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It's been a while since I posted. Kind of been in a toy collecting funk. But Christmas is always a great time to reflect on those special toys that Santa brought.
This picture is from Christmas 1974. It's one of the few pictures that show any cool toys that my older brother and I got for Christmas. You can see the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle that my brother got from Santa.
We got a couple trail bikes and an extra doll over the next year or so. These toys took a beating from us, the neighborhood kids, and the tar-n-chip road in front of my parent's house. This is what they looked like circa-1997. The Evel figure had broken leg an arm wires, his original white suit was gone, and he had a lot of paint wear. The red suit was from a neighbors Evel figure that I bought at a yard sale. Most people would have thrown him out. For some reason I held onto him while I bought replacement figures in excellent shape.
I bought some piano wire from the local hobby store. Took Evel's head off and proceeded to shove the wires into his body. He isn't perfect, but at least be can stand and be bent. The next step was to find a donor suit on eBay. I found one for about $15 in decent condition. The suit was dirty and had some minor blead from the felt "V" on the front. I don't know how others clean their Knievel suits, but here is what I have done with 3 so far. I cut the V off the front by snipping the clear thread. Then I open the seams on the shoulders where they tuck in. Once the V is off, then I wash the white suit in either dish soap or various laundry soaps depending on the amount of staining. This one came out pretty clean. Finally, I hand stitch the V back on to the front using clear thread similar to the original.
I touched up Evel's hair and repainted the eyebrows with acrylic paint. The helmet is the original helmet from this figure that I also refinished (there is a thread on that restoration). Since this picture was taken, I also found him an original belt.
This picture is from Christmas 1974. It's one of the few pictures that show any cool toys that my older brother and I got for Christmas. You can see the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle that my brother got from Santa.
We got a couple trail bikes and an extra doll over the next year or so. These toys took a beating from us, the neighborhood kids, and the tar-n-chip road in front of my parent's house. This is what they looked like circa-1997. The Evel figure had broken leg an arm wires, his original white suit was gone, and he had a lot of paint wear. The red suit was from a neighbors Evel figure that I bought at a yard sale. Most people would have thrown him out. For some reason I held onto him while I bought replacement figures in excellent shape.
I bought some piano wire from the local hobby store. Took Evel's head off and proceeded to shove the wires into his body. He isn't perfect, but at least be can stand and be bent. The next step was to find a donor suit on eBay. I found one for about $15 in decent condition. The suit was dirty and had some minor blead from the felt "V" on the front. I don't know how others clean their Knievel suits, but here is what I have done with 3 so far. I cut the V off the front by snipping the clear thread. Then I open the seams on the shoulders where they tuck in. Once the V is off, then I wash the white suit in either dish soap or various laundry soaps depending on the amount of staining. This one came out pretty clean. Finally, I hand stitch the V back on to the front using clear thread similar to the original.
I touched up Evel's hair and repainted the eyebrows with acrylic paint. The helmet is the original helmet from this figure that I also refinished (there is a thread on that restoration). Since this picture was taken, I also found him an original belt.
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