Project: Repairing Ken's Sky Lynx

[kup]

Update:

Sorry that it's taking me a while to update. I have been very busy but I have made progress and took pics of my progress which I will upload in a write up in the next day or two.

So far I have been able to make Sky Lynx walk properly again, the biggest challenge was actually synchronizing the four legs into a forward walking movement but I made it. The next thing is just to fix the tracks on the wheels which should be pretty easy.

I will have pics soon, I guess I will have to take a video of Sky Lynx walking and rolling when he is ready too.

[Hursticon]

Update:

Sorry that it's taking me a while to update. I have been very busy but I have made progress and took pics of my progress which I will upload in a write up in the next day or two.

So far I have been able to make Sky Lynx walk properly again, the biggest challenge was actually synchronizing the four legs into a forward walking movement but I made it. The next thing is just to fix the tracks on the wheels which should be pretty easy.

I will have pics soon, I guess I will have to take a video of Sky Lynx walking and rolling when he is ready too.

Excellent news dude, I look forward to seeing what you've been able to achieve with this old guy.

[kup]

Fixing Sky Lynx's broken Leg

As some of you may have realized, vintage well played Sky Lynx toys have a tendency to break parts of their legs or completely break off a leg. It is not uncommon to see the 'J' red piece which is used for knee movement broken which would result in Sky Lynx not walking properly or not at all.

Fixing the broken 'J' piece:

As mentioned, this piece is critical for knee movement and Sky Lynx will not walk if even one of these is broken. There is one 'J' piece for every leg.

The first step to fixing the broken 'J' piece is to take an impression of one of the unbroken ones from another leg. They are all functionally the same and interchangeable with any leg.




Then place the broken piece on top of the 'whole' piece impression so that you can clearly see the part that is missing.

Then using a sharp hobby knife, cut the 'missing' piece out of the putty. The 'broken' edge of the putty piece must fit the plastic one so cut carefully while keeping that in mind. It doesn't have to be perfect as you can always adjust the putty by shaping it a bit but it helps a lot if you maintain the fitting edge shape when you cut it out.



After you cut the piece out, puncture a hole of similar size to that of an unbroken 'J' Piece and shape it a bit so that it's sufficiently wide and round. Make sure that the putty piece fits and 'completes' the broken red piece as close as possible. Then put it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until the piece hardens.

Important: Do not place any plastic parts in the oven, only the Putty piece.



Note: It is advised that you compare the piece you are 'completing' with an unbroken piece often during this whole process. This way, you can make sure that your reconstructed piece is the same shape.

After it comes out of the oven, you may need to make some further adjustments with the hobby knife and then super glue the pieces together to make a complete 'J' piece:



It doesn't look perfect but we are going for functionality rather than aesthetics. Regardless, most of the 'putty' part will be hidden behind the leg when assembled so it won't impact the look of the leg at all. You can always paint it red once you are done if you feel inclined to do so.

This fixes our broken 'J' piece. Now we move on to fixing the rest of the leg which is a much simpler and straight forward process.

Broken Leg



As you can see bellow, all that I did was replace the broken peg with a piece of plastic of similar shape by cutting an appropriate size and gluing it on with super glue.

To fix the broken loop on the white piece, I just super glued the pieces together while being careful to maintain the hole's round shape and size. After drying, make sure the red piece's peg fits within the repaired white loop part loosely.

Note: This joint has to be very loose for the piece to function as that is how it's supposed to be. The pieces should should move freely with no friction.





Here is what an unbroken piece looks like on the red piece:



Now as a final test before assembly, be sure that the 'J' piece fits the custom peg very loosely. Make sure that it moves freely with no friction or it won't work.



Allow the pieces to dry for one night and then assemble them. Once this is done, it's time for a test run.

Important Note: Make sure the legs are positioned correctly during assembly so that they are all synchronized into a forth walking position while in movement. If they are incorrectly aligned, the Lynx will either walk backwards, drag it's legs or stay in the same place as it tries to walk. You will need some trial an error before getting this right.

