If you have a FW P-51, there are a couple of things that, over time you accumulate. Spare pieces of the landing gear, wheels and tires, ball links etc. Because you can't buy just the main gear doors or the clam shell doors or the rear gear doors separately, as you can with FMS, you get quite the collection. Recently, I went looking through my stash to find a left main gear door, the only ones that I could find were already broken, at the pins that hold them into the wing, the weakest point of the door. I had a bunch of right sides, but no lefts. For quite a while now, I've tried to come up with a solution as to how to replace the pins with my limited skill set.
Now if I could work with metal, I may be able to come up with an aluminum set of pins that would work or something like a watch strap pin that would collapse and spread out into the holes when released, that would be cool, but that's more of a CB or Brandon Moon class of mod. This is me. Glue an plastic and a few screws. So, I thought I was doomed to keep on ordering more and more sets until I had a pile of gear doors occupying the corner of the basement. Maybe I could run strings through them and use them for Christmas tree decorations!?
After a few fruitless tries at gluing the pins back on, I suddenly had an AH HA moment!!
I had some right side doors that were used but still had the pins on them. So, I cut the right side door at the bottom of the mold marks, just below the pins (Little circular marks) and glued the good set on the left door after cutting it at the same point. Let the glue dry and used Beacon filler in the small crack.
Seems to work great!!
Needs a little sanding, but hey, if it works, saves me the wait and the pile.:)
Next day the wife goes down and cleans up the man cave.............Finds three good left side gear doors !!:Confused:
Moral of the story, before ordering anything, let the wife go into the man cave and clean up;).
But this would seem to be a great option to repair these pesky things, especially if you're single!:Cool:
Grossman56
Now if I could work with metal, I may be able to come up with an aluminum set of pins that would work or something like a watch strap pin that would collapse and spread out into the holes when released, that would be cool, but that's more of a CB or Brandon Moon class of mod. This is me. Glue an plastic and a few screws. So, I thought I was doomed to keep on ordering more and more sets until I had a pile of gear doors occupying the corner of the basement. Maybe I could run strings through them and use them for Christmas tree decorations!?
After a few fruitless tries at gluing the pins back on, I suddenly had an AH HA moment!!
I had some right side doors that were used but still had the pins on them. So, I cut the right side door at the bottom of the mold marks, just below the pins (Little circular marks) and glued the good set on the left door after cutting it at the same point. Let the glue dry and used Beacon filler in the small crack.
Seems to work great!!
Needs a little sanding, but hey, if it works, saves me the wait and the pile.:)
Next day the wife goes down and cleans up the man cave.............Finds three good left side gear doors !!:Confused:
Moral of the story, before ordering anything, let the wife go into the man cave and clean up;).
But this would seem to be a great option to repair these pesky things, especially if you're single!:Cool:
Grossman56
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