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Getting and playing around with Earthrise Scorponok has me thinking about my G1 Scorponok. And the things that are wrong with it.

First up: How common is it for the spring in the largest tail ratchet to break the plastic? I had that happen during my ownership of the toy. I got it glued back together good and hard, and it's held since then, but it's left me wondering.

Second: How common is it for the clip that's supposed to hold the tail to break? On mine it's.. It's just gone. I had to look up pictures online to confirm that there actually was supposed to be a clip in there.

Third.. How common is it for the tail's joints to degrade so that it refuses to actually line up flush in city mode like it should? I can't get mine to line up properly for anything, there's always a bit of a gap.

Oh, the ratchets are largely still tight and all. But either I'm doing something wrong or the alignment's gone funny, as far as getting the tail in place properly for city mode goes; I always end up with this awkward gap between the edge of the tail and the edge of the folded-out chestplate.

But the clip in the hole in his back is gone (meaning the ratchets are the only things holding it up in robot mode, so thank goodness they're tight), and I did have a spring erupt on me.

And no, I certainly did not buy him new. Loose, no accessories, sun-discolored all over, leg ramp sockets broken. Since getting him I've acquired the gun, the shield/tower, and the helmet.

I've had two of these in my lifetime. The first was mine from my childhood that I played with to death. Broke the pegs in his claws, wore out some of the joints (shoulders were totally shot), and instead of breaking the tail peg that goes into the peg I somehow broke the plastic around the peg so it would move up and down like a light switch. It's been through hell, but I'm still holding onto it since it was mine as a kid.

The second one I bought as just the bare body used on eBay with no pictures on the auction some 15 years ago for around $40. I took a gamble and it paid off because it was basically in immaculate condition, just missing all the parts and one of the missile doors on the legs. No joint issues, no tail issues, just had to swap over all the missing parts from my original.

So I guess the lesson is YMMV. He's a sturdy, resilient figure with no real breakpoints and the plastic aged well, but it's still plastic and just as prone to normal wear as any other plastic.

I do have a question of my own (sorry for hijacking), but does anyone know of a way to resurface the helmet window? Mine has a lot of scuff marks on it and I'd love to get it clear again. Would a car headlight restoring kit work? Or a car paint buffing compound?

Emerje