VAM rescue !

Some of you may know Major Mike Baker , C/O of the Munrovian resistance troops , who are holding out in the foot hills of the Munrovia mountains.

Here is Major Mike with his second in command , Captain Kobina.

Major Mike is named after my oldest friend from my school days. I have been on at Mike for years now to get his old action men out and I'd gladly try and fix them up for him. He has finally done so and entrusted them to my care.

So here are they guys. Mike wants to go for an as is restoration , so no grippers for the PH's or repaints. Most exciting for me was seeing the Green Beret Uni. I never had one of those as kid.



The BP was his stepsons.



Here are some more piccies..I'll start with a dismantle and clean up, get the heads bathed in OXY 10  , then its off to the spares box for a rummage and a restring..





I'll keep you posted on progress.

Oooh.. nice looking lot Steve.

From the looks of the arms and feet, these look like very early issue figures that may have utilised G.I Joe parts to complete them? You may remember we had a big discussion with LFJ (Hussein) about this on AMHQ a long while back. If that's the case, these figures are particularly valuable to collectors.  

Take a pic of the stamp on the back for me will you?

The Green Beret uni looks in decent shape too. That alone is worth a small fortune these days.

Nice thing to do for your friend too. Be good to see your progress with these.

Very nice thing to do for your friend.

But it looks like you have some work ahead of you. There are some serious stress cracks
and broken pegs.

But one of the great feelings in this hobby is getting these figures back in fighting shape.

It is a nice thing to do , but there is a certain pleasure gained from fixing up old things I feel . Can you tell me more about the use of Oxy 10 ? I am also looking forward to seeing your progress .

Looking forward too seeing the progress Steve!

Looks like quite a project! Those painted rivet guys look very early vam,

Gunner Munro wrote:

Most exciting for me was seeing the Green Beret Uni. I never had one of those as kid.

Oh you missed out Steve, you missed out!

Fantastic to see these nearly six decade old soldiers getting out of storage and getting back in shape for another half-century of adventures!

I hope you and Mike - the real Mike - can hit the sandpit or rockpile in the back yard this summer with your vintage guys from some fun and photos!

Looking forward to seeing how they turn out ..

A well loved and much played with troop for sure!
(And some valuable stuff there too!)
I'm sure your friend Mike will get a re-kindled interest when he sees his men all fighting fit again!

Thanks for the comments chaps,
I'm going to take this one a bit more methodically than usual.. so staring the process today.

1. best elastic for restring?.. I started to use flat black elastic , them moved onto 3 mm bungy type. Any thoughts ?
2. I want to give the uniforms a spruce up..recommendations for washing ?
3. Cracked limbs.. reglue or replace from the spare box ?

Kev, I'll get some photo's of the back of the PH for you.
Barry, the Oxy 10 (zit cream) method has worked wonders for me in the past. However some of the staining does look quite deep
Takes a while to get results but worth it I think.

Cheers
Steve

Hey Steve,

As far as restringing my figures, I use the Cotswold sets. But I'm not sure if that would be
economical for you. I'm not sure what shipping costs would be for you.

As far as gluing vintage parts, if anyone can tell me what works, I would be happy to know.
I haven't found a Joe collector that has found a glue that works. It seems the plastic used to
make the Joe bodies doesn't take to any kind of glue? If you find one that works, I would greatly
like to know what does work.

I realize I'm not much help. I would like to know what works for you, and I look forward to your
progress in restoring these figures.

I just remembered a fellow Joe collector once mentioning to me on how he washed uniforms.
He unfortunately passed away a few years ago from a massive heart attack. So I can't ask
for clarification.

But I recall he once (not giving me specifics) mentioned how he washed 1/6 uniforms.

He said he used a 32 ounce (I'm guessing a litre?) bottle, washed and rinsed of course, that
Gatorade came in. Here those bottles have a wide mouth, so it's easier to put a uniform in
them. He added a couple of drops of laundry soap. I'm guessing water in half the bottle.

He then shook it good, and then rinsed under water. He would then lay the uniform flat
on a towel, fold the other half of the towel onto it, then place something heavy on top of the
towel like books. And let it dry. I don't recall him saying how long he let them dry.

