Morino: potential stripped screw problem

[Stu_Dee_Jay]

I received a (lovely looking) Morino from eBay a few weeks back, and I intend to change the batteries before I play it. However, I sense that the screws are this close to being stripped, and I don't trust myself to do the job properly.

Will a jeweller be able to remove the screws without damaging the Tamagotchi unit? I really don't care if the screws are ruined, because I have a couple of spare sets in hand, but I really want to make the battery flap accessible. I read somewhere that it may be possible to drill the screws out as a last resort.

Thanks in advance.

 

[PretzelNymph]

Yes have you ever used a screw extractor? You can most likely get one at a hardware store. I work alot with small/stripped/broken off screws, and these work pretty well. It basically looks like a screwdriver but the head has little "jaws". These itsy little points stick in the metal to give you grip. And as a last resort, you can use a drill.(riskier) If you don't want to do it yourself, go to a jeweler, watch repair shop, pawn shop, or weirdly enough an optician shop. They all probably have this tool.

 

[Stu_Dee_Jay]

I might have to look out for a screw extractor. Being rubbish with my hands, I don't have a great range of tools available to me!

Miraculously, just before I considered getting in the car and driving into town, I got help from someone much less cack-handed than me and he got both the screws out! It was a two-man job, though: I had to hold the Morino down whilst he dug the screwdriver into the screws.

Man, I hate the screws in the retro Tamagotchis.

 

[Owl]

Good to hear you got the screws out. My first vintage Tamagotchi, a transparent blackish-grey P2, had completely stripped screws in the back. I tried everything but it just ended up making my problem worse. My dad had to take a Dremel Power Grinder to the screws to give them a notch we could work with - consequently, it drilled into the plastic as well, but it was all we could do. Once we got the screws out they were even more damaged than we had thought. Nothing else would have ever extracted those buggers, but I'm happy - at least I can play with my P2 now!

 

[Stu_Dee_Jay]

Good to hear you got the screws out. My first vintage Tamagotchi, a transparent blackish-grey P2, had completely stripped screws in the back. I tried everything but it just ended up making my problem worse. My dad had to take a Dremel Power Grinder to the screws to give them a notch we could work with - consequently, it drilled into the plastic as well, but it was all we could do. Once we got the screws out they were even more damaged than we had thought. Nothing else would have ever extracted those buggers, but I'm happy - at least I can play with my P2 now!

As long as it works and it isn't too badly damaged, at least you can still play it,as you say.

My very first P1 (which is now lost in my house somewhere *sniff*) had a stripped screw problem, so I asked my Grandad if he could get it out. My Grandad has all manner of tools, so I thought it'd be in safe hands. He came back to me a little while later and he'd managed to remove the screw. To my horror, he had cut a portion of the battery casing away with a small jigsaw. Fortunately though, you could still screw one side up and it was playable, despite looking a bit mutilated.