41 replies to this topic

[SirNadroj]

Hey!  ;-)

I searched EB for a thread like this, but I didn't find one. So on to my question: Is there a way to remove the keychain from LEGO keychains, so I can end up with just the minifigure (with a hole in the top  ;-) ) Are there any specific tools or techniques? Because I want to get rid of the keychain portion of my ambassador keychain, but I don't want to break it, because it's the only one I own, and they're not cheap enough for me to buy a bunch and experiment with on bricklink.  X-D

(Ambassador keychain, in case you don't know.)


Thanks for the help!  :-)

[Sir Dillon]

I'm not sure if this will help you for this particular key chain, but Count Blockula has a small tutorial here:
http://flickr.com/ph...57594151599107/

[SirNadroj]

Sir Dillon, on Nov 3 2007, 12:29 PM, said:

I'm not sure if this will help you for this particular key chain, but Count Blockula has a small tutorial here:
http://flickr.com/ph...57594151599107/

Interesting ~ thanks for the link!  *y*  The only problem with that is that I'm a weakling!  :-D

[SlyOwl]

If you want the actual minifig with detachable parts and all:

1. Remove hands, arms and legs.
2. Using a craft knife, incise around the bottom of the torso, deep enough to cut through the glue but not to damage the legs. I would advise having the knife slightly onto the legs as they're less valuable than the torso. This may damage the "studs" on top of the hips, but they're easy to replace. You could just pull and pull but this can damage the pins.
3. Pull away the hips.
4. Grip the chain bit in pliers and bend the nearest loop to the minifig's head back and forth until it snaps. There should now be no blockage in the way of the metal thing sliding out.
5. Using a tool/bent wire/scissors/pliers/cut up bit of metal/etc of some form in the shape of a V (I like to use flattened needle nose pliers or my custom screwdriver, specially filed to the perfect shape for minifig heads), insert it under the head. Use it like a lever and the head should pop off.
6. I've not found a way yet of filling in the hole in the top of the torso or the headgear or seperating the head from the hair/hat/helmet, but I don't think this matters.

This method worked like a dream on my Majisto keyring.  :-P

[SirNadroj]

EUREKA! IT WORKED!  ;-)

Thanks for the help so mcuh guys! I did use Captain Sly Owl's technique, since it was easier and worked better ~ but I couldn't the the metal screw out ~ I had to break it. Oh well!  X-D

Work area:

Me as an ambassador (you may see a new sig fig from me soon!  ;-) ):

Taken apart:

The coolest hat ever: Beret:

Bottom:

Torso w/ broken screw


I'm gonna buy 2 more and take another apart and keep the other intact!  :-P

[PSPguy]

Glad you got it to work Lordan. I am gonna try both techniques and see which one works better. *y*

[SirNadroj]

PSPguy, on Nov 3 2007, 02:45 PM, said:

Glad you got it to work Lordan. I am gonna try both techniques and see which one works better. *y*

Thanks. The first one my be easier if you are strong ~ but the second one was easier for me. You just need the right tools, lucky for me, the toolbox in my garage is like a plier store!  ;-) Once I order the other keychains and work on them, I'll probably take a better pic for my avatar ~ the one now isn't perfect.

Edited by SirNadroj, 03 November 2007 - 08:50 PM.

[Lord Of Pies]

Wow, that minifig is awesome!!

Great technique and execution Cap'n Sly owl and Sir Nadroj!

[highlandcattle]

I asume that, that hat has never been into normal production? Where does this strange amabassedor minifig come from?

Edited by highlandcattle, 04 November 2007 - 12:23 PM.

[natelite]

interesting. only works with more unique figures though since what's the point of shelling out $4 for a mf that you can probably get for cheaper. :-P  

i'll try extracting some mf from my keychain collection...of 3 mfs. lol ;-)

[SlyOwl]

SirNadroj, on Nov 3 2007, 08:35 PM, said:

EUREKA! IT WORKED!  ;-)

Glad to help. I did notice from the photos that you had the same trouble I often have with the leg "studs" breaking off.  :-D  Can't solve that one!

I've added a more refined tutorial onto BS, here.

[CopMike]

highlandcattle, on Nov 4 2007, 12:22 PM, said:

I asume that, that hat has never been into normal production? Where does this strange amabassedor minifig come from?

It�s a keyring sold at the Billund Park at least, maybe some other places to - this & this &this. I have a couple of them, BUT I also have one minifg with the berret intact - no keyring version *wub*! The berret is glued to the head and the legs to the torso though - I have no idea where/when I got it!!!

Keyrings On

copmike

[SirNadroj]

highlandcattle, on Nov 4 2007, 07:22 AM, said:

I asume that, that hat has never been into normal production? Where does this strange amabassedor minifig come from?

copmike, on Nov 4 2007, 01:12 PM, said:

It�s a keyring sold at the Billund Park at least, maybe some other places to - this & this &this. I have a couple of them, BUT I also have one minifg with the berret intact - no keyring version *wub*! The berret is glued to the head and the legs to the torso though - I have no idea where/when I got it!!!

