Easy Fixes

Although we are always happy to carry out repairs for you, there are a few things that you can easily do yourself

RE-STRINGING & RE-ATTACHING HEADS

Re-Attaching the Head on a Blue Pants Eagle Eyed Action Man isn’t all that difficult to do…

REPAIRING A BROKEN FOOT ON A BPEE ACTION MAN

Here we show you an easy way to re-attach a broken foot on a Blue Pants Action Man

BACK TO BLACK

CLEANING UP RUSTY AXLES

First remove the Starlocks by using a pair of grips to grab the starlock by the sides and gently move it side to side in a rocking motion and pull (if your gentle enough it should come off without damaging it), the axle will slide out making it easier to remove the starlock from the other side, this will give you a bare axle to work with. Once you have the axle removed you can clean it up using some tinfoil, this works a lot better than wire wool and is less abrasive. If the starlocks are too badly damaged you can get replacements from Vamans shop on ebay…

CLEANING HEADS

To clean up those grubby faces we use isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) and a cotton bud

CLEANING STICKY PLASTIC

A sticky residue or tacky feel is pretty common on old plastic toys and is known as plasticizer migration, this happens more often in plastic toys when rubber-like polymers are used as modifiers to improve flexibility in otherwise rigid plastics, and is usually caused by heat and humidity. However, this can often be fixed without causing too much damage to the toys surface.

The fix is simpler than you might think, because if you leave them out of the box for a few days in the fresh air then the plastic should fix itself, if they are still tacky after two or three days and you want to risk cleaning them, then use only warm soapy water or isopropyl alcohol which will break down oil-like sweat.

Types of Plastic…

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) is a widely used, versatile, durable, and affordable thermoplastic polymer known for its chemical resistance, strength, and electrical insulation, found in many toys and action figures. As well as PVC, Hard PVC is used for injection moulding)

The following materials are also commonly used in the toy industry: 

ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene): A hard, rigid plastic widely used for items like LEGO-style bricks and parts of action figures that require durability and structural support.

EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate): A naturally soft and flexible material that does not require plasticizers, used in some flexible toys as a safer alternative to soft PVC.

PU (Polyurethane) Resin: Often used for high-end designer or artist toys produced in small batches, known for its ability to capture fine details. 

CLEANING AND SOFTENING OLD HANDS

Many of us have figures with gripping hands that have hardened over time, before you replace them try cleaning them up with Milton bottle steriliser and warm water.

SOFTENING RUBBER SUITS

To soften rubber we use three parts Isopropyl (Rubbing Alcohol) to one part Methyl Salicylate (Wintergreen essential oil) and leave to soak overnight. Before fitting the suit onto the figure we would advise dusting the inside with either natural (un-fragranced) Talcum Powder or Fullers Earth.

REPAIRING A BROKEN LEG ON A BPEE ACTION MAN

RE-ATTACHING THE ARMS ON A BLUE PANTS EAGLE EYED ACTION MAN

Fixing the arms back onto a blue pants Action Man doesn’t have to be a difficult job and you certainly don’t have to break open the torso to do this.

CLEANING GRUBBY CLOTHES

It’s best not to wash them at all as they are old cloth and you can do all sorts of damage to them, but if you really have to then I would suggest hand washing them in bowl with a small amount of washing powder and luke warm water, leave them to soak for about 20 minutes, then rinse them in clean luke warm water and hang them out to dry. Although many do, I would not put them in the washing machine or tumble dryer as this can damage them.

REMOVING STAINS

Sometimes washing the clothes doesn’t always have the desired effect, not all marks and stains will wash out easily, whites can turn pink, and clothes can fade and shrink depending on the temperature of the wash.

To remove stains I use a mix of two scoops of “Tesco Oxy Power Stain Remover Whites” and a quarter cup of “thick bleach citrus” in a litre of warm water to clean our toys clothing.

Two hours will clean most items (especially colour runs), you have to give it a stir every forty minutes to make sure they are clean. Once they are clean rinse them out in warm water then hang to dry.

Fixing up your collection? then check out our stock of replacement parts

All Prices Include UK Postage