Ankle joint broke (?)

Is the infamous Obitsu ankle joint snap?

I noticed starting a couple weeks ago that this foot would be a bit loose, but I'd always tighten the screw a bit and didn't think much of it.

Today, the screw didn't seem to tighten, but I just left it at that and started dressing her in socks. Foot came off at some point, and I see this. What should I do next?

There's a crack in both the loose piece as well as in the portion of the joint that's affixed to the body.

I'm able to put it back together without any glue, but I don't know how long it will hold or whether it's a good idea to even do that.

Edited February 10, 2022 by chef_mai

2 hours ago, chef_mai said:

There's a crack in both the loose piece as well as in the portion of the joint that's affixed to the body.

The bit that's connected to the joint is genuinely made up of two parts. It's not broken.

However, the ring is obviously cracked, which explains the loose foot. The ring presses the halves of the joint together, so the screw can sit tight. if you glue the ring back together with super glue, it should last you a while again.

When putting it back onto the joint, just make sure you have the tab on the ring "up" and not flush with the bottom.

 

You could also use other methods to keep the halves of the joint pressed together, eg. a bit of heat-shrink tube.

4 hours ago, chef_mai said:

Is the infamous Obitsu ankle joint snap?

Yup.

4 hours ago, chef_mai said:

I noticed starting a couple weeks ago that this foot would be a bit loose, but I'd always tighten the screw a bit and didn't think much of it.

They’re really flimsy to begin with so you probably didn’t do anything wrong per se, but they tend to snap if you overtighten them. As you can see, there is no metal threaded hole for you tighten the screw into—you’re literally screwing into plastic, so if you tighten the screw too much, it breaks the ankle piece and the foot falls off.

Replacing it is a huge pain because you have to take the entire leg apart to get the ankle part in/out, and the shin ‘bone’ requires superhuman strength to remove from the socket (at least it did in my case), so it’s gonna be a struggle even with a hair dryer.

If you do end up replacing it, my advice for the new ankle part is to stop screwing as soon as it feels tight. It’s so easy to overdo it and inadvertently crack it again.

7 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

if you glue the ring back together with super glue, it should last you a while again.

That's reassuring. Thanks!

5 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

Replacing it is a huge pain because you have to take the entire leg apart to get the ankle part in/out, and the shin ‘bone’ requires superhuman strength to remove from the socket (at least it did in my case), so it’s gonna be a struggle even with a hair dryer.

I've heard horror stories about this and already had a fair bit of trouble separating the chest skeleton part from the spine. Superglue sounds a lot more tempting, and the part's backordered anyways.

I wonder if the really desperate just buy a new knee joint to affix the new ankle joint to, to avoid the stress of taking something apart this difficult.

Super glue has held up well on the prior part, but today, while removing a shoe, the other foot completely dislodged, and I discovered that the inner ring shattered. This doesn't look easily fixable...

Thankfully, this didn't happen to Mai, but it's a little frustrating to keep having to order parts.

On 2/10/2022 at 5:30 PM, ragnamuffin said:

the shin ‘bone’ requires superhuman strength to remove from the socket

I bet it's glued in place. 💢 Because I can't get it out no matter what I'm doing. And if getting it out is this hard, it'll be practically impossible for me to get it back in again. 

With the more stubborn connections, carefully applying a twisting motion will free those up (the same applies to when you're separating the chest skeleton part from the spine, which you'll inevitably have to do at some point). There's absolutely no way you can tease them apart by tugging it straight out.

You'll also want to remove the shin outerskin before attempting to do this. (use a hairdryer to soften that)

Just make sure you're holding the pieces in such a way that you're solely twisting the two desired parts and nothing else. In this case, it's the knee rod in one hand and the cylindrical part of the ankle joint in the other.

Checking online to make sure you understand where a part starts and ends is a good idea.

https://www.1999.co.jp/image/10131086/20/1

Edited November 17, 2022 by chef_mai

25 minutes ago, Lynn said:

I bet it's glued in place. 💢 Because I can't get it out no matter what I'm doing. And if getting it out is this hard, it'll be practically impossible for me to get it back in again. 

If you can wedge it in between something and pull, you might be able to get it out while it’s still warm after heating it up. That’s what I did—I have a metal rack with grates that are just big enough to pass the shins through but small enough that the ankle joint gets stuck. Then channel the strength of your deity of choice and pull as hard as you can.

Alternatively, you can try twisting as @chef_mai said. That’s probably the more civilized way to do it 😅

In either case, I didn’t have trouble putting it back in, and after getting it out the first time, I’ve never had issues taking it apart since. They probably have a machine or something put it together, so if you don’t have superhuman strength, you probably can’t put it back together as tightly, and so it will always be a bit ‘loose’ comparatively, making it easy to take apart after the first time.

1 hour ago, chef_mai said:

With the more stubborn connections, carefully applying a twisting motion will free those up (the same applies to when you're separating the chest skeleton part from the spine, which you'll inevitably have to do at some point). There's absolutely no way you can tease them apart by tugging it straight out.

You'll also want to remove the shin outerskin before attempting to do this. (use a hairdryer to soften that)

Just make sure you're holding the pieces in such a way that you're solely twisting the two desired parts and nothing else. In this case, it's the knee rod in one hand and the cylindrical part of the ankle joint in the other.

Checking online to make sure you understand where a part starts and ends is a good idea.

https://www.1999.co.jp/image/10131086/20/1

Yep, that ankle part and the knee rod refused to come apart. I tossed them in the freeser, boiled some water and sinked the ankle part in to the hot water. Waited for a moment, and then twisted them apart. They came apart pretty easily too. 🤣 (My right hand is still recovering from the shoulder peg mod I had to do to my Miku. I have to find the easy way out at least for a while.)