We are Teddy Ruxpin Borg.

We will be your friend.

We will tell you stories.

You will be assimilated.

Resisting our cuteness is futile.

the story behind this picture:

At the computer store I used to work at, I developed a reputation, among staff and customers alike, for being willing to attempt repairs on pretty much anything. (try and find another shop in town who will open up a laptop and resolder cracked circuit boards!)

One of the many secretaries (we had a high turnover rate for clerical staff) asked me if I thought I could repair her daughter's Teddy Ruxpin doll. She explained that it was her daughter's favorite toy, but that it was 7 years old and no longer worked properly - the tapes played fine, but the animatronics had given out. Worlds of Wonder had stopped making the TR line some years before, and was unable to offer her any repair or replacement options. I decided to take the case.

She brought me the doll, some tapes, and a fresh set of batteries. I brought it home and checked to see how well it worked. The tapes worked as promised, and I could hear the motors in it's head turning, even though the eyes and mouth didn't move. This suggested a mechanical failure, and so I set to work...

I carefully ripped the Y-seam on the back of it's head, and peeled back the fur. The foam-rubber padding underneath was glued to the plastic head, but only in spots, so I was able to extract the animatronic skull with little or no damage to the doll part.

Noticing that Teddy was still unnervingly cute, even skinned, I got the idea for the text of this web page. I took a few quick pictures and set them aside for later.

The two halves of the skull itself were heat-bonded together, but a few good whacks with the end of a screwdriver cracked the seam right open. I then carefully seperated the two halves to get at the workings inside without allowing any mechanisms to spring apart before I got a good look at them.

One of the linkages had broken, and I fabricated a new one from a straightened paper-clip using needle nose pliers. I rebuilt the mechanism, reassembled the skull, and super-glued it back together. I then put the skull back in the head, pulling everything tight (I left it for her to restitch the seams), and reinstalled the tape unit. I put in a tape, and Mr. Ruxpin was good as new!

I received $40 for my efforts (more than I asked for), and got this web page out of the deal as well.

 
 

Teddy RuxpinTM Worlds of Wonder 
The BorgTM Paramount Pictures