Ooooh... sorry to hear about the hand. I'm doing my figure as individual bits (hands, head, feet... haven't even started on the body) to be connected up, so I haven't faced that possibility yet. I sympathize about the laughing face... sculpting faces has always given me fits, and smiles or laughs are murder to get right.
Just as I thought. You're gonna beat me by a mile. I may not even have this blamed thing ready to go by Monday. Look forward to seeing yours, though.