VF-25 Tornado Parts sagging wing fix

[Saburo]

I bought this Valk used off Mandarake. I haven't checked, but I have a feeling the the slots on the underside of the wing have been worn down and are not holding the lower tabs on the Tornado wing parts.

Here is a fix I did for the sagging wing parts for the VF-25 Tornado Parts.

When attaching the wing parts to the VF-25 I noticed that the upper tabs (on part) click into into place and then sag (pivot) down because the lower tab would not fully seat into the slot on the under portion of the wing. To remedy this I placed a piece of folded paper between underside of the wing and the Tornado wing part. The wings looked much better but the piece of paper wasn't very pleasant looking, so I went ahead and made spacers out an ABS strip and it worked nicely.

Materials list:

Plastruct ABS Strip grey .8mm thickness (any thin plastic will be fine, to test this fix out I used a piece of a grocery membership card)

Hobby knife.

Metal ruler

Cyanoacrylate glue (super glue)

Cutting mat

Photos:

Before:

 

After:

 

Process pics:

This is to be done to both the left and right Tornado wing pieces, I only photographed what I did for one side.

I cut the ABS strips (1cm wide x approx 2cm length) with hobby knife. (I went with angled pieces because I was bored, a straight piece will work just as well.)

 

The plastic pieces would then be glued to the area indicated in the photo below, with part of the piece on the inner edge (towards fighter).

 

The Plastic piece is glued into place.

Not sure if everyone has the same issue the Tornado wing parts, but for those that do. I hope this helps.

Edited August 25, 2019 by Saburo
Updated broken images

[Mommar]

Holy crap!!! It sags THAT much???

[Saburo]

Holy crap!!! It sags THAT much???

Not sure if its the same for everyone else, but that's the way it is with mine.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Saburo

[Benson13]

Holy old lady Valk Batman.

[MacrossJunkie]

Wow, that really is sagging. Mine is closer to the "after" pic out of the box, but there's still a bit of wiggle in the attachment. I feel like they could have designed it better.

[Saburo]

Holy old lady Valk Batman.

She got some cosmetic surgery done and now she's strutting her stuff.

Wow, that really is sagging. Mine is closer to the "after" pic out of the box, but there's still a bit of wiggle in the attachment. I feel like they could have designed it better.

I agree, they could have designed the parts better.

I bought this Valk used off Mandarake. I haven't checked, but I have a feeling the the slots on the underside of the wing have been worn down and are not holding the tabs on the wing parts.

[Kanedas Bike]

Wow, that really is sagging. Mine is closer to the "after" pic out of the box, but there's still a bit of wiggle in the attachment. I feel like they could have designed it better.

Agree.

And the sag on mine is more from the wing attachments of the Tornado parts themselves not fitting as snug around the wing than it is that the wings themselves are being dragged downwards from any additional weight.

-b.

[jenius]

It seems like a good temporary fix might just be some card stock.

[arrow]

after seeing the front view photos, too busy. I don't find it as enticing as a naked or fast pack valk.

[Saburo]

Agree.

And the sag on mine is more from the wing attachments of the Tornado parts themselves not fitting as snug around the wing than it is that the wings themselves are being dragged downwards from any additional weight.

-b.

That is what was happening to mine, the VF-25's wings were not sagging but the Tornado Parts didn't fit snug so they just pivoted at the attachment point and sat at more of an angle.

[ChaoticYeti]

after seeing the front view photos, too busy. I don't find it as enticing as a naked or fast pack valk.

It has its moments.

[Kanedas Bike]

That is what was happening to mine, the VF-25's wings were not sagging but the Tornado Parts didn't fit snug so they just pivoted at the attachment point and sat at more of an angle.

Hmmm...odd then that there's a difference (at least at first appearance). It could be as you mentioned that there's some mileage on the 25F you purchased.

The only other thing I can think of is that I don't have the intake or missile attachments on mine.

Either way, it's awesome you developed a fix for the issue.

-b.

[Saburo]

Hmmm...odd then that there's a difference (at least at first appearance). It could be as you mentioned that there's some mileage on the 25F you purchased.

The only other thing I can think of is that I don't have the intake or missile attachments on mine.

Either way, it's awesome you developed a fix for the issue.

-b.

I have updated my first post with the mileage information on the Valk so people don't think that this a common issue.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Saburo

[ChaoticYeti]

That is what was happening to mine, the VF-25's wings were not sagging but the Tornado Parts didn't fit snug so they just pivoted at the attachment point and sat at more of an angle.

I can simulate what you are talking about. The wing parts on my tornado set can click out of place and sag slightly. It seems like the shallow slots on the underside of the valk's wings are the issue.

[3D-Brainx]

Fine, can't do it. I seem to need a crash course on how to embed a youtube video

::there ya go::

Edited July 30, 2014 by David Hingtgen

[Saburo]

I can simulate what you are talking about. The wing parts on my tornado set can click out of place and sag slightly. It seems like the shallow slots on the underside of the valk's wings are the issue.

