Snapped axle off undercarriage wing.

[Ron@redondo]

HELP! After almost completing the build of my WNW Albatros DVa, I snapped the axle off one side of the undercarriage wing, trying to slip one undercarriage vee strut onto axle. It is now lost somewhere in the great unknown. In a panic I superglued a small nail to the wing after triming to about the right length. Nail head dia. about same thickness of undercarriage wing at point of axle.
Afraid new axle will not hold up once weight is put on it. Was thinking about drilling small hole into side of undercarriage wing and using another small dia. nail, or something similar.
An axle an axle my kingdom for an axle.
Anyone have some other ideas. I would hate to junk the kit this far along (about six months) and sooo much work, and I certainly would hate to raid another kit.

[uncletony]

I would chop whatever is left of the axle off cleanly at the edge of the winglet, then carefully drill a suitably sized hole 5-6mm back into it such that you can glue a longer piece of rod in securely.

Exactly.

[coyotemagic]

I would chop whatever is left of the axle off cleanly at the edge of the winglet, then carefully drill a suitably sized hole 5-6mm back into it such that you can glue a longer piece of rod in securely.

Exactly.

Yep.
Cheers,
Bud

[kornbeef]

Ouch!

Yes butt jointing won't hold I fear. As an alternative to what Justin suggests you could drill a smaller dia hole and put a pin in, drill a similar size hole in the new axle part (plastic rod or scrap) and superglue them together with the pin inside for strength. I only suggest this as the dia of the axle and width of the axle wing is quite close if you make any error.

Keith

[ALBATROS1234]

i normally do that anyway prefering steel rod.i have had way too many wheels snap off in 1/48

[Nigel Jackson]

I think that the advice that has already been given here is rock solid, Ron. I've used the technique both to repair damage and to reinforce a weak joint. In the case of the former it was to pin together a 1/48 Spitfire undercarriage leg broken when a domestic cat pounced on a finished model. As for the latter, I've occasionally used it to ensure a strong strut to wing/fuselage connection.

Best wishes
Nigel

[Ian from Doncaster]

I agree with all the above.  It is often a good idea to reinforce joints that have to be small due to scale limitations. The method works for wing root/fuselage strengthening, snapped axles/rods, control surface/wing attachments etc.  As long as you are careful with the drilling the repair may be almost un-noticeable.

You probably have already considered this, but use the unbroken opposite end of the axle as a guide for how to re-build the broken end.

[Ernie]

The process of drilling and inserting a pin has worked well
for me many times.  Should be no problem for you, Ron.

Cheers,
Ernie

[Ron@redondo]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I will try drilling.

[Michael Scarborough]

If all else fails, you can do a fine diorama of a Albatros after a bad landing. There is plenty of photographic evidence to go by and t would be something different.

Good luck with it either way.

Cheers from NYC,
Michael

[Ron@redondo]

Michael, your right a diorama could be a saving grace if all else fails.

[Dave in Dubai]

Same thing happened to me on my Rumpler.

Keith's suggestion is the best and is the route I took.

It is a good idea to drill the axels on every build, with say a 0.6 mm drill, and then superglue a piece of 0.5mm wire into the hole- it doesn't really need to be any longer than 10 mm.

Hope you manage to fix it ok?

[Ron@redondo]

Thanks Dave. I am waiting for some micro drill bits that I had to order.