Yasashii Button Repair Help Needed

[Cloud]

Hello!  I bought a Yasashii recently that had an unfortunate accident at some point in its life. Due to size limitations, I have linked the pictures below.

Yasashii - it works!

Yasashii in its packaging.  I have no idea how that kind of damage can even happen.

I have purchased these buttons from AliExpress (it'll be a while before they get here) but if anyone knows of a better option, I would love to know!

My plan is to make decals for the two damaged buttons. Other than to put batteries in it to see if it works, I have not opened it up further.

 

[OldSchoolVPQ]

How confident are you in your electronic repair skills? 

If the lights on the buttons still work, I say don't fix what's not broken...it appears to be entirely cosmetic damage, so I would personally take another approach that involves moldmaking and rubber casting. 

Are the rubber button caps easily removable/replaceable without disassembling the unit? 

 

[Cloud]

How confident are you in your electronic repair skills? 

If the lights on the buttons still work, I say don't fix what's not broken...it appears to be entirely cosmetic damage, so I would personally take another approach that involves moldmaking and rubber casting. 

Are the rubber button caps easily removable/replaceable without disassembling the unit? 

I'm a little confident in my skills, but I have never fixed a Tama before. The lights do work, but my main concern is the circuit board being exposed due to the damage of the top left button. It's easy for dust and cat hair to get in, so ideally I want to find a way to cover this button.

I can't remove the buttons without disassembling it.

 

[OldSchoolVPQ]

That's useful information, thank you! 

If your worried about the exposed circuits in the short-term, I'd cover the button in plastic wrap and hold it in place (gently!) with some masking tape wrapped around the edge. I know the toy's not very big, but some hobby shops (especially for model makers) have extremely skinny masking tape! 

To do the actual repair, if it were me I would avoid opening it if at all possible. Those insides are finicky, especially if you're not completely comfortable with a soldering iron. The maniac maker side of me says CAST NEW BUTTON CAPS but resin and silicone is expensive, SO! Here is what I recommend instead:

Get yourself some Sukerukun Clay (around $20) and sculpt around the damage. Sukerukun is an air-dry resin clay that dries translucent white (though you can tint it with a tiny bit of brown/yellow ink if you're concerned about it matching the aged plastic of the original buttons). It's very easy to use so you can sculpt it to the right shape and texture to make "fillings" for those button cavities! Speaking of, dentist's tools make GREAT sculpting accoutrements, highly recommended. 

Of course, when working with clay, cover every part except the buttons you want to work with with plastic wrap and masking tape to keep it clean! For the button graphic, I can make you a scale vector of the original image that you can use as a guide if you'd like (I have a catalog that shows the Yasashii at full size). I'd print it, trace and transfer it with carbon paper onto the button, then fill it in with acrylic paint on the tiniest paintbrush possible.

...No that's not true...I'd totally silkscreen it. But, if that's not a hobby you've already invested in, it's probably not worth it for a single less than 1 square cm print (The silkscreen place near my apartment sadly closed a few months ago, and while I didn't go often, I do miss it.)

Hope this gives you some ideas!

 

[Cloud]

Thank you so much for helping me! I greatly appreciate all of your help.

I didn't even think to use air-dry resin clay to shape the buttons. That is a much better option than trying to completely replace the buttons; I'll definitely be looking into this.

I would love a copy of the original to use as a guide if that's ok.

 

[OldSchoolVPQ]

You're very welcome! Toy restoration and general crafting just happen to fall into my wheelhouse I look forward to seeing how you do it!

I'll see if I can get the food icon traced for you this weekend! Do you need the full happy happy face icon too? 

 

[Cloud]

Thank you so much! Only the food icon will be fine.

I have purchased the Sukerukun clay and a dental tool kit. I hope I can do this Yasashii justice and have it looking a little better.