How To Repair Broken 3a Toys

A growing list of tips for repairing broken ThreeA toys. These techniques are shared by toy collectors, and were discovered through trial-n-error. Follow these instructions at your own risk, and if you find better techniques, please share with them with us.

THREEA TOY REPAIR TIP #1

Repairing NOM Boots

How to fix boots that are cracking and peeling. Boots shown here, worn by Marquis De Plume.

Tips and photos contributed by Brian Vallesteros, used here with his permission.

Supplies:

Black Acrylic Paint - Brian used Grumbacher in this case, but any brand is probably fine.
Angelus Flat Black Acrylic Leather Paint
Toothbrush for removing debris
Small paint brush to apply base coats
Supplies for weathering: raw sienna acrylic paint, yellow ochre acrylic paint, and something to apply it with like an old brush (preferred), sponge or rag

Instructions:

Ideally peel all the cracking and peeling material off the boot, except for the lower part, which doesn't seem to crack like the upper section does. Use an old toothbrush to help remove the debris.
Once the loose material is removed, paint on 2-3 smooth layers of black acrylic paint. This is just so you don't use a ridiculous amount of the Angelus leather paint. You can actually use Angelus straight, but that might end up costing more because it's more expensive. Allow the paint to dry.
Apply several smooth layers of the Angelus Flat Black Acrylic Leather paint.
Final step is to apply weathering to the black boots, once the black paint is dry. Brian used a dry brush technique, applying Raw Sienna and Yellow Ochre acrylic paint. The key here is to not over-think it: apply small amounts of paint with a sponge, rag, or a dry brush using a stipling technique - tapping the boot with the tip of the brush bristles. Take your time and build up as much as you want for your desired look. If it looks bad, quickly wipe it off before it dries! You can also dab a little paint with a dry brush, then wipe away excess with a rag or coarse sponge, like a Brillo-style pad.

before and after comparison of the boots restoration.

toothbrush used to remove debris from the boots.

After final weathering, the boot looks great!

Marquis De Plume sporting his newly restored combat boots. Sexy!

THREEA TOY REPAIR TIP #2

Ear Plug Ankle Peg Hack

Tips and photos contributed by Laurentius Raditya, used here with his permission.

Ever want to use a male shoe on a female body? Laurentius has a great hack to try:

So, I'm only using a rubber from earplug... flip it [inside out], and put it on the peg. As simple as that! Hope it can help and if you had problem with small [ankle] peg and big [ankle] peg in male figures, it's also helpful.

Use a headphone/ear bud rubber piece and turn it inside-out.

THREEA TOY REPAIR TIP #3

Ankle Peg Pin Repair

Photos by dai88cc.

"Pinning" is a common technique used in building garage kits and resin figure build-ups. Basically you drill a hole and insert a pin into one side, then drill a hole in the other side for insertion. If the material is not solid, you can fill in the hollow space with with a 2-part hardening epoxy (i.e. Loctite Repair Putty). The pin can be part of a small nail (snip the head off with wire cutters) or some other rigid wire like a wire clothes hanger. You can secure the pin with super glue.