https://i.imgur.com/8b5hhqJ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/DKaPVqz.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/iELwHp8.jpg
Panthro and Mumm-Ra after I performed major surgery to replace the balljoints with DC Primal Age wave 2 figures.
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Dang, thatās amazing COBRALA!!
I was interested in the Funko figures, but after hearing about all the QC problems, I just ruled them out. I see that you were able to overcome that. Brilliant idea!
:panthro
Itās really trivial once you get the hang of it.
Preheat water in microwave for 3:30.
Put figure in very hot water. Let it sit.
Remove legs. Easiest to do on a figure thatās never been broken.
Make sure itās still warm.
Remove arms.
Make sure itās still warm.
Pry off rubber armor. Note: Superman and some others have their armor sculpted into the torso. This is for armor that blocks the side seams. Ripping is okay because you can glue back but if you have much resistance, heat to soften the glue.
Make sure itās still warm.
Gently pry open torso with a small tool such as a flathead screwdriver. This may take patience. Always better to focus somewhere not visible such as under armor. If you have an eyeglass repair kit, thereās a wedge under the arm a flathead screwdriver can go into. You may scuff things up or need to pry around a few places. Stick to places covered by the arm or head.
Make sure itās still warm.
Pop open torso. It utimately doesnāt matter if some pegs pop off in sockets because theyāll fit back together with glue.
Pry off belt.
Make sure itās still warm.
Pry open crotch. This may take patience.
Wiggle off leg connector.
Heat legs. Attach to new leg connector.
Wiggle on new leg connector.
Apply very small amounts of a glue that dries clear to ports.
Reconnect crotch.
Apply very small amounts of a glue that dries clear to ports.
Reconnect belt.
Apply very small amounts of a glue that dries clear to ports.
Secure torso pieces together around port.
Apply very small amounts of a glue that dries clear to armor.
Heat arms. Place back on.
It generally takes a $7-8 Primal Age figure (stick to wave 2 figs or Street Fighter males; no way to know whether wave 1 are fixed versions), about 5 dabs of of superglue, and 15 minutes, which youāll need to do twice to get the donor socket and the recipient figure finished. (Granted, no need to reassemble the donor figure if you even can.)
I also copied the balljoint connector measurements and offer a metal version on Shapeways.
$16.50 gets you made to order steel balljoints if you donāt want to just go get an $8 figure on eBay to dissect to donate a plastic joint.
Very well done here, my friend. Makes me wish Funko had this kind of movement with their Savage World ThunderCats figures.
By the Gods of Third Earth!! :eek: There is no way Iām talented enough to pull all that off, but thank you very much for the recipe.
I guess Iāll just hold out hope that S7 eventually does some Retro style figures.
:liono
Well, the good news is, wave 2 from Funko shouldnāt need this.
I only did Mumm-Ra and Panthro.
Have there been any reported Lion-O or Slythe leg issues? Iām half-tempted to go ahead and do them too but they donāt feel too bad on my copies.
I saw a YouTube review of one of the Wave 1 figures, I canāt remember which one, but the leg broke DURING the review!
:mummra
Yeah I seen a similar video of the Savage World DC Primal Age Wonder Woman and her leg also broke in the review.
Maybe the plastic needs heated to soften it before turningā¦or perhaps itās just a very brittle plastic used for the ball joints.
I hear the second wave f Primal Age figures have fixed the ball joints.
I read someplace that the factory that made the figures used a really cheap plastic on the ball joints, but they did so without FUNKOās knowledge.
:mummra
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Itās mainly that everything released from around October through around December 2018 was defective because the factory used a soft plastic for the ball joint connector. Some of it is better than others but the core problem is that factory āgangmoldedā the ball connector with other parts of the figures when the ball connector is supposed to be a different plastic used nowhere else on the figure that is harder than he plastic used in the legs or elsewhere.
DC got a second corrected run in 2019. Wave 2 of Primal Age and Street Fighter were all fixed. No Thundercats fixes were released because sales didnāt justify a second run. From what I gather, a recall would have tanked their action figure program financially which is why they just kind of gritted their teeth and dodged complaints. It was essentially 100% of all Thundercats and all DC Primal Age Wave 1 from Amazon that shared a defect. But because the ball connector was gang molded, some figures lucked out and had marginally better plastic than others used. Panthrosā leg connector was, I think, made using is flexible nunchuck plastic, which rips if you apply force to it. I think Mumm-Raās was made from his cape/skirt. Primal Age Scarecrow used a more ABS style plastic that was used in his shield which was mostly fine. I havenāt seen Lion-O or Slytheās legs break but basically Funko wound up with millions of figures coming in using off-spec plastic for the balljoint connector. Literally too big to recall. And since not 100% of them broke, they hunkered down, gritted their teeth, and focused on making sure the next production run was built right, starting with Targetās re-released of Primal Age wave 1.
