Thursday, November 25, 2010

RG RX-78-2 Gundam - Leg repair

Long overdue post but here it is finally. As I was building the frame the leg broke because the joint was stiffer than the plastic. I guess I didn't work it loose gently enough, although I'm not really sure how I could have done it better. I'll be more careful next time.

Anyway, after the break... I took a break. Came back to later after I found the parts I needed to fix it, namely a 1mm drill bit and 1mm steel rods.

Tools required.

Here's where it broke.

Where I drilled the holes.  Had to be pretty precise with this as there wasn't really much room for error. 90 degree angle straight down the shaft of the leg plastic.  Worked out fine luckily. 

Insert rod.  No jokes please.

Cut rod, apply cement to the broken surfaces, insert into bottom half.  Apply some pressure for a couple of seconds while the cement dries in place.

Leave it to dry for a while, test it out gently. Works perfectly.  Actually I think it's stronger now than it was before.

No problems standing on it's own now.

Following this I could continue my work on the model and it was really a joy to build and detail. I'm still suffering from weapons block now as the main suit is completed but... I'm glad to have it done and standing with the rest of it's 1/144 brothers.

12 comments:

  1. Yikes...if that ever happened to me, I doubt I'd be able to get my hands on some metal rods - none of the hobby shops I frequent seem to have those in that size.

    I've broken a few pegs and joints before, but thankfully, I can get by with just epoxy or cement.

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  2. Nice fix mate. Thanks for the WIP. Clever. That driver is pretty bad ass. Looks like an Air Ratchet.

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  3. Wow. That section was the last spot I expected the joint to break. When you said the frame broke I expected it to be near the ankle!
    Anyways, that rod making this kit sturdier is not a bad thing. Perhaps the leftover rod could go into the other knee?

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  4. Wow. That's a pro fix right there. The fragility of this model scares me!

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  5. sonar - yeah its helped me out some many times that i cant imagine what i was doing before i had it! small cheap and effective. what more do you need in a tool!

    shaomu - if it aint broke dont fix it!

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  6. Hallelujah! it can walk! or just stand there...

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  7. BB, haven't seen you bloggin lately... hope all is well.

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  8. yeah things have been ok, just hella busy. thanks for your concern.

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  9. I'm really surprise to find this post. I was building same model and broke the same part and same spot. I just googled "real grade gundam broken leg" and your blog came up... I guess I have to do exactly what you did to fix mine too.
    Thanks for the great tip.

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  10. Despite having read this, I broke mine in the same spot this afternoon. Good thing you did all the heavy lifting already. I think I'll try with a small paperclip for the rod.

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  11. Thank you thank you, broke mine in the exact same place. You saved me.

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