This Old Doll Hospital
Broken and Worn, Hard Plastic Joints
Patient: 8" Betsy McCall
Problem: Broken Hip Joint
This is a common problem with the 8" Betsy McCall but any doll, especially walkers, can have worn or broken plastic parts.
Another example is one of the Sweet Sue walkers with the steel stick that goes into a plastic plug that's part of the inside of the head. To get the head off, I've found it necessary to remove the wig cap and carve around this plug. Getting the head back on requires Plas-T-Pair to replace the plastic that was cut away.
Back to our poor Betsy.
| Her problem is the knob on the top of the detached leg. It's a sort of button that fits into a slot in the walking mechanism and it's so worn down, that it has fallen out of the socket. The task is to rebuild this button with Plas-T-Pair and put it back into the slot inside the doll. Major surgery, I'm afraid. | |
| To get to the slot, the doll has to be opened. I'm doing it now so I can see the other leg and compare it to the broken one. A razor blade and a little determination will open the side seams under the arms and along the neck. Push in the blade and wiggle it left and right to crack the bond, then push a bit further, wiggle and push some more. If it just doesn't want to let go, start at the other side of the seam. | |
| I'm going give this doll a facial before I put her back together again, so am taking her completely apart. Here is the entire doll and all her pieces. You can see the difference between the good leg and the broken one. | |
| Here I'm comparing the two joints. I want this one to be a mirror image of the good one. | |
| To get a good bond, I heated an old knife and melted a fairly deep cross on the bad joint. This gives the Plas-T-Pair more surface to bond to. | |
| Now I add a few drops of the Plas-T-Pair liquid until the powder melts into a gel. | |
| I push the joint around in the gel letting it coat the surface and flow into the knife cuts I made. | |
| A few seconds later, it gets warm, cures, and is rock hard. | |
| First, I hold the two together and draw around the good joint on the one I just made. | |
| From the outline, we can see that the joint isn't perfectly round. It's important to match that shape. | |
| Using a Dremel, I trim carefully. Wear goggles to protect your eyes. | |
| Now I just have to see if I have it thin enough to fit into the slot. | |
| The fit is really good. It's firm but not too tight. | |
| Here's the whole works ready to get the top half of the body glued back on. | |
| I cover the edge of the seam with Plastic Paste and put the body back together. | |
| Smooth and wipe off the excess. | |
| Secure with a rubber band around the waist. | |
| After drying overnight, the head and wig are reattached. Look Ma! No doll stand! |