DC Primal Age WW is FINE is she didnāt come from Amazon in 2018. It gets a little trickier as time goes on based on scam returns and such but as long as you could know a DC figure at no point came from Amazon, youād know it was safe. All Thundercats wave 1 are technically defective. But Panthro is the worst. Followed by Mumm-Ra. Slytheās tail can break off but I havenāt seen leg issues. Lion-Oās legs will fall off but I havenāt seen them break.
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Worth noting that the 2019 releases used a new factory and a sturdier leg connector than the original pre-Thundercats specs.
So in a nutshell:
Zorn used a balljoint. But had trouble with legs and arms coming off.
Funko tweaked the balljoint (which used a sturdier plastic) and the arm designs in Mortal Kombat and Savage World Horror.
They got the designs mostly right in Thundercats and DC Wave 1.
But they had three problems.
- If the factory worker didnāt apply enough force to fully secure an arm on, it would pop off in the package.
- They put friction spikes on the leg balljoints to make them tight but the amount of friction could cause them to pop off if not adequately secured on.
The first two create assembly errors but can be fixed out of package. - The factory went off spec on leg ball joints, which were supposed to be made of a sturdier plastic.
All 3 problems were fixed with Primal age w 1 Target release (mostly) although I THINK they kept the friction spikes and made sure assembly was done better. This would create figures so tight you can hear them squeak. But VERY hard to disassemble. And very sturdy. The new leg connector here is industrial strength, stronger than all prior leg joints. In fact, all of the plastic changed and the colors are all slightly different than the Amazon releases. I took pics at the time. Youād only notice side by side.
With all Black Batman (Target Exclusive) and wave 2 (Superman, Luthor, Bizarro, Flash, Black Manta), they did away with the friction spikes. Now weāre back to legs that CAN be popped off with enough force but nothing breaks if you do because the leg connector is still super hard.
I believe Street Fighter continued this.
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Itās a shame wave 1 has such problems. I canāt imagine many people wanting wave 2 with the wave 1 figures defective and hoping Funko reissue wave 1 with fixes. After wave 2 I think that will sadly finish the Savage World figures.
But it would be great if they could do a couple more waves. Bengali, Lynxo, Pumyra, Jaga, Grune, Rataro, Vultureman, Mongor etc.
Maybe even a Kit, Kat, Snarf, Snarfer ans Ma-Mutt as pack in accessories.
It a real shame though about those Savage World Conan figures, those would have been awesome.
Agreed. I was really hoping that a Conan The Destroyer would turn up. I sort of got my wish, but now heās $45. 
:mummra
Yep and being made by Super 7. Limited release, having to order months in advane, usually delays, quality control issues, poor customer serviceā¦
Hopefully they can sort things out as the prototype looked really nice.
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And on top of that, I cannot justify the $45 price tag on Arnie. Sure, he has 2 swordsā¦but thatās it. No second head? No extra hands or other accessories?? WTF!!?? :mad
Heckā¦just give me Arnie loose without the box and a single sword for 30 bucks!!
:mummra
What I find really odd is Super 7 like Funko have no problem putting retro style niche figures out to mass retail yet a far more popular modern style toy like Classics and Ultimates are being kept away from general buying public.
Conan, Thundercats, MOTU and TMNT wouldall sell a lot better at retail than novelty retro/vintage style toys.
If those were all available at mass retail for $20-30 I would buy them all.
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You make an incredibly good point. :thumbsup
I agree totally. I understand the business model ( sort of ), but this thing of small production runs and charging higher prices really stinks.
:mummra
I think licensing plays a role in that.
They probably have noncompetes with Playmates, Mattel, etc. and not exactly a āfull licenseā.
The retro style stuff is under a license similar to Funko Pops or Loyal Subjects and they get the license to retail that because it doesnāt compete.
I bet Mattel still has the retail license for 7 inch TCats. They donāt produce them because they have a hard enough time getting shelf space for their good selling figures. Walmart seems content with empty shelves or restricting shelf space to reliable sellers so they can devote more space to cheap products that may have a slower turn.
And I bet Super7 (and to some extent NECA and Funko) donāt pursue retail licenses because of limited shelf space theyād have to compete for AND because it would be expensive.
My hunch with Super7 is that they probably seldom even get master licenses but license figures individually and pay only upon preorder. I doubt they ever plunk down tens of millions upfront for a master license, which means you donāt have overstock or reorders for retailers.
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