Part IMaking a neck connector from a Staedtler art eraser. It works to solve two problems:
1. Ball joint on the skeleton is too small for standard neck connector and :
2. Neck connector is very loose in the head and you don't want to glue it.
IMG_2993 by Gary Menten, on Flickr
Here's what you'll need.
1. Soft plastic art eraser such as the Staedtler line.
2. X-Acto knife with
#11 blade.
3. drugstore type sandpaper nail files.
4. drill bits of appropriate sizes.
5. small, round or semi-round file.
IMG_2995 by Gary Menten, on Flickr
1. Place a plastic neck connector on the eraser to measure how much you have to cut from the eraser. Cut carefully and slowly; the blade wanders easily.
IMG_2997 by Gary Menten, on Flickr
2. Using the neck connector to measure in length now, trim off the excess length with the knife.
IMG_2999 by Gary Menten, on Flickr
Using your hobby knife, cut the corners off the block of plastic so as to have an octagonal shape. Your geometry does not need to be perfect here. Test the fit into the head as you go along. You want it to be snug.
3. Using your file, sand the corners of your octagon to get them as even as possible then take your hobby knife and start a pilot hole for the drill bits. Using a succession of drill bits bits, dill a progressively larger hole into the center of the adapter. Drill all the way to the end. Be careful to keep your "tunnel" as straight as possible. Using a hobby knife, bevel both ends of the tunnel, leaving the middle tighter. The lower bevel helps to insert the ballhead without breaking the soft plastic and the top bevel gives it a bit of space to breathe, so to speak after you've pushed the ball joint all the way through.
IMG_3005 by Gary Menten, on Flickr
4. Carefully place the connector on the ball head and pull it down with your fingers wrapped around it. when placed it should look like in the photo. You are now ready to put the head on the figure. If you've fitted it properly to the head, friction will keep it in place and the walls of the hole in the head should help keep it from breaking, as should the top bevel. I can pick up this figure by the head and the body will not fall off.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me .