Can we repair this vintage toy without breaking it? 80's Toy Repair: ALF

[@yagami000]

I just picked up one of these Alf plush at a garage sale last weekend! Voicebox wasn't working either, so while on the hunt for a solution, I came across this awesome channel. The host is VERY charming too 🙂

[@scitechstoyteardown]

Awesome! Stoked we could help! Did you manage to fix it?

[@chickmoschannel]

​@@scitechstoyteardowncan you do one with teddy ruxpin too?

[@joshwilliams7692]

Miniature records were common in toys until about the mid '90s. You may need to replace the belt before you sew it back up. That's probably why it's playing a little slow. I'm surprised it hadn't turned to either dust or goo after all these years.

[@scitechstoyteardown]

Pretty cool hey! We did replace it eventually, (but it's very fiddly, and tricky to film!) - it was also very slow before I played around with the motor, as it was a bit jammed after not being used for so long. You're right! a bunch of other toys used these, and I'd love to see if anywhere could possibly still make the tiny records. I also wanted to test if the record could work on a larger player, but it was secured in place, and didn't want to risk breaking the piece holding it in :)

[@joshwilliams7692]

@@scitechstoyteardown It would play on a regular record player if you have a manual tonearm and the spindle hole is the right size, although the cartridge might hit the spindle while it's playing. I don't remember if you mentioned it in the video, but those records for toys usually have multiple sets of grooves, so the sound you hear would depend on where the needle enters when you start the record.