MG Epyon Wing Fix

This post kinds of ends my Gunpla hiatus (I have been working on the PG 00 Raiser's Wing Binder), as this July also proved to be a toxic month in terms of project schedules.

The MG Epyon is one of my favorite MS designs from the Wing Series, and I was very glad when Bandai announced its MG release.  Though I promised myself I won't get any new kits until after a few months have passed, but, an opportunity to get it at a discount arose when Gundam Broker M1gs gave me an offer I could have refused, but seeing that the offer involved a broken part, it was a chance for me to fix something that I didn't break.  

M1gs gave a brief description plus photo of the broken part (which probably broke during shipping), and after looking at it, I immediately knew it wasn't a critical part that that would be under stress.  It's one of the swivel mechanisms for the wing, and one that simply "floats" when the wing is spread.  The wing itself is spread by pulling the lower wing, so the part in question, regardless of how I fixed it, won't pose too much a problem later on.  As far as my previous experiences regarding broken parts (and modifications where I deliberately broke parts to extend them), this is a relatively simple fix.

As usual, my adhesive of choice for this fix is cement, specifically, my very own concoction.  The part itself, though, was broken in the worst of places.  It this was a stress critical part, rebuilding it would be more difficult since there is very little surface for the cement to bond to, not to mention only little provision for a reinforcement patch.

Then again, I'm more than willing to bet that the fix would still be sturdy.  I initially cemented the broken pieces together (i moisten both edges and waited a few seconds to soften them a bit before actually putting them back together), making sure that the parts are properly aligned, and waited at least 30 minutes, before cutting a millimeter above the the broken section for the reinforcement patch.

 

The patch is a small piece of thick HIPS (or plaplate, as the case may be), and holds the pieces perpendicularly.  After an hour or so (the patch is still a bit soft but has started to cure), I started shaving and filing off the excess material.

A few hours after that, the part is sturdy enough to be set inside its respective position in the wing assembly.  As of this posting, it has been more than 24 hours, and the cement + patch has fully cured.