MiG Hunter Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 The landing gear of my 1/48 Tomcat broke off last night while decaling. Please see photos below. https://ibb.co/b4ucAm https://ibb.co/cwNm36 https://ibb.co/b9NKO6 What is the best way to fix it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 I use a pin vise to drill a hole in both broken ends. Insert a small length of metal. Some ting like part of a paper clip. Glue the two together with the paper clip as a steady base. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Prepare some brass pins about 1/3 the diameter of the struts. Length should be at least 8 diameters. Choose a brass rod where you have a drill to match. Test drill a hole and make sure the pins slip easily into the hole but are not sloppy. Carefully punch center holes in both parts. This is the most critical part, as alignment of the parts strictly depends on this operation. Using a small enough drill (the web should be smaller than the punch hole), drill into both pieces. This is the next most critical part, as you need to make sure you've aligned the drill with the strut. Get a larger drill that is still small enough that the web fits in the hole, and enlarge the hole. Continue until you use the drill that matches your pins. Mix up some epoxy. Coat 1/2 of the pin with a thin film of epoxy, and insert into the strut. Coat the other half of the pin and the broken face of the strut. Insert pinned strut into the stub in the fuselage. Et voilà! I used this process to fix a misaligned rotor head on a helicopter. The difference is I made a smooth cut with a razor saw, so those first pin punches were easier than your task. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 (edited) I second what everyone said. You'll need those little drill bits that go on a pin vise. I once cut up a front gear to extend the oleo strut. The work will be similar to this: Edited October 20, 2017 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MiG Hunter Posted October 20, 2017 Author Share Posted October 20, 2017 (edited) WOW...thanks a million, crackerjazz for the great photos. Now I know how to fix mine. You guys are the best. How would I survive these modeling disasters without you on this forum? p.s. How do you get to upload such hi-res photos on this forum? I doesn't allow any larger photo than 0.1mb!!! Edited October 20, 2017 by MiG Hunter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, MiG Hunter said: p.s. How do you get to upload such hi-res photos on this forum? I doesn't allow any larger photo than 0.1mb!!! They aren't uploaded they are linked from an image hosting site, in this case imgur.com Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MiG Hunter Posted October 20, 2017 Author Share Posted October 20, 2017 Oops...duly noted. Thank you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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