My latest Projects

I'll post some of the restorations I'm working on here. I'm no expert, and most of my restorations are replacing parts, finding new uniforms and equipment, cleaning, and sending heads out for reflocking. I'm also a huge fan of Geyperman hands to fix up Kung Fu grip Joes. Feel free to post your own projects here too. I love nothing better than breathing new life into an old Joe.

I'll start with one of my first vintage projects.  This is from February of last year.  




This set I bought from a collector in Puerto Rico.  These were all Joes though, except for the guy in cammies off to the left - who was Elite Brigade.   I "restored" the headless body lying down.   The Land Adventurer and the PH Joe were both in good shape.  The blonde PH guy was one of the Timeless figures who came with a footlocker or something.  




This old Land Adventurer had seen much better days.  He needed new feet, new hands, and new hair - plus new clothes!  




So here's a group shot with the two restored Joes front and center.  The footless Joe is the one in the tan Adventurer's uniform.  He was reflocked by a Trencher who wishes not to be named.  The Joe in the Dangerous Mission uniform is the headless Joe from Brazil.

This is one I worked on back in June of 2019.  I wrote:  Here's my latest project. I'm having several heads reflocked, but am thinking whether I should for this one. His flocking is fine except for the small spot on his chin. The rest of the figure is much worse. I got him from Ebay, with a lot of parts from the "Capture of the Pygmy Gorilla" set. He was dressed in camouflage gear, and when I tried to bend his arms at the elbow, they both came off in my hand! The pegs holding the upper to the lower had both been broken and reglued! I couldn't believe it! But instead of getting mad - I thought of it as a challenge. So here is "before", and I'll post "after" once I have the arms repaired and the KFG hands replaced. Jury's still out on whether to reflock. Leaning towards reflocking though.



A couple of days later, I had found two new upper forarm assemblies in my parts box and installed them. I also knocked out the broken pegs from inside the lower arms, and put some new Cots KFG style hands on the pegs from the old broken hands. So now he had a complete body once again! I realized there was another bare spot on the side of his head, so - I sent him off to the reflockers.

He came back looking like this.  

Here is an ongoing vehicle restoration.  In early May 2019, I bought a really cheap ATV from Ebay.  Here is what it looked like in the listing.  




I got nearly got all the sticker residue off using alcohol and Qtips, and the dirt this thing picked up during it's time with the Adventure Team was truly epic. I found an old pull tab from a soda can inside, and also a rusted paper clip, and a little plastic Indian brave! Plus a whole lot of leaf fragments. So now I'm almost ready to polish the plastic, and then finally apply the decals. Only issue with it - other than extreme dirt and scratches, was that one of the stick handles was broken off.   A very nice Trenches member mailed a new seat for free.  I still haven't installed it, but you can see how the ATV looks today below.

Also last June,  I rescued another Land Adventurer.  Here is the set he came with from Ebay:




The Joe in pieces from this lot got his left calf reattached, and a new right calf and foot. He also got a new left forearm and hard hand. He needed to be restrung, and his head's flocking was pretty messed up.   Here he is after finding missing body parts and reassembling before restringing.





And here he is after reflocking, and restringing.  This figure took such a beating that I decided to retire him.  I decided he's retired Navy, and he's got a pea coat and dungaree trousers to lounge around in.  He'll be a good naval advisor to the Adventure Team.  

In December, I found another figure in pieces on Ebay.  This time it was an Air Adventurer.  Here he is before restoration. His flocking only has a couple of minor rubs. Nothing to be concerned about. Good face too.  He just needed a good cleaning, some hands, the lower abdomen and parts of two arms. Piece of cake!




I found everything once again in my parts bin.  Here he is after cleaning and restringing.



And here he is outfitted with Air Adventurer attire.  Ready to rejoin the Adventure Team.  This is one of my favorite figures now.

Always fantastic too see the older battle worn guys restored to their glory!

I am finding these restoration sequence photos to be fascinating! It is great to see "hopeless" figures being brought back to life!

Thanks for sharing with us your latest Projects. Looking forward to seeing more as you update us .

Wow great job Myles... Love seeing those old Joes put back together...

Great upload Myles nice to see restoration of Air and Land adventures

My next project Joe is this Land Adventurer.   I got him for $60 a couple of weeks ago from Facebook Marketplace!  He needs a new right hand - the old one is KFG, but his left hand is a HH hand.  So I'll make him all HH.   His face was covered with something like paint.  Turned out it was probably makeup foundation - according to Mrs. Falworth!  

Anyway, it came right off with a soft toothbrush and some dish soap.  Next will be to replace the hand, and then to send the noggin off for a new hairstyle.  I send my heads to Flock Concepts.  They do a tremendous job for a reasonable price.   He likely also will be restrung, since he is pretty floppy.  He can still stand though.  






And here's his face under all that makeup.  Looks much fresher!   When he arrived, his face and neck looked grey, like a corpse.  

Still has his dog tag! Nice!
Good to see another soldier being rescued!

I love to see Joes get fixed up, I used to do a lot a few years back, but I have enough now, so have stopped really... good see you're saving more Joes...

I love those uniforms the Land Adventurer has on...But I noticed they are very costly...
I seen one recently on ebay for $250 odd dollars....
Nice pickup on the LA..

