Question: The mouth rubber bands in two of my vent figures were replaced, but within 3 months they broke again. I was hurt. Is there a more "permanent" rubber band for my "Simon Sez" and "Danny O'Day/Jerry Mahoney" figures? How much for repair? I use them in my free visits to nursing homes. I really don't want to charge for my fun. I am 77 and will soon go to Assisted Living myself. Fred
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From Mr. D: Both Simon Sez and Jerry Mahoney were designed and manufactured with rubber band returns on the mouths. When the original bands break, the standard repair is replacement of the rubber band with similar. That in itself can be a difficult job. Ideally, one would prefer a more permanent repair by replacing the broken rubber band with a metal spring. Doing that through the mouth is least invasive thus the least costly but always presents unique challenges. I'm willing to try.
My first vent figure, "Louie," was a seriously reworked Jerry Mahoney that I used for thirty years or more. I got pretty good at replacing the rubber band, but it took me, generally, an hour or so. Finally, after the fourth or fifth time, I removed his jaw,attached a piece of strong elastic to it, cut a slot in the back of his head, ran a piece of string into the slot, attached it to the piece of elastic, pulled the elastic back through the slot, worked the jaw back into place, pulled on the elastic until Louie's jaw had the proper tension. Then I fastened the elastic onto the back of his head on the outside and pulled the wig back into place to cover it. Never had another problem. Louie retired, trouble-free, a couple of years ago to be replaced by a Hartz version. The elastic still works great!
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