I don't know if this will help you any. Like I said, he didn't exactly give me specifics on his
technique. But maybe it can give you an idea? I've never tried doing that, so I don't know
exactly how well it would work.

Washing is not all that hard.
A bowl, warm water((NOT hot), a small amount of washing liquid recommended for "delicates" and just GENTLY agitate with your fingers.
DO NOT go full on because most 1/6 uniforms and clothing are NOT double hemmed, just turned the once and the seams will fray or worse, come apart if you agitate to much.
Rinse and I usually spin dry (yes in a machine, just on the spin cycle for a few minutes,) then gently pull back into shape and lay flat on a towel and dry in the shade.
I have never had anything damaged this way.
If it's staining on whites, pre-soak in "safe-for-coloureds" powder....whites will take bleach OK but if there are small coloured patches or decals, full-on bleach will ruin them.

(I wouldn't do any of that shaking in a bottle.....just asking for seams to part!)

There is a technique using a soldering iron , to fix those cracked limbs . I have just brought a soldering iron with temp control off Amazon for this purpose , but not tried it yet . Here is a link .

https://actionmanmobileops.forumotion.co.uk/t2022-repair-them-unwanted-stress-fractures

Thanks for the replies guys.. detergent and soldering irons on order

Have made some basic strip down/clean up progress with the figures.... Kev back shots of the early VAM included. They must be prior to John Wayn Green Berets as Mike said he went and bought the GB Uni after watching it  
Back shots




Classic VAM


One of the chaps has a split thigh, rivet and fastener still intact on elastic.. I'm going to attempt to re attach using the methods in the repair link Chip posted.

The other stress cracks , especially in the biceps etc I'll look to use Rages wire idea. I have identified a donor body and a similar vintage left arm I could use.. Kev this must be an actual GI Joe body as no marking on the back.







Heads
here are the heads after first soak and clean . I used detergent then a light toothbrush-ing  with with Pink Stuff.

These two have come up really nice.


The other Red head with staining , not so much , so its out with the Zit cream and sitting in the sunshine for a week or two.




BP Classic Soldier.
This chap was almost minty fresh.. He has had some play but I reckon he has never had his uni off.


Interesting colour too lips and eyes..been stood in the sun ?


The SLR will make straight fix..barrel fits back like a glove

Will give his Uni a quick wash to get the last 38+ years of dust off..1984 ... 38 years ago ??? OMG      

Fabulous basic strip down/clean up progress with the figure going on there Gunner . Enjoy looking though the progress pictures of you bring back vams back to action.

Great update , if your fig has no markings on his back , then he is almost definitely a Joe , but he should have some markings on his butt , if this is the case . Are you in the U.K ? As I searched hard for that zit cream here , none I found contain that 10% Benzoyl Peroxide

Chip wrote:

Great update , if your fig has no markings on his back , then he is almost definitely a Joe , but he should have some markings on his butt , if this is the case . Are you in the U.K ? As I searched hard for that zit cream here , none I found contain that 10% Benzoyl Peroxide

Hi Chip
Its not sold in UK , so I think I got it e-bay ..three or four years back...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1311&_nkw=oxy+10+benzoyl+peroxide&_sacat=0

depending on the staining and strength of sun, it does work well in my experience.I wash mine off every three days or so. Some of the guys may have better tips on using it.

Thanks I did not think you could of got it here .

Great update there Steve

I think that these figures are as I surmised, extremely early issue by Palitoy which, I remember reading somewhere, had to utilise Joe limbs and other parts to finish them.
The thighs and feet in particular, look like Joe to me. The unstamped back may or may not be too. I think your friend has some very valuable figures there.

As for stress cracks, the solder iron method works on the surface of the split. It's still there underneath though. I have used a thin Stanley knife blade held between pliers and heated on the gas ring flame to get in between the crack and try and seal it that way. Either way, you will need to sand the area smooth. These are notoriously difficult to repair as you know.

Keep the progress updates coming Steve, great work mate !