When you did it, the was the angle as bad as the first image I posted?

http://youtu.be/on9eVudHC0s

Fine, can't do it. I seem to need a crash course on how to embed a youtube video

LOL great clip. I think if you use the full youtube url the site shows it as a video window.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Saburo

[Deadeye_281]

Hmmm, I have to agree with Macross Junkie, my Tornado is closer to the 'after' pic as well. The 25F I used was brand new outta the box so maybe that helps. Still, I might try Saburo's quick fix to get those engine nacelles 'right'.

[ChaoticYeti]

When you did it, the was the angle as bad as the first image I posted?

No, and it seemed to only effect my left wing, as well. My VF-25f is also a second hand valk. I bought it from a member here. Could just be a matter of old vs new.

[spanner]

Gee Saburo you're quite the handy little flower ain't ya! Hehe!

Edited July 30, 2014 by spanner76

[Saburo]

No, and it seemed to only effect my left wing, as well. My VF-25f is also a second hand valk. I bought it from a member here. Could just be a matter of old vs new.

Mine has just seen a bit more handling time, but it still looks to be in great condition.

Gee Saburo you're quite the handy little flower ain't ya! Hehe!

Haha! Seeing the sagging wing parts really bothered me. I had to fix it and decided to make this thread in case another member had the same issue.

[spanner]

Haha! Seeing the sagging wing parts really bothered me. I had to fix it and decided to make this thread in case another member had the same issue.

well it looks your fix works a treat! You're a (Max) Jenius! hehe! see what I did there!? get it? genius.. I crack me up!

Edited July 30, 2014 by spanner76

[KH355hamdi]

Good info. Btw does this means the fins on the VTOL part not touch the bottom?

[Saburo]

well it looks your fix works a treat! You're a (Max) Jenius! hehe! see what I did there!? get it? genius.. I crack me up!

Yes, it worked well. It was better than the small of plastic card I had cut up and used while I was taking pics. I see what you did there!

Good info. Btw does this means the fins on the VTOL part not touch the bottom?

Yes there is a bit more clearance compared to before, but still not enough to allow the outer booster to be rotated to upward position.

[Chronocidal]

Thanks for the info here, I'll probably do this fix right away..

Shame Bandai can't seem to figure these kinds of structural issues out. Dunno how they can design something so intricate, but still be so inept at tolerancing.

[anime52k8]

so how secure are the wing parts after doing this? (i.e. if you turned it sideways and shook it, would they fall off?)

[Saburo]

Thanks for the info here, I'll probably do this fix right away..

Shame Bandai can't seem to figure these kinds of structural issues out. Dunno how they can design something so intricate, but still be so inept at tolerancing.

You are welcome! Glad I could be of help. I don't think this is the case for everyone, but with mine (maybe due to age and worn through tab slots) it was tabs were not holding. I am just glad it was a fixable.

so how secure are the wing parts after doing this? (i.e. if you turned it sideways and shook it, would they fall off?)

Held the Valk sideways from the fuselage did the shake test and the parts did not fall off. I also held sideways by one the wing armor parts, gently shook it and it did not fall off.

Here's a pic

I was really nervous doing this so I held it over my couch and placed bunch pillows on it in case of failure.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Saburo

[anime52k8]

I just did this to mine, and it worked great. mine didn't sag, but the top side tab would pop out of place with the slightest touch, which made it really insecure. now the wings fit super snug and the whole thing now holds together well enough to zoom it around the room while making whooshing noises.

[Kanedas Bike]

I just did this to mine, and it worked great. mine didn't sag, but the top side tab would pop out of place with the slightest touch, which made it really insecure. now the wings fit super snug and the whole thing now holds together well enough to zoom it around the room while making whooshing noises.

And that's the entire point right there.

WHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

-b.

[Saburo]

I just did this to mine, and it worked great. mine didn't sag, but the top side tab would pop out of place with the slightest touch, which made it really insecure. now the wings fit super snug and the whole thing now holds together well enough to zoom it around the room while making whooshing noises.

Great to hear it helped. Now you can whoooosh around with conifidence.

And that's the entire point right there.

WHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

-b.

Exactly! I'll play the Macross Frontier soundtrack as I whoooosh to get the full Macross experience.

Edited August 8, 2014 by Saburo

[The Old Man]

Ooooo which one? Think I prefer two to one, but both are awesome.

...sadly my GF thinks otherwise.

Edited August 8, 2014 by The Old Man

[Saburo]

Ooooo which one? Think I prefer two to one, but both are awesome.

...sadly my GF thinks otherwise.

I just made a playlist of all my favorite songs from Macross DYRL and The Frontier soundtracks.

[The Old Man]

Thanks a lot for this tip Saburo, I've used it on both of my Tornado sets now.

[Saburo]

Thanks a lot for this tip Saburo, I've used it on both of my Tornado sets now.

Glad to be of help.

[Mommar]

I may need to try this out (if I ever bother putting the anchors they call wings back on) as well as they sag on both of my valks.

[Lolicon]

Applied this fix to both my tornado sets last night and now they both look great! No more scraping the stabilizers on the ground due to saggy wings! Thanks for the easy fix!