Removing minifigs arms and legs

[posades]

I was just wondering what the best way to take off a minifig arm is; I need to switch one or two, but I'm afraid I'll break them if I just pull as hard as I can. And sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, my search skills apparently aren't very good.

[AwesomeStar]

I generally find that moving the arm so its facing forward or backward, then slipping my index finger on the inside of it and pushing out is an effective way of doing this

Hope that helped.

~A.S.

[AND3RSEN]

thats what i do... and its worked out pretty well so far. to put them back in, i generally place the arm on a hard surface, line up the arm 'stud' with the hole in the minifig's body, and press down really hard.

p.s. and if it does break, please do not hold me responsible

[BlueBard]

I generally find that moving the arm so its facing forward or backward, then slipping my index finger on the inside of it and pushing out is an effective way of doing this

Hope that helped.

~A.S.

I agree. Actually I think it's the only way

I don't really understand why people has so many problems removing MF's arms When I was a kid I just used to pull up them and I've never broken anyone in my life...

[Spyder]

thats what i do... and its worked out pretty well so far. to put them back in, i generally place the arm on a hard surface, line up the arm 'stud' with the hole in the minifig's body, and press down really hard.

p.s. and if it does break, please do not hold me responsible

It's exactly what I do. Glad to know people use this technique and the arm doesn't break. Some of my older figs arms can be a little loose in my newer figs, And sometimes it can get frustrating trying to get the arm in the body, especially when your fingers get sweaty. These are the only problems I have ever faced.

P.S. I think it's easier if you take off the fig's head when you put the arm in.

[Legoman31]

Ta-Da!!! http://radio.laml.org/be-nice-to-your-minifigs-lamltv/

[dhaas06]

Whatever you do, just don't put the arm up and pull it away. This is what cracks the torso down the side, since there is no internal support structure for that stress. Like others have said, the best way is to put the arm straight out and then pull it away from the torso.

[posades]

Thanks guys, and especially Legoman31 for the tips. Just tried it on one of my figs and it worked!

[Mocha]

Heres one of my tips:

-take out the hands before pulling out arms to prevent the arms from cracking

[Luke McAwesome]

I just yank 'em out gently, it doesn't harm the first ten times. ;)

-Striker

[Front]

To be honest the arm-torso assembly is not supposed to be disassemblied. It causes irreversible damage to the parts, right from the first time it's done.

But it can be done, but don't expect costumer service to take you serious, when you report a problem caused by it.

Front

[prateek]

Ta-Da!!! http://radio.laml.org/be-nice-to-your-minifigs-lamltv/

who even does it the "wrong" way? its 10x harder that way

[Clone OPatra]

To be honest the arm-torso assembly is not supposed to be disassemblied. I

I'm not sure you're right on that. LEGO is all about creativity and building, and the minifigs are just another part that you can build your own way and design the way you want.

I've become warier about pulling out the arms, but I do it the way everyone else has suggested and only some of my older figs (1998-ish) have ever shown signs of damage. Part of pulling the arms out is that you just have to not worry about it. If you want a certain minifig with a certain arm combo, just make and don't worry about it.

[Sandy]

Removing minifig arms is not as harmless as some of you guys make it look like. I have cracks in many of my older torsos and arms I've kept from my childhood, and I have to be extra-careful with those so that I won't break them.

I've already broken one of my favorite torsos in a way that's beyond prepair: both sides of the torso are cracked all the way through, and the stud in the other arm split off. I even tried superglue, but it didn't work.

[Mraz Skintas]

Well, I watch Chewie do it on LSWII. No, JK, I take the arm, face it forward at a 90^o angle and just pop it off.

[Dadster]

I try not to do unless I really want to or need to for some reason (which I can't even think of right now...), but I just pop it off. Forward, backward - doesn't matter as far as I can tell. Just do it gently.

[Dr. Steve]

I generally find that moving the arm so its facing forward or backward, then slipping my index finger on the inside of it and pushing out is an effective way of doing this

Hope that helped.

~A.S.

That has always worked for me.....Done it several hundred times...never broken an arm yet....now I have broken some legs trying to change the hips though

[prateek]

now I have broken some legs trying to change the hips though

me too

[posades]

me too

I tend to steer clear of changing up legs; normally I wouldn't change arms either but a torso I got from someone else had mismatching arms so I wanted to make it look right. I'm assuming constantly switching the arms is what makes them so loose? I hate when that happens...

[Dadster]

I tend to steer clear of changing up legs; normally I wouldn't change arms either but a torso I got from someone else had mismatching arms so I wanted to make it look right. I'm assuming constantly switching the arms is what makes them so loose? I hate when that happens...

Yeah - but I've also found that if the arm is too loose, I can try a different one and it'll work fine (be tight). Broken hips? That's never happened to me...

[JimBee]

That has always worked for me.....Done it several hundred times...never broken an arm yet....now I have broken some legs trying to change the hips though

Going a little off-topic here, but I suppose it all has to do with minifig parts. My advice on the hips: try not to remove the legs from the hips too frequently. But when you do remove them, try gripping one of the legs (with both in a standing position) and just pulling it off. If the rods on the hips are too strong, then flip one leg into a sitting position (with the other standing), and pull backwards just as you did with the arms. It's very possible that the hips will be damaged or bent, but I've never had a rod break. It also helps to have the legs attached to a torso while doing this.

[Big Cam]

OK, I was always a careful kid when it came to my toys because I never wanted to break them, and this stayed with me now as an adult. I see some really cool poses of minifigs with their legs off so they look like they are kneeling.

What I'm wondering is do the legs just pop off? I have never taken the legs off of a minifig and the only arm that I've ever had come off was on a torso that got cracked, so it basically fell out.

I kind of want to try this but I don't want to damage any of my figs.

[Ralph_S]

OK, I was always a careful kid when it came to my toys because I never wanted to break them, and this stayed with me now as an adult. I see some really cool poses of minifigs with their legs off so they look like they are kneeling.

What I'm wondering is do the legs just pop off? I have never taken the legs off of a minifig and the only arm that I've ever had come off was on a torso that got cracked, so it basically fell out.

I kind of want to try this but I don't want to damage any of my figs.

The legs tend to suffer a bit in my experience. They'll never be quite as stiff as they used to be. Arms are a bit easier, although you indeed have to be careful not to crack the torso. LAML Radio had a video about how to remove them without cracking the torso a while ago.

Cheers,

Ralph

[mikey]

I personally do not remove legs and arms, because I don't think they are designed to be interchangable. I do not really like removing hands either, although I will do so once only to create a yellow torso from a flesh one. This topic, has a variety of opinions on the subject.

Maybe for legs you could risk taking them apart, because they tend to quite generic, so easy and cheap to replace. I wouldn't want to ruin any of my torsos because they tend to be more expensive, and can be hard to find.

[L-space]

I've had no problems with arms or legs.

If you point the arm forward and press ouotward they actually pop off without damage.

The legs require firm grip or a plate. Attach a plate to either leg and you have more grip to pull them off the hips.

Legs can have a different friction when placed on other hips. Especially if you mix old hips with new legs.

Good luck and hope this helped.