Droopy leg/flappy wing fix for 1/72 VF-25 kits

[Chronocidal]

So I finally got around to slapping together my VF-25G kit yesterday, after reading some of the build-up threads in here.

When I got to the issue of the wings flipping up and the legs tending to droop, I know some people have used magnets. I've never liked the pseudo-sturdy feeling those give though, and decided to try something new.

Essentially, I hacked up the kit.

What I did amounted to drilling/filing out 4 rectangular holes, and shaping two custom shaped pegs to fit them. I found a nice flat surface where the wing gloves and lower legs meet, and carved out a matching set of holes.

Finding a place on the leg to make a hole was a bit tricky. What I wound up modifying was the part that secures the forward hinge on the folding leg panels that hide the ventral fins. That panel has some empty space underneath, it's attached very solidly, and when the wings are folded down level, there's a good sized flat area it shares with the wings.

Note, this does screw up the detail on the leg panel a bit, since it's got a hole through it now. The changes don't show at all in fighter (which is how I'll likely keep the model most of the time), but the hole does kill a bit of detail on the outer leg. It might be easy to disguise with paint later, but for now, it's kind of a gaping hole (and still a bit rough, I need to sand down the edges).

Anyway, pictures are definitely worth more here.

Legs are nice and high in fighter mode

Wings aren't quite perfectly level, but close enough for me.

Here's what I did, lemme know if anyone wants it highlighted and I can do that.

The blue panel just below the knee has a small slot cut directly into it. It's not very deep, but it's plenty to keep the tab I made held in.

The edge of the white portion on the wing glove section has a hole cut through it, and the rectangular tab is anchored deeply inside the wing glove.

Here's how it lines up when the wings are folded down.

The tab isn't much, but it solved two problems at once. The legs are held up tightly against the fuselage, and the wings are held level by the weight of the legs.

It's sturdy too. I can hold up the entire model by the lower leg, and nothing moves anymore.

The hardest part of this was making the custom pegs to glue into the wing gloves. It's a small piece that I filed to shape from some square scrap plastic, and the shape was hard to make at this size. I can put up a drawing of what it looks like if anyone wants, but it's basically a triangular prism with a tab on the wide end.

Think something like this, just stretched a bit vertically:

..._

_| |_

|..../

|../

|/

It just lays against the inside of the wing glove underneath, and doesn't interfere at all with the wing.

I can get measurements for where I cut if anyone wants, but the exact location and size isn't as important as just making sure the tabs line up with the holes on the legs.

I'm thinking of adding similar tabs to hold on the shield in fighter mode, and maybe the hip guns.

Hope someone finds this useful, I gotta clean my desk now, it's covered in sanding dust.

Edited November 22, 2009 by Chronocidal

[honkhet]

this is a great piece of sharing, thanks dude!

bandai should have thought of this, damn bandai

Edited November 22, 2009 by honkhet

[Chronocidal]

Oy, I need to figure out my camera.. trying to take a few better pics, and failing utterly. Or maybe the camera just sucks.

Nothing really new about more attachment pegs, but I did discover that a big part of getting the upper fuselage to stay together with minimal gaps is just grabbing the fuselage at the hip joint, and squeezing the intakes inwards. The hips tend to pop out when they're moved, and squeezing them together pushes them all the way onto the hip pegs, and makes everything fit better.

The hip guns are actually staying in place well, and the wings are completely level now.

[mickyg]

What sort of camera have you got? If it's got a macro setting (icon will look like a flower), try that.

By the way, great little tweak there! I've got magnets but given how long and meticulous I've been with my build, I can't bring myself to take the time to actually use them! I'll have to see how this can be translated to the super pack version and might just end up using it.

[Chronocidal]

It's got a macro setting, it's what I was using.. maybe just need better lighting and a steadier hand/tripod.

Hopefully with the super packs, you'll have a bit more room to cram things in, since they add so much bulk to the valk. Regardless of where you put the pegs, the tricky part is making them line up. There's a bit of play in the joints, so you can't size the holes exactly for the pegs.. you just have to make the holes a little sloppy side to side, so you can adjust them. It's a lot of trial and error.

Locator pins made of metal might do better actually. Given a second kit, I'd probably try that instead. The holes I made are rather messy, and smoothing them will make them bigger, and sloppier. I'm hoping painting will cover some of that up, and smooth over the area.

[leading edge]

It's got a macro setting, it's what I was using.. maybe just need better lighting and a steadier hand/tripod.

Hopefully with the super packs, you'll have a bit more room to cram things in, since they add so much bulk to the valk. Regardless of where you put the pegs, the tricky part is making them line up. There's a bit of play in the joints, so you can't size the holes exactly for the pegs.. you just have to make the holes a little sloppy side to side, so you can adjust them. It's a lot of trial and error.

Locator pins made of metal might do better actually. Given a second kit, I'd probably try that instead. The holes I made are rather messy, and smoothing them will make them bigger, and sloppier. I'm hoping painting will cover some of that up, and smooth over the area.

If you have a hand Dremel and a small enough bit you could carefully sand down the inside of the area to where it is more smooth. As for the you drooping area s nice that the kit responded so well to the tightening looks good the older Macross kits form the 90's were a pain to transform and build it's nice to know that the newer ones if there are minor problems you can correct them easily. If you want to be sure the area hold try testing it out with material that won't stick to the plastic to see how tight or loose you need it. I do a test with some paper or soft foam that can be crammed evenly in a seam. The level of tightness is usually best if you can remove it with only very minor difficulty. If a seam is too tight or too loose I like to use some Milliput fine to fill it up after properly calculating the mass needed via the fill method mentioned above. When the amount is ready I spread it on with a flat dental tool so the putty will spread cleanly then after about 4-5hrs I sand and paint the area.