Inspiration: I picked up a vintage Ram-Man at Casey's a few years back. The majority of the silver paint was chipped away, and the original spring was rusted (see above). I touched up some of the paint and used a bunch of the faux silver plating my brother gave me to redo the armor. Then I spent the next couple years looking for a replacement spring. I have to say, it's damn near impossible to find the appropriate kind of spring for this thing. Cut to a couple months ago, when Dave gave me his entire Star Wars collection, which included about four Darth Vader Pez dispensers (and I already had two). It occurred to me one night that the dispensers must have little expanding springs, and they're probably the right size. So, I busted it open, and with a little effort, I was able to replace it. Now it works perfectly.

Parts used: A vintage Ram-Man, a Pez dispenser.