Author Topic: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden  (Read 4150 times)

Offline benjani_1976

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Have you ever wondered how to rejoin separated SW torso's..........the articulated type like the Joe figures have?

I came across a collection of my old 1/12 tamiya and Koyosho radio controlled car spares earlier this week,I decided to keep them close at hand as there were several sizes of small self tapper screws that will always come in handy when converting Joe legs.
Found a rise of cobra storm shadow figure that I thought would work wonders as the lower half of Raiden,but what should I use for the top half? In my fodder bins I got several saga legends jedi I picked up from a local ebayer down south for 99p..... mostly Obi Wan Kenobi's and a Qui Gon Jinn or 2,but once the connecting rod is cut it takes major surgery to rejoin them.

not any more,I drilled out the upper half with a 5.5mm drill about 5-6mm deep,removed the remains of the connecting rod and forcibly stuffed epoxy putty into the hole flush with the curve.
Then i pressed the 4mm ball joints thread and hex nut into the putty just below the curve of the joint and pressed more putty over the hex feature and left it slightly proud of the curve,once dried it was dremelled away easily but not too much to leave a weak point.

then it was a case of pushing the 2 halves together until the ball joint popped into the slot of the storm shadow torso and hey presto..........it's a firm joint,retains intended articulation and being a ball joint the movement is mega smooth.

step by step photo's below,I hope this helps those of you who read this create better customs

Offline benjani_1976

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2012, 08:48:43 AM »
these pics are pointing out what material needs to be removed to sink the ball joint into the upper torso,a 5.5mm diameter hole..........the only hassle I had was removing the anchorage point which will spin at times if only using the grinder tip,it will need to be drilled and extracted with a small precision screwdriver.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2012, 03:24:52 PM by benjani_1976 »

Offline benjani_1976

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2012, 08:51:26 AM »
the anchor is a bit too large to drop through the 5.5mm hole so i drilled it and with a flat precision screwdriver I cracked it and pulled it through.
next step it to drill down deep enough for the hexagonal nut feature to sit .5mm - 1mm below the curved profile of the torso.

gi joe torso sanded to match SW figure torso
« Last Edit: October 30, 2012, 03:31:33 PM by benjani_1976 »

Offline benjani_1976

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2012, 08:53:42 AM »
ball joint selected to fit the GI joe torso........3mm wide slot so i used the 4mm ball joint for a secure and firm fit.

once all parts prepared,epoxy putty was mixed and forcibly pressed into the upper torso,and the joint firmly pressed in.
then a layer of putty pressed down around the top of the hexagonal feature to be sanded smooth and contoured once cured.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2012, 03:38:32 PM by benjani_1976 »

Offline benjani_1976

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2012, 08:56:42 AM »
the inside diameter of the jedi robes won't easily fit over the lower torso so both parts need to be altered. torso diameter to be sanded down and the robes inner diameter to be opened up,for this a barrel sander at 10,000rpm and 120 grit works fine.

120 grit recommended on both faces to aid the glue bonding
« Last Edit: October 30, 2012, 03:43:41 PM by benjani_1976 »

Offline benjani_1976

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #5 on: October 25, 2012, 08:59:26 AM »
as above......pics above show how far the robes would fit prior to sanding........these 4 pics show he fit after sanding
« Last Edit: October 30, 2012, 03:45:23 PM by benjani_1976 »

Offline benjani_1976

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #6 on: October 25, 2012, 09:08:15 AM »
and once the  putty has cured and secured the ball joint,press both halves together until the 4mm diameter brass ball pops into the 3mm slot nice and secure.

hey presto abracadabra........storm shadow and kenobi become raiden...........flawless victory ;D
« Last Edit: October 30, 2012, 03:50:38 PM by benjani_1976 »

Offline spudafett

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2012, 08:51:31 PM »
interesting technique.  I like this idea, where do you get the ball joints?  are they common, cheap and easilly obtainable?

from the sounds of it you butchered a remote control vehicle to get the piece... not cost effective for someone to look for that part.  Anything comparable out there?

Offline benjani_1976

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2012, 04:43:54 AM »
cheap as chips actually..........tamiya and koyosho (2 most populay makes in the UK) and thunder tiger are all build from scratch 1/1:12 kit cars and spares are available off the shelf........ball joints come in various sizes and quantities.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THUNDER-TIGER-PD0811-BALL-JOINT-TS-4-/200752287481?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item2ebdc4cef9&_uhb=1

10 x steel 4mm  ball joints for £7.23.......$11.50 roughly.

73 pence/$1 dollar 50 being about the same price as a domed head galvanized screw without the need to drill down through the chest/back and patch up the hole made for the screwdriver.


important vehicle rights announcement: no radio controlled cars were hurt ,damaged or butchered in the making of this demonstration ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Offline Tamer

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2012, 05:44:36 AM »
Time for me to go get this to the front page. Nice reference!

Offline benjani_1976

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2012, 03:16:27 PM »
Thanks for that fp,good idea Tamer........hope it's found to be helpful
« Last Edit: October 30, 2012, 03:49:54 PM by benjani_1976 »

Offline mr.Jedi1977

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2012, 05:48:32 PM »
what a great tutorial !!!  i will be trying this soon thank you for the step by step

Offline benjani_1976

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #12 on: October 31, 2012, 09:37:32 AM »
it's quite easy when you're sat down with all the necessary tools and parts.

before securing the join in place with epoxy putty,check the ball fits tight in the GiJoe/SW figure slot (4mm ball for 3mm slot worked fine with Raiden) may need a 5mm ball for 4mm slots............I may well strip down a General Krell WIP and try these joints for for his shoulders,current method i'm not happy with at present.

Offline M4K3R1

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #13 on: November 21, 2012, 02:42:58 AM »
Great tutorial, thanks for sharing. Looks like many obsolite torso's now can be used again with this method.

Offline ghostskull18

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Re: ball jointing articulated torso's - SW GIJoe conversion - Raiden
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2012, 04:31:35 PM »
This will help a lot! thanks!