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Fixing a gouge in a wing

F

Firesmacker

Member
OK, so I'm building the wings for my P-47 and when I go to assemble the left wing I discover this:

Gouge_zps8d974be8.jpg



I have no idea how that happened but it must have been packaged like that. It isn't at an attachment point so I know it wasn't me. It looks like it was hit with a chisel. Is that one of those dreaded "short-shots" that I've heard about?

It looks like an easy enough fix but I was wondering how one of you would go about it. Puttying it is one way, I guess. Or should I use CA and sand it down?

If I use CA, how long do I wait to sand it? I'm assuming doing it before it gets rock hard. Keep in mind that this is a wing edge so I can't go nuts or I will mess the whole thing up. Also, this will be an NMF so it has to be nice and smooth or it will look terrible.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
I'd try putty after the two halves are joined. If you use CA and don't sand it before it cures the CA will be a LOT harder than the plastic.

Cheers from Peter
 
For something that big I would square it off with a file, glue in a piece of sprue or whatever plastic you have on hand and file it back to shape. Follow up with putty to smooth out any imperfections.
 
Thanks for the tips, fellas. It's no where near as big as it looks in that photo. it's maybe 1/8 x 1/16 or so. Pretty small. I went ahead and taped it off and used putty to fix it. We'll see tomorrow how it worked.

If all else fails, I can use nail polish remover, get the putty out of the and go with the piece of sprue method.
 
Ditto what James said...which ditto Dave...

Don't look like short run, more like it snapped somewheres.

:zen on the putty fill fix. :popcorn
 
While I have used cyanoacrylate glue for repairs like this, I would go with the technique described by Dave. If I went the putty route, it would be epoxy putty which I can sculpt and minimize sanding by using water.

For cyanoacrylate, the 'magic' time is one hour when the cement is still slightly softer than the plastic (in most cases). The caveat being the hardness of the plastic of the kit. This looks like Hasegawa so 1 hour is good. For Revell, I would try after 45 - 50 minutes.

Regards,
 
Thanks again, everyone. It's actually an Academy mold for those who were speculating. I really think that the putty job will work since its such a tiny area. If it doesn't, I will go with the sprue/sand it down method.

I really won't know until tomorrow.
 
Just chop out a chunk, glue in a chunk, sand and proceed. You're a wizard, aren't you, Ron Weasley? :pp
 
Thanks to my recent trip to Disney World, I recognize him from the Harry [strike]Poppins[/strike] Potter ride.

Regards,
 
Ron Weasley: Designer and test pilot of obscure Luftwaffe aircraft.

:facepalm
 
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