Integration

[Kregermeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtriplemy

Hi,

Congratulations on the high quality work! I just received a Sword of Omens I won on eBay. It has the knob, but doesn't light up. I was hoping to get your opinion on how difficult it is to open up the handle without damaging the plastic in order to make repairs? The sword is in great shape other than the light, so I don't want to attempt the fix and just end up ruining the rest of the toy. I very much appreciate any help you can provide.

Take care,

Jeff

Glad you asked bud, as ive now restored fully 3 LJN's recentaly and working on 2 more at the moment.

Here's a break down of advise, step by step.

-Check your connectors first for rust.
-Clean your connectors with rubbing alcohol on a q-tip.
-Check your batteries.
-Twist your original light cap as best as possible in various ways. The original silver tips on the cap were not always designed to the length of the battery pack inside right, so a 1cm twist could do the job! Its weird, but works.

If none of the above works, the ONLY other option is to open the sword up. This is NOT a easy task. The glue LJN used was insanely strong. If you use ANY "Crack" method on the sword, I promise you it will break. They are very weak inside around the molding pegs cause of the glue fusion. I had one break recent, its BAD. Sadly not something you can avoid.

Your BEST bet then would be a hair dryer method if its coming apart at the seams. If its not, you must knife it. Take a exacto knife and make multiple passes around the molding lines. Be sure to mask off any slip areas.

Inside above the eye are 2 pegs, these break quickly. Also holding the eye are 2 more pegs that were melted in place to hold the eye. Those snap too. Its really not something you can avoid with these, you can try and prevent it,but its just chance.

If your original wiring is shot as is one of the ones I am doing now, you will need a full new battery pack and wire set up. Id suggest first cutting the lightbulb (it has to be cut, not replaced) and fuse in a LED. Its WAY brighter. If you wanna stick vintage, you will have to find a dollar store toy and gut it, but go with LED it will last longer.

If all else fails, you could always send it to Thunder-Props for a evaluation, but the LJN's are a pain and it would be costly for a full restoration, even then it depends on the structure of the sword. Once you open them, very rarely are they the same due to cutting and glue lines, but Ive found ways to keep them pretty solid.

Good luck, and be sure to take pics! Oh and youll need Tylenol. Lots of it. That sword is a nightmare.