Creating a ball-socket neck joint

A simple tutorial for creating a ball-socket neck joint for action figures. For this tutorial, I'm using a cast resin head from OuterRimTraders.com

[@Chill1332]

This is a BRILLIANT method for making a ball joint! I've been looking for something like this for a long time.

Great video! I’m just building my very first ever custom action figure and this, save my life! The force is strong with you my friend! Thank you so much!!!

[@Ibaneddie76]

One thing I do is hit the areas where the hot glue touches the inside of the head with super thin CA glue and let it wick in giving the hot glue a stronger bond so there is less chance of it separating if you take the head off more than a few times. Use a scalpel or plastic tooth pick/ glue loop to drop the glue so you don't get any CA on your paint job, it will ruin it!

[@ozymandias2k]

Thanks for showing us how this works. A Brit guy I was watching did the same thing with Black Series figures. However, he never showed if the head can be removed or not. Since I have an expensive Mezco figure with interchangeable heads, I was too scared to do it in case the head gets stuck permanently. But glad to see it works and the head can be popped out. Thank you for sharing this very informative video!

[@davidwhale8146]

Just be aware if you're taking the head on and off a lot, you may need to pull out the glue and redo the joint at some point. The friction of taking it on/off will eventually deform the glue.

[@CyborgSodaCollects]

Excellent solution sir! Thank you 👏🏾😁

[@RickCreating]

Wow! I’ve been doing custom figures for years now and I’ve never thought of that. Simple yet so affective. Thank you so much for this video. Made my job that much more easier. 👍🏼

[@davidwhale8146]

Awesome, I'm glad you found it useful! 🥃

[@annawhite1591]

@@davidwhale8146 need advice if your willing write me

[@davidwhale8146]

@@annawhite1591 sure, fire away.

[@annawhite1591]

@@davidwhale8146 when sealing, do you spray the whole figure?? the black series tvc era figures, do they pop open like kylo and phasma, or do they just pop apart more like the newer tvc figures?? kylo and phasma look lot different than others, so didn't want mess em up, do have extra's, but do not wanna ruin any all same, and have customize lots, but figure i ask someone who has done deep work

[@davidwhale8146]

@anna white Yes, I spray seal the whole figure to give it an even finish. In regard to TVC figures, unfortunately I'm not going to be of much help -- the only Star Wars figures I work with are Black Series. That being said, you can generally tell whether a figure will be easily disassembled with heat by tapping on the chest with your fingernail. The softer the sound, the softer the plastic; the softer the plastic, the easier to disassemble.

[@leviettri3576]

a good substitute for glue would be uv resin

[@enicotinic]

The Petroleum Jelly aka Vaseline w/ Shea Butter hurdle earned you my sub. I actually ordered a few containers of that type years ago and... now, at least one may see some use. 😆 Thanks for the the Tutorial! 👍

[@jasonnelson9059]

I do the same thing with my figures too. Its a good quick fix!

[@davidwhale8146]

It was pretty much a go-to in my 1:6 scale days, given the insane variations in neck peg sizes 😆

[@thatchertheodore9691]

I guess I am quite off topic but does anyone know a good site to watch new tv shows online?

[@hugocarmelo6903]

@Thatcher Theodore I watch on flixzone. Just google for it :)

[@battleaxebeaver4542]

Cool tip! Thank you for making this video.

[@tomassoejakto]

I tried this and had to cut a bigger, rounder opening to have the head be able to swivel 'safely' and because I still want to be able to take off the head from time to time. But it's a great tip. Thank you.

[@erickshobbiesncustoms5775]

I've resisted buying a hot glue gun since I started doing customs even though I know it would come in handy for some stuff, but this just put it over the top, it would solve so many issues on head swaps.

[@jack_the_beanstalk]

so helpful

[@phillipfilkins5627]

Dude that's f$%%$ epic....😃👍💗

[@davidwhale8146]

Thanks, glad you found it helpful 🥃

[@user-ol4un1lq8i]

you can also use epoxy putty

[@brianpipa9397]

Great tutorial - I like that you showed us the failed attempt to put it back on too. Thanks. What body did you say that was? I like it a lot - might keep an eye out for one.

[@davidwhale8146]

Thanks! It's a Marvel Legends figure from the movie Avengers line. I don't remember what he was calling himself, but it's Hawkeye when he was in his ninja gear in Endgame.

[@namelessjedi2242]

I believe it was “Ronin”

[@pyr8878]

IIIII ain't got no boddyy....(Two things you need: a head and a body)

[@ben_ovr9230]

Great guide. I did this technique before but with just hot glue. Applying Vaseline first is a great idea though. I’ll try that next time I do this hah. The way you were cutting though gave me some anxiety cause that’s exactly how I accidentally sliced the side of my finger >.< I would suggest laying it on a flat surface while cutting instead of holding it with one hand and cutting with the other like in your vid lol.

