 |
| Complete and utter CRAP. How could an incompetent design like this pass quality control?! |
Actually when I saw the break I was pretty angry. They put all this work into making the wings beautiful and have movement and springs and auto extend capabilities and then they attach it to the back pack like this. It just typifies some of the ridiculous things and policies I've seen since I've been here in Japan. Like... you're going to do all of THIS but you aren't going to do something simple like this?! Ugh. But this isn't a Japan bashing topic. This is a PGSF bashing topic now.
Maybe I could have avoided this if I was more careful (I did get the other one in without an issue) but I'm not the only one who's had this problem! Thanks to Lupes for hooking me up with the link. Apparently it's such a common problem that there is a dedicated fix for it out already! Thus the reason why I'm not posting my own pictures. Others have already had the problem.
I don't know where the hell I'm going to get my hands on aluminum pipes that size never mind finding a way to cut them.
Man it's frustrating... I was at the final stage of this section of my build process and then THIS happens!
 |
| Why design it like that?! Pointless design detail that serves no purpose except serving to make a part that needs to be much stronger, much weaker. Morons. |
Anyways I'm pissed off if you couldn't tell. I'm going to work on my own fix because I don't have aluminum pipes hanging about (probably going to do something similar to the RG RX-78-2 leg fix.)
Wish me luck. Pics to come.
Times like this I need to just calm down and look at something beautiful.
 |
| Thank you for being there when I need you Nozomi. |
Wow... I must say, that design looks flat out retarded to be used for its intended function. Had it been a completely solid peg, it might have reduced the chance of such a problem but SEMI-HOLLOW?! I bet the weight of the wings are probably equal to that of a simple NG 1/100 given how the weight of the MG's wings feel like a simple 1/144 model. Too heavy and too little support. Hell, such an overly simple connection point shouldn't even exist on a PG model! WTF Bandai?
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about this man... best of luck on fixing this!
Ay yay yay...
ReplyDeleteIt's an understatement to say that many of us have had a long love-hate relationship with Bandai over the years. That's how I feel after about a decade of building Gunpla.
There are times when their engineering prowess just blows you away - you just want to walk up to Bandai engineers and give 'em a great big HUG.
Other times (like with this case now), you want to stomp your way to them and slap them upside the head yelling "What the F*%&@ were you thinking?!
And wow look at that - a hollow part. And looking back at a lot of kit parts that are above a certain size, you notice that they're hollow too! The only become a 'solid' component when you combine parts into one.
Congratulations! You've just discovered the secret to Bandai's lower prices - apparently, they really use their plastic sparingly. Feh. Just look at any BB Senshi kit - their arms, legs, and in some cases, even their HANDS are hollow. No wonder these get as cheap as 600 Yen.
The MG Freedom has similar pegs that are made of sturdy ABS, but are really kind of thin, and these pegs are expected to support the weight of 5 pairs of wings + a pair plasma cannons. I broke these pegs and they're so thin that Busterbeam's metal rod fix won't cut it - I had to order spare parts from GG Infinite.
And while the MG Sinanju is almost perfect, the "almost" pertains to the again, really, REALLY thin pegs that attach the thrusters to the backpack - they're way too thin for the weight they're intended to support. It gets even more precarious if you've painted them with 3-4 layers of paint and replaced the thruster bells with metal after-market parts...:P
Oh Bandai, when you deliver, you deliver in SPADES, but every so often something utterly retarded seems to slip through.
*SIGH*
Good luck man. I'm pretty sure you can buy some kind of brass pipes and cut them the right size.
ReplyDeleteAnd when you are down, always have a picture of a beautiful woman with you. XD
I can relate to you "pain," as I have suffered through a few broken pegs myself. At first, I attributed it to mine reckless nature in handling the plastic, but later one did find out that most of it were either a flaw in the plastic, or how it was designed.
ReplyDeleteThose "gaps" in the design however is to give the plastic a bit of flexibility and breathing space during insertion, but does introduce a weakness to the overall integrity of the part. A microdifference in the diameter can make a peg too tight, and the gaps kid of allow for that.
The thing is, as I had an argument with an "expert" about it, plastic does have directionality. I believe that directionality affects how the plastic is molded as well, making one part weaker on that section as compared to another similar part.
