Bionicle broken joints

[Taria Pakari]

The lime green parts are the obvious first thought of broken parts, but I also had problems with the dark blue sockets of my 3 Gali Mistika sets.

 

My broken piece I'm most upset about is one of my Jaller Inika's translucent orange limbs. I heard a trick to swab a very small amount of super glue into the joint.

 

I've tried gluing them back together too, but it's not enough and they end up breaking again.

[Jonathan Crane]

The lime green parts are the obvious first thought of broken parts, but I also had problems with the dark blue sockets of my 3 Gali Mistika sets.

 

My broken piece I'm most upset about is one of my Jaller Inika's translucent orange limbs. I heard a trick to swab a very small amount of super glue into the joint.

 

I've tried gluing them back together too, but it's not enough and they end up breaking again.

I use hot glue and a toothpick as a brush to put it on. works 99% of the time

[Munty]

Lime parts are just the worst... Had to deal with an absolutely crippled gorast and toa lewa last week. Almosts every joint broken, one on EVERY lime part! When I bricklink replacements I'll be buying plenty of spares!

 

Mazeka was another terrible set for me. The double-ended open balljoint pieces are awful 5 of the 8 are broken on mine...

[Phovos]

I've heard that putting some super glue in the socket (not in the crack) then letting it dry to develop more friction works well.

 

As a temporary solution, this works quite well but the piece becomes fragile.

 

I am seriously considering the fact that weather is a problem. I live in a hot, humid place and I have SO MANY broken pieces, despite how careful I am with them. But the problem I have most with is the top + part on hand pieces. So many of mine have gone and it's only really black/grey/silver that has remained, along with the coloured ones from the Rahkshi.

 

I may try hot glue. Maybe melting the part back together may help?

[bohrokmaster]

Can I ask how did the Bionicle Balljoints got cracked or broken? I've been hearing about what happened to the old sets and been watching a YouTube video on how to fix them 

[Jacks]

Just through regular use -- attach and detach them one too many times and *snap*

 

Some of the lime green sockets would do that upon the very first use

[bioniclepluslotr]

Do pieces get brittle over time? I was adjusting some of my 08 sets and the joints seemed super stiff and ready to pop at any moment. I've also only ever broken pieces if I've disassembled a figure and am reusing the parts. Never the first time I build then.

Edited October 13, 2014 by bioniclepluslotr

[Cambion]

if i were OP, i would just buy new ones. they're really not all that expensive on Bricklink.

[Lyichir]

Do pieces get brittle over time? I was adjusting some of my 08 sets and the joints seemed super stiff and ready to pop at any moment. I've also only ever broken pieces if I've disassembled a figure and am reusing the parts. Never the first time I build then.

I don't think it's a matter of age (at least with the old Bionicle parts) so much as a matter of repeated use. Attaching or removing ball cups can put a lot of stress on the parts, and many of the parts weren't designed well enough to handle that kind of stress over and over again.

 

Recently I saw a picture someone posted of a broken joint from a 2012 Hero Factory set. None of my parts seem to have that issue, but I can't say it doesn't make me worry...

[Cap'n Shirley J. Puma]

You know, does anyone know if the mixture for 2007 like green changed when 2008 came? They are still both brittle, but 2008 joints were all brittle due to their style. The plastic also feels different, so I am pretty sure. Does anyone know? Also, does anyone have a picture of a Hf/ccbs cup that is broken?

Edited October 15, 2014 by Cap'n Shirley J. Puma

[Lyichir]

You know, does anyone know if the mixture for 2007 like green changed when 2008 came? They are still both brittle, but 2008 joints were all brittle due to their style. The plastic also feels different, so I am pretty sure. Proves anyone know?

No, the formulation remained the same. The brittleness in 2007 was not because of any difference in the plastic or dye formulation—it was because the parts were improperly cooled. Even a seemingly-minor change like that can have a big impact on the final sturdiness of a material.

[bohrokmaster]

so does it mean the old bionicle parts might break if you detach it from the sets?

 

Never Mind

Edited October 16, 2014 by bohrokmaster

[Timageness]

My joints only seem to break on me when I go to remove the ball from the socket, and I found out rather recently that moving the joint around before popping it out seems to lessen the chance of socket breakage. Also, pull it straight out; don't attempt to leverage the axel on the ball piece against the socket.

I've only had these issues with really worn 2001-2007 and 2008-2010 sockets. The only HF-style sockets I've had break were from knockoff sets that weren't made by Lego.

[Cap'n Shirley J. Puma]

Does anyone know how often Hf sockets break? We know they do, but from what I've heard, it's a really rare occurence.