Here are some pics assembled, note the leg positions on both sides:





Here is the video of Lynx walking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTwiZ...=youtube_gdata

Next up will be the wheel tracks.

[Blink90210]

This is awesome! So glad you've been able to work your magic on the guy.

[Hursticon]

A truly incredible effort Kup, well done mate and I totally agree - With repairing internal parts it most definitely pays to favour function rather than aesthetic as the results clearly demonstrate this.
I can't wait to see what you achieve with the wheels, but with your skills in repairing busted bots - Have you ever considered renaming yourself to Alpha Trion?

[kup]

Now for the moment everyone has been waiting for

Fix Lynx's wheel tracks

The Lynx's wheel tracks can be fixed by using O-Rings or a thin 'square' rubber band but it is highly recommended that you use rubber O-rings. Using the O-Rings is by far the easiest and less messy form of fixing the wheel tracks but both are equally effective if implemented correctly.

What you need for the O-Ring method:

- O-Rings - I found these at Hot dollar but I think that several $2 shops should have them too. I wasn't expecting to find an O-ring that fitted so well so if you can find this brand at Hot dollar, it will have the correct size rings.
- Philips head screw driver
- Pincers (optional)

What you need for the rubber band method:

- 'Square' rubber bands such as these
- Super glue
- Scissors
- Philips head screw driver
- Pincers (optional)

Fixing Sky Lynx's wheel tracks is a fairly simple process but there are a couple of tricky spots which you need to be careful with. As soon as you pull off the black gears cover, chances are that the 4 springed red corner pieces that you can see here will jump out so watch out!

Once the gears are exposed, you will notice the axle for the wheels. You need to remove this but keep in mind the gear positions as shown in the pics above and bellow.



-Remove the gear that is in the way as shown:



- Then remove the axle - I suggest you use pincers to help you and be very careful of the wires going to the switch. It is advised that you move the switch out of the way (it can be lifted) while being very careful.



- Once you remove the axle it will be like this:



- Now choose your fix method:

Fixing the wheel tracks using O-Rings

- Simply located an O-Ring of matching size and thickness to the wheel and place it in the groove of the wheel where the original track resided. If a broken or dried up track still remains, remove it before placing the O-ring.



- Note that the O-ring cannot be too tight nor too loose. It has to fit tight enough to remain fixed in place and still protrude enough from the groove to allow for traction. If it fits too tightly and stretches too thin, it may negate traction as the groove would make contact with the ground and slide.

The O-Ring should fit as shown:



- Do the other wheel and you should end up with something like this:



Fixing the wheel tracks using a 'square' rubber band

- Make sure that the rubber band is of the appropriate thickness to fit the wheel groove.

- Cut the rubber band and 'wrap' it around the groove as shown. Once you achieve the appropriate circumsphere , cut it.



- Using just a little bit of super glue, coat the inside of the groove and then wrap the cut piece of rubber band within making sure you form a full circumference. With you fingers keep the rubber band in place until the glue fully dries.

- Do the same for the other wheel and that's it for this method.


Re-assembly

- Place the axle back using the pincers to assist you.



- Place the switch wires over the axle and then add the gear your initially removed:



- All parts should look like this before you close it up:



IMPORTANT NOTE - Note that the legs need to be in this Right & Left (or inverted) positions before closing or your Lynx may not walk properly.

And that's it. Your Sky Lynx now has full wheel traction.

Since this finalizes the repair of Ken's Sky Lynx, here is a video showing it rolling and walking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUgDW...=youtube_gdata

[Hursticon]

Wow, simply wow.

Kup, that is an excellent guide mate and will easily go along way with helping people fix/repair their own broken Skylynxs - A top job, well done.
How incredible it is that you managed to find Rubber O-Rings that fit so perfectly?, I think that is really awesome but what is even better is that you also showed the alternative method of using a rubber band - That's class man.

I think the video you've supplied at the end says so much about how well this has worked out, it's so cool seeing life being breathed into an old toy it's probably going to sound weird - but it gives me a warm feeling seeing this old toy achieve what it was designed to do after not being able to for who knows how long.

A great result indeed, I'm really pleased it all worked so well for you Kup.