Help on repairing floppy wing, vf-22s

[auberondreaming]

I just received my vf-22s sturmvogel and it unfortunately has a floppy left wing. The problem is not the joint with the pin that the wing relies on to fold down, but the joint right behind it that allows the wings to fold further around. This joint is inside the wing. The tight side has no vertical play to that second joint, but the floppy one does. Anyone have this problem, and more importantly does anyone have a solution? Thanks!

[neoexcaliber]

I thought I was the only one having this problem. Both my yf-21 and vf-22s miria have the same floppy left wing problem.

[Mommar]

Both my 22 Gamlin and Max have that floppy wing issue as well. I opened them up and tightened/untightened the screws as directed by somebody here but i still couldn't get them adjusted properly.

[M!CK]

Same problem here unfortunately T_T

VF-22 Max with a floppy wing. I tried like everything to fix this. The only thing I found is to kinda bloc it by twisting it a little. That way the wing does not fall down anymore, but the 22 looks strange, not symetrical...

[David Hingtgen]

It's counterintuitive that LOOSENING the screws often fixes it.

[auberondreaming]

Looking at it closer, there is a screw that holds that hinge in the wheel well of the landing gear. On the tight side the screw is at its stopping point. On the loose side, the screw does not hit its resistance point, it spins no matter how many times you rotate. I wonder if the screw is either too small or it stripped the hole during assembly? Would a slightly larger screw help?

[mechaninac]

It appears that all the 21s and 22s have this problem, and more so with the left wing than the right (the right wings of all my 21/22s are fine, if not truly stiff). What I did on my toys was dissassemble the offending wing, which is really easy, and add a bit of electrical tape to the hinge on my Miria and clear nail polish to the same area on my Gamlin (haven't done anything to my 21 yet as it's boxed up in storage at the moment); both fixes yielded the same result... a left wing that stays in place, just like the right, in whatever position you place it.

[ArchieNov]

It appears that all the 21s and 22s have this problem, and more so with the left wing than the right (the right wings of all my 21/22s are fine, if not truly stiff). What I did on my toys was dissassemble the offending wing, which is really easy, and add a bit of electrical tape to the hinge on my Miria and clear nail polish to the same area on my Gamlin (haven't done anything to my 21 yet as it's boxed up in storage at the moment); both fixes yielded the same result... a left wing that stays in place, just like the right, in whatever position you place it.

How do you disassemble the wing?

[mechaninac]

How do you disassemble the wing?

Flip the 22 upside down and you'll notice two small black screws (Hint: pop-off the fin antenna to avoid bending/breaking it):

1. Remove them by using a fillips-head jeweler’s screw driver (make sure to note where each one is supposed to go because they are different lengths -- longer near the lens), now the whole assembly of the inner wing bottom with the landing gear door will come off, just pull on the open landing gear door and you'll see;
   
2. Undo a third screw that actually holds the hinge so that you can disassemble the whole thing (there is no need to remove the metal hinge pin from the outer wing hinge as that would require breaking the glue join, and the problem is the all-plastic hinge anyway... if desired, a small drop of clear nail polish can be applied to the middle slot that exposes the pin, for good measure);
   
3. Separate the plastic hinge and add a good thick coating of polish, or some electrical tape, to the clamping piece's open "C" section -- if nail polish, allow to dry;
   
4. Reassemble the hinge and screw it back in it's place using one of the longer screws (don't over tighten);
   
5. Since the landing gear and door will have likely become dislodged in the process of taking the wing apart, just put everything back in its proper place -- gear in its cradle in stowed position ("V" shaped piston detail forward/down), and door closed on lower inner wing panel);
   
6. Flip open the belly plate's arm cover so that it's out of the way, and make sure the small cover hinged to the wing root is in its proper place, and closed;
   
7. Work the inner wing's bottom assembly under the arm cover and in line with the lens (it slides off, so be careful not to lose it) until you feel the whole thing just seat itself on the upper inner wing's screw bosses;
   
8. Reinsert the screws and tighten them down until you feel some resistance (Tip: drop the screw in the hole and, before tightening, give it a counter clockwise turn until you feel it seat on the right point where the threads line up... it's a very distinct, unmistakable, feel when it just finds its proper place);
   
9. Pop the belly plate's arm cover closed and voila, good as new, only better.
   

I made these instructions as step-by-step easy as I could; hope they help.

