Depthcharge Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Hey guys! Awhile back a friend of mine was handling my MP Alpha Fighter when, through no fault of his or mine, its left arm snapped off at the bicep joint. I really want to fix this up but I have no customizer experience of any sort. The main problem I'm facing is that these Toynami MP Alpha's have virtually NO visible screws so I can't get the fighters shoulder apart to get at the damaged piece. It looks to me like its all glued together but I'm not 100%. Maybe somebody else that owns an Alpha can shed some light on that. If it is glue, it's been suggested to me that I try boiling water or alcohol to dissolve or soften the glue enough to pry apart but I'm worried about melting/warping/discoloration. The white part is the bicep joint which consists of two pieces. The lower piece retracts into the forearm. The upper piece retracts into the shoulder. The lower bicep features a post (a rather thin post) that inserts into the upper bicep and is held by some mechanism I haven't seen, probably just a knob. This two piece setup gives the fighter its mid-arm swivel articulation, but in this case it created a very thin and fragile piece of plastic that has a lot of force exerted on it during transformation. Below are some pics of the fighter so I can try to explain how the joint works and how it broke. This first pic is of the still intact right arm so you can see what it looks like. This pic is of the forearm. Note the thin white post at the top of the bicep... that is where the breakage occured. This pic is of the shoulder. You can see the hole in the upper bicep that the post plugs into. The breakage on this part happened somewhere up inside that hole. I want to get the shoulder and maybe then that bicep piece apart so I can see where it broke and possibly fix it. Any help or advice that you guys could give me will be greatly appreciated. -DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MechTech Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 DO NOT boil your parts (unless your gonna serve them up with mash potatos and gravy). Boiling WILL warp the plastic, and alcohol will probably do nothing. Most glued parts use a solvent to dissolve/melt the plastics together. That means plastic is holding plastic together. IF you are very CAREFULL (safety wise), you may be able to slit open the seam with a razor blade. Wiggle the blade into the seam, don't shove it straight in. I've had to do several repairs/fixes on other kits. Use a WIDE and thin piece of metal like a stiff spatula or putty knife to pry the seam open. Screwdrivers will work, BUT will leave pry marks in the seam. When you get the parts apart note where glue will NOT interfere with the parts moving. If the parts are painted, that's a whole other story, but start here first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big F Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 DO NOT boil your parts (unless your gonna serve them up with mash potatos and gravy). Boiling WILL warp the plastic, and alcohol will probably do nothing. Most glued parts use a solvent to dissolve/melt the plastics together. That means plastic is holding plastic together. IF you are very CAREFULL (safety wise), you may be able to slit open the seam with a razor blade. Wiggle the blade into the seam, don't shove it straight in. I've had to do several repairs/fixes on other kits. Use a WIDE and thin piece of metal like a stiff spatula or putty knife to pry the seam open. Screwdrivers will work, BUT will leave pry marks in the seam. When you get the parts apart note where glue will NOT interfere with the parts moving. If the parts are painted, that's a whole other story, but start here first. I totally agree with MechTech thats the tried and tested method for me. Works on everything from toys to MP3 players. When a manufacturer makes it hard to get in, it just makes me want to get in to it more. If they all just used screws I`d lose interest real quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyn Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Believe it or not I would give a call to Toynami. I've read a number of posts where they replaced peoples broken Alphas. Goodluck! http://www.robotech.com/community/forum/re...&forumid=23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechaninac Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Abandon all hope all ye who enter here...j/k MechTech has the best repair solution for splitting glue joints; but Odyn's suggestion is definitely worth a try... the worst Toynami can say is "no". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skull-1 Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Been trying to get a hand replacement for an MPC Alpha and got NO RESPONSE from ToyCrappy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterdyne Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 I'd also call or email Toynami... I had a broken MPC valk (backpack hinge) and they replaced the entire tail section, no charge, not even for shipping. Assuming they have parts in stock, they'll probably replace the entire arm for you. Took about a week or so for them to eventually respond, and it took around 3 weeks after that for the part to arrive in the UK. I believe the chain is China to US first though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fly4victory Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 If you can get a hold of a Master Grade Gundam model cut an arrow head shape piece from the PC "rubber" parts tree and glue it on top of the arm. With the flare down and the point up just push the arm pack in the shoulder. Just and idea that would keep you from spliting a joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skull-1 Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 What's the correct contact info for ToyCrappy? I have emailed them numerous times without success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Depthcharge Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 What's the correct contact info for ToyCrappy? I have emailed them numerous times without success. Yeah thanks for all the advice guys. I had tried contacting Toynami via e-mail when this first happened but I never received a response. Does anyone have a proper e-mail address or phone number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterdyne Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 I'm pretty certain I just emailed info@toynami.com... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Depthcharge Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Well, I e-mailed Toynami again... I'll let you all know how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Depthcharge Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share Posted March 11, 2007 Well, I e-mailed Toynami again... I'll let you all know how it turns out. Still no word from Toynami.... I think I'm getting ignored yet again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robodragon Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Still no word from Toynami.... I think I'm getting ignored yet again. Ignored; by Toynami. This can't be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skull-1 Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Whoever is out there that has had success with this..... Care to order me a right hand for an ALPHA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hakim82 Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 I am not the only one with a broken Alpha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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