i was over viewing the 2 wheels that I have on a 1/72 Tomcat and saw 1 of them was out of alignment it dryed at an angle. So I tried to pull it off but it instead broke off, and now all I have is the support and the wheel.And I’m wondering if i reglue it will it still be able to support the plane?
Burner12,
My suggestion would be to use a pin vise and drill to drill our the broken part in the wheel. Then I would super glue a small piece of styrene rod to the strut and then attach the wheel.
Hope that helps.
I tried doing that, but still it seems to not hold.
how good is Revell with replacement parts?
Drill a small hole in the wheel-side of the landing gear where the axle would be, drill a similar hole in the wheel. Put a straight pin into the gear and clip off the excess, leaving enough to press into the wheel. That will give you a metal core which hold up well.
I have had similar issues. I think the problem with using styrene rod is that the material may soften a bit with the use of the cement. I used sewing needles instead as they are hardened and will not bend like a pin. Be careful cutting though, as the cut off piece will fly when snipped and eye protection is a must. Put in place with epoxy for a solid bond. Epoxy bonds the plastic and metal.
My worse repair was a wing-tip missile rail I broke and I could not get it to stay in place until I used this method. I have even used brass rod to repair broken off stabilators. (All moving stabilizers/elevators used on many modern planes)
Revell is really good with replacement parts here’s the link to order them online for no charge. I usually get them in no more than a week or so. You can call them too the number is on the instruction sheet but you will have to wait until monday though. If its a Revell of Germany Kit it will take upwards of a month.
Thats what I did. I’ll use those methods in the future though, but I instead decided to go ahead and order from Revell, and it cost nothing not even shipping which is surprising!
I guess this is moot now but here’s what I did on my Revell F-14D. I used a pin vise like someone mentioned above and drilled a hole in the hub of the wheel and drilled a hole in the strut where the wheel attaches. Then I cut a paper clip to use as an axle. I just CA’d them together and it worked like a charm.
Well I tried the same thing with a straight pin but the problem is that I don’t have a drill bit small enough as a straight pin or know its size? I only have I think it was a 1/13th bit
Agreed a metal pin is the best answer for strength. Taken a step further drill out the vertical support and add the metal pin bent at 90 degrees for the axle. Once you have success for task like this the cylinder for the shock is a easy scratch built item for realism when made out of metal as well.