Cheers!

Edited October 2, 2012 by mechaninac

[kamadoma]

Here's my way of fixing it. Buy a BluTack and fill the gap under wings. It's just like a clay that can be easily taken off and it doesn't leave any stains, so you can just take it out when you transform it and reapply it when you need to. It's not really visible from the front and it's a really easy method to fix the problem. At least that way you don't need to take anything apart. Only problem you would probably have is facing an obsessive-compulsive disorder about applying them. But I had my VF-22S M&M's with these and I've never had a floppy wing ever since.

Edited October 2, 2012 by kamadoma

[Loop]

I guess we could also display all our YF-19/VF-22's in "high speed mode"

[Jasonc]

Mine was loose as well, and there was a piece of styrene that was cut and put in under the screws, and it's solid now.

[valid]

have any member have a problem with the rear landing gear? mine is very easy to flip up.. kinda annoying

[anime52k8]

have any member have a problem with the rear landing gear? mine is very easy to flip up.. kinda annoying

They're all like that. There's no detent of any kind to keep the landing gear down, so any amount of force will make them collapse.

[3D-Brainx]

As long as we are on this subject. I just received my YF-21 and the canopy is completely loose, it wiggles from one side to the other and it's impossible to have it in an open position. Anyone with this problem?? My VF-22S had a similar problem, but it was good enough to have it open if you play with it a little. Am I missing something? is there a secret way to lock it???

BTW, wings are OK on the 21, but the 22 has a loose left wing also.

[Renato]

As long as we are on this subject. I just received my YF-21 and the canopy is completely loose, it wiggles from one side to the other and it's impossible to have it in an open position. Anyone with this problem?? My VF-22S had a similar problem, but it was good enough to have it open if you play with it a little. Am I missing something? is there a secret way to lock it???

BTW, wings are OK on the 21, but the 22 has a loose left wing also.

Yeah, my VF-22 Max is like that too. I remember that it used to be just stiff enough to hold in the open position at first, but after a while it just became too loose to hold.

[kanedaestes]

I wonder if that Bluetack in a small ammount will work with the loose joint syndrome on VF-25s.......time for some testing on my Version 1s, never do anything on the version 2s unless I know it will work.

[HG Blows]

I went with the super glue method. No floppiness anymore. I pretty much keep my 22's in fighter though.

[Jasonc]

I wish I had taken pictures of the fix for mine. Taking off those screws and inserting the styrene into the body where the flap joint is made it really solid, and even after dozens of transformations, works like a charm.

Edit: Not to mention, there's no glue mess, no blue tack, and you can't see the part inside that makes it hold right.

Edited October 16, 2012 by Jasonc

[bowman]

I wish I had taken pictures of the fix for mine. Taking off those screws and inserting the styrene into the body where the flap joint is made it really solid, and even after dozens of transformations, works like a charm.

Edit: Not to mention, there's no glue mess, no blue tack, and you can't see the part inside that makes it hold right.

Too bad, i'm looking for photos on how to solve the floppy wing issue.

[Kurisama]

If any one is interested, in a few weeks I'll be starting up my projects again - after I finish my VF-0 upgrades, I will be doing a fix for my 22 which will include a fix for the rear landing gear, wing fix and new sculpts for the shins and feet to be anime accurate and detachable for fighter mode.

[mechaninac]

Nice. I would be most interested in a solution for the collapsing landing gears. Why Yamato never so fit to include a simple detents in the design (just look at the ones in Bandai's Renewals... perfect), when the things must have collapsed on them hundreds of times from prototype to test shot assemblies, I'll never understand. Did some bean counting geek look at the problem and just say: "Meh!... Good enough?

[Reïvaj]

But they do know how to make proper non collapsing landing gears, which makes you question even more pertinent.

[Hikaru1234567890]

Wow yamato has to reissue this Vf-22s wit the wing problem.........