's just scalloped, it will go in knurled side first pretty easily. Besides, the plastic is way soft. I speak from experience when I was fiddling around with mine after it broke.

Phew! All in all, I guess if I see any stress marks on the plastic hinge, the pin's definitely coming off for a filing.

Disgruntled, minimum wage factory workers and poor QC...WTF, Yamato?

And yet my heart still flutters every time they announce a new perfect-transformation Valk...

So, in short, I would actually do more damage if the hinge pin went in head-first? How can I check to see if it did go in head-first?

I don't think there's any reliable way to tell. The length of the hinge pin is pretty spot on so I don't think you can make any sort of guesses.

Honestly, if you're worried, go order the spare hinges from Graham in that other thread. But I have played with mine and despite people telling me that they'll explode and cause global warming, they have yet to do so.

Edited February 24, 2010 by eugimon

[m0n5t3r]

you would think that, but not really, the pin's knurling isn't barbed or hatched, it's just scalloped, it will go in knurled side first pretty easily. Besides, the plastic is way soft. I speak from experience when I was fiddling around with mine after it broke.

did you try to insert the knurled pin in the much tighter holes of the inner piece/part of the 2-part hinge also?

[eugimon]

did you try to insert the knurled pin in the much tighter holes of the inner piece/part of the 2-part hinge also?

yup, goes right through with just fingertip resistance. The scalloping acts like a serrated edge and just goes right through the soft plastic used in that joint.

[anime52k8]

Honestly, if you're worried, go order the spare hinges from Graham in that other thread. But I have played with mine and despite people telling me that they'll explode and cause global warming, they have yet to do so.

don't forget that they also cause male pattern baldness and low resale value on your car. also, The Olympic torch that didn't work, built by Yamato.

[eugimon]

don't forget that they also cause male pattern baldness and low resale value on your car. also, The Olympic torch that didn't work, built by Yamato.

I heard that they also did the maintenance on oceanic flight 815

[GU-11]

you would think that, but not really, the pin's knurling isn't barbed or hatched, it's just scalloped, it will go in knurled side first pretty easily. Besides, the plastic is way soft. I speak from experience when I was fiddling around with mine after it broke.

I don't think there's any reliable way to tell. The length of the hinge pin is pretty spot on so I don't think you can make any sort of guesses.

Honestly, if you're worried, go order the spare hinges from Graham in that other thread. But I have played with mine and despite people telling me that they'll explode and cause global warming, they have yet to do so.

About ordering the hinge parts from Graham, I remember he mentioned something about only letting those with hinges that are already broken order from him, and he wants proof in the form a pic of the broken shoulder.

Either way, like you suggested, I think I'd better not risk it. I'll just be careful when moving the shoulder hinge and forget about trying to fix it if there aren't any stress marks on it...and I'm keeping it in a sealed separate room in case it DOES cause male pattern baldness.

BTW, love the pic!

[bluemax151]

For the record I got the Roy VF-1S Strike at release and it was fine when I got it but when I checked it about a year ago after it had been sitting in the box both shoulders had huge cracks. I'd highly recommend removing them and checking them out because in retrospect I wish I would have with my Roy. Pushing the pins can be kind of hard because of the size of all the components but I didn't wreck mine and they were already cracked. Total destruction from the force seems unlikely.

Edited February 24, 2010 by bluemax151

[eugimon]

I agree when it comes to the roy vf-1s and even the hikaru 1a, chances are they're going to fail anyways so why not? but not with the later releases. The failure rate seems awfully low, even on this board where we freak out over the slightest flaw.

[sidearmsalpha]

My pal vf2ss fixed my VF-1S Hikaru by removing the pins and sanding down the knurling before the hinges ever cracked. I now have it posed on a Yamato stand in Battroid with the armor parts on and Exo's recast side and neck covers!

Ok, this is off-topic...I was checking out the manual for the VF-1S, and I noticed one step that I'm not sure the VF-1S can do. One page shows that when transforming the VF-1S from fighter mode, the lower leg can be pulled down a bit from the knee joint. I tried to do it, but it doesn't seem to extend. I don't have the manual in front of me, so I don't know what page it was on. Is it possible or was that referring to something else?

Edited February 24, 2010 by sidearmsalpha

[eugimon]

see, just because you did that doesn't mean you fixed it, it might have never busted. I have the hikaru 1s, no problems, just like my two hikaru 1js.

And yeah, the lower leg clicks down away from the thigh for gerwalk mode

[anime52k8]

I agree when it comes to the roy vf-1s and even the hikaru 1a, chances are they're going to fail anyways so why not? but not with the later releases. The failure rate seems awfully low, even on this board where we freak out over the slightest flaw.

I think we should all take our VF-1's and just break the arms off. we know there's a chance they could break so we might as well get it over with. and then we can get new ones from graham.

[eugimon]

I think we should all take our VF-1's and just break the arms off. we know there's a chance they could break so we might as well get it over with. and then we can get new ones from graham.

no need my friend, if you take a picture of them with a nikon camera first thing, they won't break. See, when I got my roy 1s all I had was a panasonic point and shoot and what happened? Shoulder broke. All the other ones I have I got post Nikon D90 and they haven't broken, so it's obvious, Nikon saves lives while panasonic somehow causes catastrophic autism inducing shoulder failures.

It's a 100% correlation so it must be true.

[Vi-RS]

I thought I only have one cracked shoulder Roy's VF-1S, but after I checked all half my V2. I realize that all my Roy VF-1S and Hikaru VF-1A are developing hairline cracked by itself after I put them in Battroid mode for months. When I decided to take them out I notice that the shoulder is very loose so the bad moment cross my head.

The standalone VF-1J Hikaru has cracked shoulders now and it was perfectly fine 7 months ago.