I'd like to recommend a few all-plastic fixes of mine own if you don't have those aluminum rings;
http://mxgs.blogspot.com/p/repair-bay-and-custom-shop.html
http://mxgs.blogspot.com/2010/07/angelus-rising-part-iv-neck-extension.html
If I may add, ABS of different colors also behave differently. The gray ones, like that of the Sinanju, are rubbery and tends to stick over time. The yellow or gold ones, like that of the MG Freedom are a bit on the soft side. So far, the darker ABS frames, like the PG 00 and MG exia seem to have the sturdiest of properties.
ReplyDeleteYo, theres an aftermarket HiQ aftermarket part I saw on HLJ:http://www.hlj.com/product/HQPMR10
ReplyDeletethis may not by the EXACT size, but you would probably find the size you're looking for.
Hope this helped
that SUCKS dude
that, is, by far, the BIGGEST gunpla FML I've ever seen.
Why not go to hardware store see if you can find a washer about the same size, so you don't have to cut it.
ReplyDeletez - i know man, i felt the same way. just gotta play the cards your dealt i guess. thats why sometimes it doesnt pay to buy a model straight away. wait and watch how other people can **** it up before you buy it! haha
ReplyDeleteckai - seriously. sometimes when i was building this i though... these guys are geniouses. and then other times i was like "wtf? who designed this? a 10 year old?" but maybe there are just some things that i dont understand yet.
bad news about the mg freedom. sounds similar to my sinanju story. honestly sometimes i wonder if winged mechs are really worth it sometimes! if their huge and are attached by simple pegs it seems like we're all asking for trouble. im afraid of any wing gundam models for that reason.
what can you do? just gotta find your own way to mod them if you really want to the strength i guess. the designers arent really looking out for us sometimes.
tom - thanks for the support! im trying!
MatX - thanks for your comment! it's always great when one of the experts comes down here to give us some advice. i really love your work!
i can understand the 'flexibility' idea. it makes sense.
the directionality part i can kind of understand to but i dont think it comes into play for most of the stuff im doing.
thanks for your links! i'll definitely take a look!
GNS - thanks for the link. Yeah it was a bit FML moment for me! so close!!!
Anon - not a bad call. i might if my fix doesnt work. i try to use what i have around before buying new stuff if possible.
It's these kind of things that makes me want to work in Bandai's "R&D" sector. Makes you wonder if those guys building them in public went through that problem, too. I can imagine a guy behind plexiglass, building away, and then this part snaps, and you hear a really loud KUSO! come from nowhere.
ReplyDeleteAnything and everything wrong about a model is the company and the designer's fault, never the individual modeler's.
ReplyDeleteBravo, bravo.
That sucks the MG has wing problem but in different area. i was expecting problem with the mechanics not that part. good luck on fixing it. cant just glue it together with part like that it would just break again in no time. if i ever get PG Strike Freedom i now what to watch for when i put it together.
ReplyDeleteThe newest MG Gundam Wing has pretty secure joints that are just right for the weight of the wings - I can tell you that much.
ReplyDeleteThe Ver. Ka. Wing on the other hand, has good wing joints too, but it's the KNEE JOINT that gave me grief - it's ABS all right, but if the upper leg part that swivels at the knee is too tight, it actually snaps off because it's situated on really a thin section of plastic. The newer MG Wing does not have this issue. As far as I'm concerned, it's the most perfect MG I've seen in recent years.
Bandai's reluctance to use Die-cast parts on new PGs has finallt bit em in the ass. I expected breakages on the PG SF's backpack but i did not expect such a terribly designed part.
ReplyDeleteBandai almost never mold parts over 2mm thick on the thinnest axis in order to keep deformation to a minimum. But their molding of that part is plain retarded. If the peg was a hollow cylinder then it would have been stronger.
Material technology actually has use outside of college ^_^
Maybe you could fill up the gaps with epoxy putty and strengthen it with tamiya plastic beams to instead of aluminium pipes if you can't find them.
ReplyDeleteGosh...I have problem like you...still don't know what to do now... :(
ReplyDeleteits a tough one to solve!
ReplyDelete