A major design flaw was the separately installed left hand and rifle, which often fell out or got broken or lost.
Repairs to the Miniature Doughboy
LES KOPEL, OXNARD, CALIFORNIA
A plaster Doughboy casualty.
I often get questions regarding broken Doughboys, or ones with missing parts. The most common restoration problem is a missing bayonet or the whole left hand and rifle. Many times I have seen examples where people have made their own poor-looking replacements, having no clue as to what the original looked like.
Any competent antiques restorer should be able to create a replacement, given good reference photos.
Shown on this page are some photos of what a complete rifle and bayonet should look like. The design of the rifle sling can vary, depending upon where the piece was manufactured (there were once several factories producing them). The example below shows a detailed double strap design with many buckles; others, like the one pictured at the top of this page, were simpler. The rifle measures about 5.5 inches, and the bayonet blade extends another 1.5 inches, for a total length of about 7 inches.
Any competent antiques restorer should be able to create a replacement, given good reference photos.
Shown on this page are some photos of what a complete rifle and bayonet should look like. The design of the rifle sling can vary, depending upon where the piece was manufactured (there were once several factories producing them). The example below shows a detailed double strap design with many buckles; others, like the one pictured at the top of this page, were simpler. The rifle measures about 5.5 inches, and the bayonet blade extends another 1.5 inches, for a total length of about 7 inches.
A complete rifle on the 12-inch metal Doughboy.
Detail of complete bayonet.
Left hand and sleeve junction.
Complete rifle butt stock and sling.