Keyrings On

copmike

I got mine at the LEGO Imagination Center in Florida (Downtown Disney) so I assume they were sold all over, but of course, they're not for sale anymore.  ;-)  One without the keychain, you say?  *wub*  Any pictures?  ;-)

I just bought two more, so I'll take one apart and keep the other intact, that way I'll have 2 minifigures and 1 keychain (even though I don't drive yet!  :-D )

[Lt. Col. Thok]

Argh, I was going to ask the same question.

That is an absurd minifig.  Does the beret come from any other sets?

[SirNadroj]

Lt. Col. Thok, on Nov 4 2007, 05:54 PM, said:

Argh, I was going to ask the same question.

That is an absurd minifig.  Does the beret come from any other sets?

Nope. It is certainly unique! Speaking of beret, here's a custom matador minifigure:

[natelite]

Cap'n SlyOwl, on Nov 4 2007, 05:18 PM, said:

Glad to help. I did notice from the photos that you had the same trouble I often have with the leg "studs" breaking off.  :-D  Can't solve that one!

I've added a more refined tutorial onto BS, here.

wow...thanks for that. those are very clear instructions.

as for my own contribution to this topic, i guess for those who are bothered by that little hole, you can patch it up with a little silicone gel or plastic/wood putty or even sculpey clay. just make sure the color match. quite easy to get a small tube from lowes or home depot, in black, white or colorless (transparent).

[Sinner]

Even I did this once as I got some X-Wing pilot Lukes cheap at the Lego shop in Disneyland and I didn't have a non-key ring one. (I still don't.) I just used pliers and it came out easy.

[xwingyoda]

I never tried it because of the hole in the helmet and what have you !! I shall try that just for fun  :-P

And BTW I includede that in the tutorial index  ;-)

[natelite]

xwingyoda, on Nov 8 2007, 11:55 PM, said:

I never tried it because of the hole in the helmet and what have you !! I shall try that just for fun  :-P

And BTW I includede that in the tutorial index  ;-)

should be easy to patch the hole. use silicone gel. :-P probably won't look as nice as the original but that depends highly on one's repair skills. :-P  

but it's really not worth the effort in my opinion. only for rare figures, maybe.

[SlyOwl]

natelite, on Nov 5 2007, 03:59 PM, said:

as for my own contribution to this topic, i guess for those who are bothered by that little hole, you can patch it up with a little silicone gel or plastic/wood putty or even sculpey clay. just make sure the color match. quite easy to get a small tube from lowes or home depot, in black, white or colorless (transparent).

Hmm...I like to do things the simple way...the cheap way...
I was rather concerned and annoyed about the hole and so I set to work finding a cheap, easy solution without having to leave the house. Wood? Too crude. Bluetack? Too sticky. Glue? Too squidgy. Snot? Too eewww  :-X  :-P  The answer came from an old Science-In-The-Kitchen book: Casein, a simple plastic. Casein is a snot-like substance (I did get to use it after all!) which is produced when heating milk with an acid such as vinegar. That's it! It takes around 2 days to fully dry after it has been sieved out of the concoction, resulting in a hard, pearly plastic. I took this and molded it into the hole and after 2 days it had dried, concealing the hole! A little filing and colouring later and I had a new hairpiece!
I also discovered that instead of just colouring the casein with a permanent marker, that adding food dyes to the milk also affects the outcome, but I haven't experimented extensively.
I've extended my tutorial, here respectively.

As for the future of casein in my hands...who knows? I'm experimenting in producing molds and custom pieces in it at the moment although it is quite brittle and so I'm not too sure...do any chemists out there know how to make its properties more like ABS?

SlyOwl

[Tanotrooper]

a plastic is formed out of milk and vinegar? interesting...

TT

[TheFrisian]

A plastic like substance made out of milk and vinegar??? Really??? 8-�

[Corvus]

Nice result, SN.

The hat is nice, but it doesn't look to stable. How well does it stay on?

[darthdarren]

Hi, Yes you can separate the helmet or hair from the head & the legs from the torso by boiling them in water. You need to let boil for about 10 - 15 min then remove, from the water, with some pliers & separate. If they don't then put back & continue to boil till they do. Hope this helps..darthdarren   

[Skafte]

I have another way of using heat to remove the keychain: remove as much as posssible of the keychain part, so that only the little loop remains sticking out of the Emperor's (or whoever) head. Then put a piece (8-10 cm long) of thick metal wire through the loop and bend it, forming a bigger loop. Hold the ends of this with a pair of pliers and the minifig with your other hand and then hold the wire over a lit candle. The heat will go to the pin in the minifig, slowly softening the plastic. Keep tugging at the pliers, and the pin will pop out, leaving only the small hole in the head. Works better than brute force for weak peolple like me!

Disclaimer: don't try this if you're clumsy!