CIE Fire -- stuck ab crunch!

[timh_iat]

Hokay, here's the story--

My first CIE Fire arrived without her green fireball, so Digital River gave me postage to ship the entire package back.

My replacement arrived with the fireball, but the new figure has a completely stuck ab-crunch. It doesn't even wiggle slightly. I'm wondering if glue from the belt seeped into the joint (the right leg is also slightly ill-fitted at the hip but I'm not going to worry about it). Lol, and my first Fire was perfect (except for the missing part!).

In any event, can hot water cure a stuck ab crunch? I mean it is really stuck, as if it were one solid piece.

Aside: was annoyed that Digital River wouldn't just send me the replacement fireball, but I infer they wanted to inspect what assembly line the package came from, et cetera.

-Tim

[JamesLynch]

Both of my Star Wars Black Series Sandtroopers had crazy stuck thigh joints. Like, painted all the way shut. It took a lot of effort, but I finally goth them moving again. I sliced along the joint with an x-acto knife, and did a lot of alternately freezing and boiling, and a good bit of precise application of force, but they finally freed up.

[timh_iat]

Thanks, James! I'll try the boiling trick.

PS. YouTube reviewers say boiling will fix issues like Batgirl's warped right leg (bow-legged). Does the figure "self-correct" in the boiling water?

*** Maybe I should just try it and find out.... I have a kettle of tea boiling now.

EDIT: Thanks James! The boiling worked. I poured boiling water into a bowl, submerged Fire for a few seconds, and after a slight bit of work the ab-crunch moved.

-Tim

[JamesLynch]

Glad that worked out.

As for straightening warped limbs, what you have to do is dunk it in boiling water for a little bit (usually thirty seconds or so is enough), pull it out, position the limb how you want it, and then dunk it in ice water, still holding it in position as it cools and the plastic hardens. Again, 30 seconds or so is usually good, though you may want to give it a bit longer if the plastic is especially soft. You may have to repeat the process several times to get the limb just the way you want it.