When breaking down eBay lots, lately I’ve had a few toys with broken-off pegs stuck inside them – a Millennium Falcon quad-cannon, one of the Micro Collection Hoth playsets, and most recently this Tusken Raider (I find it hard to say “Sand People” in the singular!) with a stand peg in his left foot.
In this case, it’s not exactly hurting anyone. It’s not like the figure ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT WORK if I just leave it where it is, but I guess it’s a good opportunity to show off how I’ve been dealing with these things. I’ve seen other collectors suggesting superglue to pull the peg out… but in my experience, once you get glue near an old plastic toy, the chances of misting or accidentally making the problem much worse just increase dramatically…
One chap suggested measuring the width of the socket and finding an appropriately sized drill bit, and just routing the whole thing out. I mean… sure, fine. That’d do it, but you can forget plugging anything else into that socket afterwards, like if you wanted to repair the Millennium Falcon gun with a new male piece.
I have several tools from my wargaming hobby days, including this little pin-vice hand drill. It’s MUCH slower and more fiddly than an electric one, but also considerably safer and more accurate. I think this one came with several different sized bits, and only cost me a few quid, about twenty years ago?
The best way I’ve found to remove broken pegs is to put a small hole in the middle of it, and then use a self-tapping wood screw to tug it out.
(Note, it HAS to be self-tapping, or you’re likely to just tear up the peg AND the toy in the process.)
First of all, judge the best size of the bit. I wouldn’t recommend anything wider than 1/3rd of the peg’s width, or you might not get purchase with the screw.
Get the hole started, and don’t be too worried if the peg is pushed further in. We’re fortunate in that Kenner tended to make the pegs about 80-90% of the sockets’ depth, so even if it’s a sheer, clean break you should still have enough to work with.
You only need to go about 1 or 2mm deep, but be guided by the bite of the screw you’re going to use.
Once you’re in, remove any drill waste flash around the new hole, and VERY gently twist the screw in. You don’t want to let it bite on the plastic around the peg – just the leg itself. When you’re satisfied with the grip, just gently pull it straight out. If the peg doesn’t come out, I reckon you’ll get maybe two or three attempts before you tear the plastic beyond use, so take your time (although I’ve always managed it in one!)
And that’s it.
As you can see, there’s no damage to the figure. He’s ready to be washed and restored, for display or re-sale.
I did see someone asking on one of the collector sites about removing a ball bearing from an action figure’s foot – this method almost certainly won’t work for anything metal, without a more powerful drill and bit.
My advice to you in that instance would be to invest in one of those super-powerful boating magnets, and hope the foreign object is made of iron or steel…
ItPaysToBeAGeek 