[@davidwhale8146]

Yeah that's how I do it when not filming, but I wanted people to see what I was doing. Thankfully it didn't end in blood 😁

[@namelessjedi2242]

I had to look away when he was cutting towards his thumb. Lol

[@vidarvegger]

Why is there an opening/hole in the ball joint? Is it for easier insertion?

[@MKUltra77715]

Do you think plastic seran wrap would be a good substitute if we don't have Vaseline?

[@davidwhale8146]

I would test out some hot glue on plastic wrap before trying it on your figure. It may work, but I'd be concerned with the glue partially melting the plastic wrap and having it get stuck in the joint.

[@dominikjaimez193]

Do you think this would work trying to put a marvel legends head on an shf body?

[@davidwhale8146]

In theory, this would work in any situation where the socket in the head is wider than the neck peg.

[@badman2077]

Would air dry clay work just as well as hot glue?

[@davidwhale8146]

No. The reason the hot glue works is that it remains a little flexible after it dries - I don't believe air dry clay would.

[@badman2077]

@@davidwhale8146 Thanks!

[@thebigdb1]

Hey David! Just happened to stumble onto this video my dumb luck through KZbin's search engine. Half the time when you're looking for stuff like this it just doesn't show up when you do the search. One thing I was curious about and I wanted to see if you can give any suggestions, is how do you REDUCE the ball joint if that's the way that I want to go. One of the things that I want to do is do a couple custom 3/4 Han Solo's for my collection. Back in January I came down with covid.. caught it from an idiot that we know.. and I was stuck in the hospital for a week and a half because I actually had allergic reaction to the virus. As one of the lucky one or two percenters that actually kind of reaction to it like a bee sting. I end up getting Guillain-Barre from it and still recovering. We're starting me on this journey was the same idiot that got me sick, and I keep calling her an idiot not to be mean or name calling anyone, but when you know you're sick, especially what's going on right now come on you don't go around people and possibly get them infected. You stay put and get over it before being around anyone. She just came over because she wanted money from my mom and that's all she got us infected. But she also messed up my legacy millennium falcon that I have. I had it at the foot of my bed because it's so big and I didn't have any place to put at the time, and while I was in the hospital she picked it up and moved it and lost all bunch of pieces of it. Twit! So I've been putting it back together.. and I've been buying figures to decorate it as well. I'm actually thinking of putting it into like a coffee table type thing so you can look at it as a display. I like the head sculpt, and what I wanted to do was put the head off the Han Solo in stormtrooper outfit onto a death star escape or just for your plane old Han Solo legacy or saga body since they're basically is the same mold as the vintage collection figure. Thing about all three lines is that the bodies have bigger neck ball joints then what are on the stormtrooper. Technically you can take a blade and just shave a little bit off the ball till it fits the head joint, but I'm looking for something that's a little more controllable and cleaner when you do the shaving. I forgot the name of the toll but it's something that I've used when I've made my lightsabers, but it's a tool that works similar to a pencil sharpener that cleans up all the sharp edges on piping, like aluminum and steel pipe so that they don't have sharp edges when you put things together. I was wondering if there was something out there like that I can use on the ball joint to shave it down ever so slightly so that I can get the heads to fit on the body. Part of the reason why I'm interested in this is by hand dexterities still crappy after having the Guillain-Barre, and I'm just wondering if there's an option out there for that. Do you or anybody on these posts have any suggestions that may be a good idea to use because I don't trust my dexterity after what I've been through. Just a thought and an idea!

[@davidwhale8146]

Amy time I've had this issue I used a dremel to enlarge the socket in the head. However, if reducing the ball is what you want, I'd suggest just using a small piece of fine-grit sandpaper and working over the ball until it fits. That way you have less chance of taking too much off.

[@codghostlt1413]

Does supper glue work or must it be hot glue?

[@davidwhale8146]

Do NOT use superglue, you will fuse the joint. The reason hot glue works is that even when it hardens it still remains slightly pliable. Superglue does not.

[@securityrobot]

Silicone could give you a better result.

[@TalkingGIJoe]

A lot of work when a little rtv and cornstarch would make a perfect joint...

[@blkrazor8866]

@TalkingGIJoe How would you go about doing that? What kind of rtv would you use? I know your comment is from a while ago, but I just came across this video.

[@ozymandias2k]

@@blkrazor8866 @TalkingGIJoe His comment is actually from a month ago. Yes I'll be curious about his method as well. The hot glue gun method might prove to be a little messy sometimes.