Help Assembling Hot Toys Aliens

[Emperor]

Does anyone have any tips on putting the Alien figures together besides brute force? I have a AVP:R Alien Warrior and I cannot get his right arm in the socket for the life of me. I've nearly broken my wrist and the figure trying to assemble him.

The same thing can be said for the Dog Alien. The figure is still in the box because his arm and leg won't snap in. It's so annoying that I can't put them together!

Please help!

 

[sgt.reese]

With the dog alien.. i sanded down the ball joint.. not to much but just enough.. then, on a q-tip, i applied WD 40.. and wiped the joints.. instead of trying to force it in.. for about 5 to 10 minutes just used the slow rotating motion.. this creates heat.. and looses the plastic just enough for it to pop in.. trust me it works. but u literally will take about 45 minutes from start to finish

 

[Balsquat]

If it is like human characters, use a hair dryer on socket for 45 seconds and everything should snap in pretty easy.

 

[prefused]

there's no way i'd resort to sanding anything on these figures. hit the joints with a hairdryer. if the joint still doesn't pop in, you didn't heat it enough. these are fragile collectibles and should be treated as such. leave the brute force and sanding for walmart toys.

also, wd40 is petroleum-based and it will break down the plastic and rubber on these. don't use it.

 

[Emperor]

Thanks for the tips guys. I tried the hair dryer trick many times. Its a very hard solid plastic on both the socket and the joint so it seems like heating it up isn't making it any softer. That trick works great for popping on predator heads but no such luck here.

I think it might be a defect or something because as I was trying to pop the right arm in, the left arm fell out and I was able to snap it in with ease. I have no idea why the right arm is giving me so much trouble.

 

[neoshady]

The great people on the forum gave me help when I had problems with the dog here.

https://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79282

 

[thenammagazine]

Thanks for the tips guys. I tried the hair dryer trick many times. Its a very hard solid plastic on both the socket and the joint so it seems like heating it up isn't making it any softer. That trick works great for popping on predator heads but no such luck here.

I think it might be a defect or something because as I was trying to pop the right arm in, the left arm fell out and I was able to snap it in with ease. I have no idea why the right arm is giving me so much trouble.

Toss a tea cup in the microwave for a minute then dip the socket in the hot water for about 20 seconds. It should soften it up enough to pop on.

 

[Emperor]

Toss a tea cup in the microwave for a minute then dip the socket in the hot water for about 20 seconds. It should soften it up enough to pop on.

I gave this a try and still no luck. I even soaked the socket for several minutes and it didn't soften at all. This is really getting to be ridiculous.

 

[thenammagazine]

I gave this a try and still no luck. I even soaked the socket for several minutes and it didn't soften at all. This is really getting to be ridiculous.

Was the water boiling?

 

[Emperor]

Was the water boiling?

Yup. The socket is such a thick piece of plastic that it didn't soften it up at all. The entire arm got rubbery though. My hand is literally bruised and I'm completely frustrated. I can't believe these things are that difficult to put together.

 

[danald]

I used an exacto knife and removed the sharp inner edge on the female socket, and the joint snapped right in

 

[WolfPredatorAVPR]

Ask my wife about the Dog Alien, She was literally laughing at me because I was putting my all into putting the hip into place( I am not a weak guy either). I can see why she was laughing, a grown man having such problems putting a toy together. In either case, this thing was Hell to put the leg onto. I put all my strength into getting it on and it barley worked right before I was just about to throw in the towel.

Did the same thing with the arm and ended up snapping the elbow. Was really upset about it because I ended up pushing so hard to get it on I was not even thinking about breaking it. Its so funny that something so fragile, they expect you to put so much strain on it to get it put together....really makes ZERO sense. In either case I should have looked up a better way to do it

 

[Emperor]

Thanks for all the tips guys. But I finally had success today! I just kept applying vaseline on the socket and with enough pressure it finally snapped in. I did the same thing to the dog alien and he was put together in under 5 minutes. So apparently the secret is vaseline. To bad Hot Toys didn't put that in the instructions.

 

[prefused]

oh boy are you gonna regret putting vaseline on a HT figure...

https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3023119#post3023119

 

[galactiboy]

I snapped my first Dog Alien's leg trying to get it in the socket... so when I got the replacement I just gently sanded the ball and the socket... not much, but just enough. Heated the ball joint in boiling water and added a tiny bit of soap to lube it.

Popped-in w/no issue and held poses as well as the leg that was pre-attached. Also; it prevented the shiny finish from coming off the leg. If you handle it too much it will be come very dull looking and could even tear a bit.

Might need to do the same thing with the AVP; I remember that one being difficult, but the Dog Alien was impossible. So I don't think yours is defective as its a very common complaint.

 

[thenammagazine]

oh boy are you gonna regret putting vaseline on a HT figure...

https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3023119#post3023119

Now that it's set on, I'd pry it off and clean as much of it off as possible.

 

[Emperor]

I just knew it was to good to be true! For the AVP Alien the socket is stuck in the shoulder. I can't get it out. I tried wiping around the joint as best I could to get the excess vaseline off.

The dog alien's leg is stuck on too. I got his arm off and rinsed it with soap and water so the arm is ok. How long does it take to damage the figure? Because right now its looking like theres nothing I can do about the AVP's arm and the Dog's leg.

<Update> I tried taking the Dog Alien's leg off to wipe the vaseline away and guess what? The socket inside the leg shattered in 3 pieces. I tried gluing the socket back together but it doesn't hold the leg to his body anymore. Now the leg is broken and I doubt Hot Toys still has replacement parts for this figure. Talk about bad luck....

 

[prefused]

lemme guess, you didn't heat up the joint before trying to take it apart.

 

[ExMem-LarjaThwei]

This is why I ____ing hate HT Alien figures.

 

[DutchAzlon]

I wonder if using baby power or corn starch on the sockets after heating them up with a hair dryer would do the trick. I'd use an old model paint brush to brush off the excess powder afterwards.