It’s time to move on with the final repair to Mr. Tendril. There’s a gaping hole on the figure’s shoulder where the left arm is missing and I’d like to fill that void. I don’t have a spare left arm to dedicate to the figure so I need to improvise, instead. Also Mr. Tendril has previously undergone some customisation with the addition of the rubber rat’s tail parts to other missing body parts, so I am going to use that approach as inspiration to complete this figure.

To this end, I’ve found a couple of essential parts that I will combine to fill that space on the figure’s left shoulder. Here is a doll’s left arm and a super cheap snake from the local $2 shop.  We’ll also bring back into service that mutilated DVD case we used earlier for repositioning the right arm. It’s going to be a very handy source of material once again to help make Mr. Tendril the best he can be.  Here’s the 3 key components for this task.

A little preparation is needed, of course.  So I’ve removed the hand off the left arm will paint the limb. A finish in Satin black will do the trick.  As the new arm has a different and much smaller diameter to the gaping hole in the shoulder, the remnant DVD is cut into shape to be used internally to anchor the limb onto the figure just inside the shoulder. The diameter of the hole is cut to match and accommodate the spindle on the arm while the rest of the improvised plate is held inside against various internal surfaces.

I have cut the head off the snake and inserted it into the cavity of the severed limb’s wrist. I spent 2 weeks trying to find a rubber rat – at least one big enough to match those already in use on the figure – but failed to acquire one. I settled on the cheap rubber snake, instead, hoping it will service the figure as intended; a substitute improvised limb that chaotically writhes about like the rat tails on his back. Here is the finish arm assembly, snake and improvised plate attached to the arm.

This looks… dubious; but it should work out OK. lol.

So far, so good.  Let’s find out how well this weird arrangement functions with a test assembly on the figure.

Well, it’s good and working out surprisingly well. The weird replacement arm rotates around on the improvised mounting plate and the snake limb extension wiggles about like it’s had way too much caffeine. Excellent. This improvised limb arrangement will complement the rubber rat tails to help make the figure more ‘feature complete’. The snake may be a little long but I’m not prepared to shorten it just yet. Certainly not before the figure is assembled once again and I can evaluate its length a lot better. Either way, Mr. Tendril’s BIG Make Over is almost complete.

Now all that remains is to fully re-assemble the figure, take some photos and write up one last page to document Mr. Tendril in his final form. There May be a few minor catch up aesthetic items to address but certainly nothing dramatic.

-Windebieste.

Part 1: Introduction.
Part 2: Assessment and Evaluation(1 of 2).
Part 3: Assessment and Evaluation (2 of 2).
Part 4: Disassembly and Cleaning.
Part 5: Loose Hip Joint Repair.
Part 6: Broken/Destroyed Hip Joint Repair (1 of 2).
Part 7: Broken/Destroyed Hip Joint Repair (2 of 2).
Part 8: Severed Arm Repair.
Part 9: Damaged Shoulder Repair.
Part 10: Improvised Replacement Arm.
Part 11: Final Assembly.