Yeah, they're definately pricey!  I have a repro version which came with the "Return to the Hidden Temple" GIJCC convention set from the last Con at Disney World.  I will have to do a side-by side comparison for color.   The repro has nice patches though.   I know there were other replicas made several years ago.  I heard maybe one was made by Derryl DePriest?

This guy arrived in the mail yesterday. He has very nice hair, with no rubs, but a couple of small marks on the face. He has an intact pull-string, which extends fully but then retracts instantly and with no sound. Also, he's got floppy hips (needs restring) and a broken right arm. Looking inside the chest cavity, the first problem appears to be either a missing or damaged speaker - so that will be the first order of business, after replacing the broken upper arm/shoulder. I wonder whether the tape is still attached inside. Should be interesting.

I purchased a large lot recently that had these three AT guys. The Land Adventurer had cracked KFG hands, so I've already replaced them with Geyperman hands. The Land Adventurer's uniform was in the lot, so these are his original fatigues. The Sea Adventurer still has decent original KFG hands. They are intact, and still flexible. I may replace them someday, but not a priority for now. The Sea Adventurer's uniform is for a muscle body Sea Adventurer. This guy is a classic body. But the uni looks nice on him, and has the original sticker. He does have a balding spot on the top of his head, however I think I'll just leave it, since it doesn't show, and the rest of the hair is in excellent shape. The Atomic Man is the real project here. You can see the deterioration of the KFG hands. Also, he had shorts which were all stretched out, and will be replaced with a nicer pair. He also has darkened arm and leg, which I don't know how to correct - however, the leg is incorrectly installed. The thigh is the left thigh, however the lower leg is put on backwards, with the knee joint flexing the wrong way. The easy fix will be the hands. I just got in a new shipment of Geyperman hands today, and he'll get two tonight. But fixing the leg will either require a transplant, or I'll need to remove the pin, and then replace it after fixing the orientation. So this may be my first pin replacement. Not much to lose, Here they are!

Mail call today was very exciting! I received the huge lot I won a few days ago with all the vehicles. These two Joes were included. As you can see, the non-talking MOA was mauled by one of the wild animals the Adventure Team so frequently engaged, (or possibly by the original owner's brother, or the family dog). He needs a new right foot, a new right forearm, and a new left calf. He also needs two new KFG hands. His flocking is perfect, and his stringing is still fairly tight, so no restringing required. I'll have him fixed up in no time and ready to rejoin the Adventure Team! The Talking MOA needs restringing, but has perfect flocking, and no injuries of any kind, except for a left shoulder which needs a new attachment. However his tag is cut in half, and will need to be replaced. Also the string is wrapped tightly around his neck. May need voice repairs. But still a very nice figure.

It gladdens my heart to see that somebody is taking the time and making the effort to restore these pre-loved Joes!
So well done too!
Huge appreciation of your efforts Myles_Falworth!

I'm curious, have you tried twisting the calf around on the Atomic Man?
I looks like the knee cap is in the back. Before you try to replace the rivet,
try turning the calf around. It might prove to be in the right direction if done so?

As far as the talking MOA, what attachment is needed for the left arm?
If it's the shoulder connection I can't help, but if he needs a new elbow,
I think I have an extra if you need it.

Daryl

Some real passion going into these restores, great to see that! I love restoring Joes and Action Men, but I had to force myself to stop, as I have too many already... although I might slip a new addition in this year...

TNshooter wrote:

I'm curious, have you tried twisting the calf around on the Atomic Man?
I looks like the knee cap is in the back. Before you try to replace the rivet,
try turning the calf around. It might prove to be in the right direction if done so?

As far as the talking MOA, what attachment is needed for the left arm?
If it's the shoulder connection I can't help, but if he needs a new elbow,
I think I have an extra if you need it.

Daryl

I'll try twisting the knee around. I'll let you know how it goes. The left arm needs the sort of rubbery connector. It's missing. So the arm swings free and won't pose. Thanks for offering help, but I don't need an elbow.

Daryl, Thanks for the tip! I had not tried just twisting the knee. It worked! So the Atomic Man is now complete and "restored". I'll put him in his Mike Power uniform, and post some pics soon. In other news, the non-talking MOA is nearly completed. I am hunting for a KFG peg I had left over from a previous restoration (still in progress) which I need more for the MOA. I also ordered some replacements from Cots. So before long, you'll see the restored MOA in photos here. The talking MOA will take longer. The string does not retract, so I need to open him up and see what's wrong. Might be my first talker repair. All the others I've farmed out to pros.

I finished fixing up two Joes today. It was a rainy day today, so I had some time on my hands. The Mike Powers figure has his leg re-oriented, and has new KFG hands from Geyperman. He also got a new Mike Powers uniform from my stores. His shorts were pretty worn out and faded. The MOA has several shots to show the replaced parts including the right foot, the left calf, the right lower arm and peg, and both KFG hands. The rivets on the feet do not quite match, since the new foot (the right) is from a painted rivet figure. I found a nice uniform for him and he's wearing his original boots (or those of the talking MOA - but both are original to the set). The only remaining step is to tighten the joint in the Atomic Man's bionic knee, and also to wash the face and flocking of the MOA. Enjoy!