Dear MMDers, I had not one, but two, Symphonion Model 28R Monkey Cyclist 
automaton musical boxes pass through my workshops in the last few weeks, 
arriving at the same time, from different people. Both needed a rebuild, 
especially the dog bands and monkeys. 

On the second box, upon taking the monkey figure off what was left of the 
bicycle, the figure crumbled and the cross-section revealed a teal-blue 
coloured fibre material. Suspicious, I shoved my mask on (handy as always 
in these times) and a test showed it was asbestos. 

I dipped the figure break in an enamel lacquer to seal it, then molded 
stick-on elements which could be used to make the colour-matched parts 
without scoring or breaking the torso which survived. Thankfully, the 
holes for the wire linkages were not fragmenting.

I then deliberately chipped away a tiny bit at the second box figure, 
but this was made of plaster. Both were the same age and near serial 
number, with nothing to suggest the asbestos figure was a replacement.

This is just to remind anyone working with these pieces that dangerous 
materials can lurk anywhere. There will be more Symphonion 28R asbestos 
monkeys out there -- but we don't know which they are. 

Treat them as if they are of asbestos. It is absolutely fine, as long as 
they don't get broken.

Take care,
Laurence Fisher