PG EXia: Fixing a Very Small Broken Part

The PG Exia is one of my favorite snap builds, and was one of my most anticipated Gunpla purchases ever since it was announced. I did predict it was going to be released that year, and the moment I saw the announcement, I immediately got it on Pre-Order.

It's a clean, robust build, with a lot of improvements build-wise from its predecessor, the 00. Even without the ratchet joints that required screws, the PG Exia's joints are rather stable even with the amount of articulation and complexity of the frame build. The PG Exia is the third in Bandai's Gunpla Evolution Project, a series of highly-detailed kits which began the HGUC Zeta, then followed by the RG Unicorn.

But, like most kits, it is not without flaws, or at least, parts that are prone to breaking due to carelessness or heavy-handedness, both of which I am at one point or another. As per my original assessment when I was snap-building it, there are several sections and parts that, though engineered well in terns of fitting and assembly remains very much weak when compared with other parts in the kit. The front shin guard that is hinged at the base of the ankle, for example, is prone to breaking near the curved section if one isn't careful enough when doing open-hatch transformations. Suffice it to say, both shin guard broke at the same general location, which also makes this a molding issue, much like the other breaks I've had in other kits.

Open-Hatch gimmicks are cool, though this one is pretty useless

 

Even though it's a Perfect Grade, one would expect that Bandai would make parts less prone to breaking by making parts or sections thicker, especially the connective pegs which can break even during the initial build. Some pegs are just 1.0mm in diameter, too thin for comfort, even though these pegs are encapsulated covers within other parts. They can easily break because they are too thin.

I had one such peg break while I was disassembling the arm section for cleaning and mod-fitting. The peg breaking is a non-issue,  since like I said, it's an encapsulated peg which inserted in a dual frame/armor section, so, it won't really matter if it's there or not. Being me, I pulled out the broken peg from the socket, it had enough root for me to pull lightly with a side cutter, and I cemented it back into place.

But, that's not the real reason for this post. For some reason, a part broke without me even realizing it was broken, until I was checking and disassembling the arm section. It's not even a crucial part, I was thinking of leaving it be, but I got that itch that won't go away (yeah, maybe it's allergies). The part is located behind the lower arm section (L7), and it was hardly noticeable since it was covered by the outer armor section, but, the more I look at it, the more it screamed at me to fix it. I tried ignoring it for several minutes, but the temptation is too strong.

The Sound of One Part Breaking...

So I gave in.  I planned nothing more but simply attach a small piece of 1.0mm PS sheet to the broken section, then reinforced the front plate with a thinner sheet of PS, which should serve as extra detail, and did the same detail to the other side (and later on, to its mirror twin). It was late. I was sleepy, and I had class the next day, so I laid it down to rest, hoping to never think about it again.

This should have been enough, BRAIN!

Unfortunately, that's not how my brain works. As soon as I woke up, my brain, which has a mind of its own, started bugging me about that small fix that looked incomplete. I had to rebuild that section, lest it bugs me the rest of the day. So, I started doing cuts here and there, reassessed the shape and how I would eventually go about it. The thing about this fix is, it wasn't going to be simple. Unlike other parts, this one is a complex shape that actually hugs the frame section it is connected to, so I had to rebuild it in two stages. The first stage involved having to cut a little bit on the top and filling it down so I can cement a piece of 0.5mm PS sheet, then reshape it as its mirror-side

Pitter Patter Pieces Splatter.

Stage two involved cementing a yet smaller piece or 1.0mm shaped PS sheet, then reshaped to mirror the other side.

Now THAT is what I call Plastic Surgery!

Each part of the stages took about 15-20 minutes for the cement to cure enough for the next section to be attached. Since this is a very small part, each attachment tend to be very delicate. It's a good thing I waited overnight, the cement in the initial fix was solid enough that any additional sections was easier to place without the entire thing collapsing. 

Elbow grease. Maybe literally.

There you go! With a few more dabs of cement and sanding, it should be barely noticeable as a fix. I won't need to put a peg anymore, as I have mentioned earlier, these pegs hardly support anything, since the main frame assembly are also pegged. But note that that lone peg on the right was the same peg I broke earlier.