I've looked online and in this forum and found nothing, so I'll ask. Those small silver screws that hold the Shinki's shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles together - What are they called and what do I need to take them out?

There's a discussion of replacement screws here. From what I gather from it, the screws used in MMS bodies are proprietary screws and not a standard type.

Thanks, but from what I'm gathering, they're talking about the screws holding the body together - I mean the fasteners that hold the joints on - the emphasis on the picture is on the leg screw, not a joint.

The elbows and knees are not screws, they're rivets. You won't be getting those out safely.

Thanks for the info... damn that is rather worrying.

You may be able to drill a rivet out, but! you'd need a drill bit slightly larger than the hole the rivet is secured in, and you would need to be very careful. On the upside, you shouldn't need to drill all the way through the rivet, just enough to cut off the expanded end of the rivet from the rest of it. You may be able to replace them with a "pop rivet": I'm not sure there's enough space for the nut you'd need with a button screw (I'm not sure if there are pop rivets in an appropriate size or rating, either, but that's where I'd start looking).

Having said all that, this is pretty far outside my specialty (I write software, and don't do much mechanical tinkering). If I were trying to do this, I'd probably start by buying a job lot of scrapped Shinki parts someplace for experimentation.

To further:
the biggest problem with drilling rivets out of a plastic toy is the metal is harder than the plastic. If you use to high powered a drill you will just rip the plastic. IF you use a hand drill it's going to take a LONG time and you still risk a jam and plastic tearing.
the best way is to use a very slow speed (such as a cordless screwdriver) an a VIPERbit or similar precision cutting tipped bit to chop of the rivet head.
Once the head is removed you can then take the rest of the rivet out with a punch.

D'oh. That's an excellent point. (Like I said, way outside my wheelhouse.)

Why do you want to replace the rivets, anyways? We might be able to suggest an alternative.

Caterwaul wrote:Why do you want to replace the rivets, anyways? We might be able to suggest an alternative.

I believe he is trying to make copy shinkis. Not bootleg copies of original designs, but I seem to remember he wants to make molds so he can do custom stuff. I had a similar interest when I first joined.. but now I am just making unique accessories and body components, not entire shinkis..

I hope I am correct in assuming that is what he meant. I am curious also what one would do if you needed to replace the rivet for a joint...