[Aanchir]

Does anyone know how often Hf sockets break? We know they do, but from what I've heard, it's a really rare occurence.

I don't know a lot of people who have experienced it, but some of the few who have seem to experience it alarmingly often. For most people I've spoken with, it ranges from "rarely" to "never".

[Cap'n Shirley J. Puma]

I've recently been thinking... What about 3d printing? I mean, it is plastic, and it could be an hf socket on a bionicle connector. The only downfall would be the fact that you can't fix pins through the hf sockets. Otherwise, if I do say so myself, I think it is a pretty good idea. Other than that, there is also this thing called a "3 doodler," which is basically the child of a hot glue gun and 3d printer. This could possibly be used to bulk up some of the connectors and reinforce/repair them. Any ideas as far as this goes?

Well, there was like no time between my previous post and this one. Guess I should have researched the 3doodler first... Anyways, I looked into it, and 3doodlers hover around 100 dollars. Not cheap by any means, but it comes with 5o sticks, and refills are 10 bucks for 25 sticks. You can get both abs and pla plastic, but there are many more options in the pla department (including clear colors, so Jaller Inika and Takadox won't be on their own!). I have no idea on the durability of pla plastics, but I do know that lego uses abs, so the creations could be pretty sturdy. I think that this is a legitimate option for those like me looking to fix their collection. I suppose I will have to ask for it for christmas (yes I am still getting christmas gifts at age 14 lol). Only time will tell.

[Manducus]

Does anyone know how often Hf sockets break? We know they do, but from what I've heard, it's a really rare occurence.

 

You must have the immense strength of a thousand men to be able to break those joints.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Councilor Manducus

[meowmachine]

I've broken tons of pieces. I clearly remember breaking Tahu Stars's ankles, and all 4 pieces of my vahki's torso.

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

I've broken tons of pieces. I clearly remember breaking Tahu Stars's ankles, and all 4 pieces of my vahki's torso.

Yeah, most of my Stars pieces are cracked which really is a testament to the poor quality of Bionicle pieces late in the line (especially starting in 2007).

 

-NotS

[Ford]

Since I too can't afford those items, I usually put a little force into the sides of the sockets with my thumb and index finger to stop it from breaking outwardly whenever I'm using them.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who does this.

[user-402520536]

I had Strakk, Gelu, and Metus, and EVERY SINGLE BALLJOINT on them cracked. Me and my dad tried superglue, but that didn't work. Which is a shame though, since Gelu was the all-time best Glatorian.

[Blueblur21]

...That's arguable. Gelu was cool and all but Kiina and Tarix were my personal favorites.

[Cap'n Shirley J. Puma]

You know, what about using friction adders and epoxy? If you sand off the fragile cup on the bionicle joint, and sand the friction adder to just the ball cup, you could join them with epoxy and it would hopefully be pretty sturdy... This wouldn't really be much of a solution to moc'ers since the friction adder would be gray, and that could conflict with the color scheme, but for people who like to play with their sets or get all twitchy with the broken ball joints(that's me!), it could be a real life saver. The only issues I could see would be the epoxy not being strong enough, the added weight of the epoxy, the added bulk of the epoxy, and the largeness of the reinforced ball joint, as they sometimes conflict with certain parts (such as the piece used for jaller inika's legs, and lewa phantoka's arms). I will probably actually try doing this after I finish some of my homework. EDIT: I have begun with this, and it is actually pretty hard. Firstly, lego DOES NOT want you to sand down their pieces. They are ridiculously sturdy, and if you don't have a dremel, it could literally take you an hour or two to sand down the joints. Next, it's hard to get the correct length. In the future I will have to do measurements to get the aproxamite length of the double ball joint connectors. Basically, unless you are going to be using this joint a lot, it's not really worth it. I'm going to be trying this some more, and be experimenting, so keep an eye out for that. I will have more info on the piece in the morning, when the epoxy has had enough time to cure and the piece can be handled without risk of damaging it.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Cap'n Shirley J. Puma

[Cap'n Shirley J. Puma]

Well, I have checked out my epoxy/friction adder setup, and it works. With a little more fine tuning and precision, this could seriously work. EDIT: This is an instructable I have made on the joint. Keep in mind this is my first attempt and will be trying again in a more clean way. http://m.instructables.com/id/Bionicle-Joint-Fix/

Edited November 14, 2014 by Cap'n Shirley J. Puma

[Blue91233]

I think dark-green ball joints are brittle. One of Kongu Inika's ball joints broke and I have to buy a new piece just to replace it.

[Sumiki]

I think dark-green ball joints are brittle. One of Kongu Inika's ball joints broke and I have to buy a new piece just to replace it.

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