repairs

[jetli]

I live in Japan. And earthquakes are a big problem. The last major earthquake left me with a log of broken struts, and undercarriages. Worse, on cleaning up the mess, I discovered that some parts were missing. For example, a propeller blade for Hasegawa's XF5U-1. I contacted Hasegawa here in Japan. Yes, they can send me a new one -- for about $20.00! Then there is the missing left undercarriage of my 1/72 Airfix Buffalo. The doors I could scratchbuild but the wheel and undercarriage strut? Ummm... maybe not. On the other hand, it is a challenge. Looking at all this old broken stuff I realize I could do it so much better now, having visited this forum and learned a lot here. Any suggestions are welcom.

[JamesPerrin]

Hi JetLi,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your damaged kits. You could modify those with missing legs to be in flight.

[fredk]

Or get some different sized brass tubes to make legs. Different sizes will slide over each other and can be glued with epoxy or superglue.
Carve a new prop blade from plastic card.

[jetli]

Thanks guys. Well, it will be a challenge -- which is good. I have most of the original props for the XF5U-1, so I can use them to get the shape for a scratchbuilt blade on plasticard, I think. And then sand and file like vacuuform. ???
The undercarriage is rather fiddly.
I actually have a stash of several hundred kits, mostly which I built up over 30 years -- but it is in storage. This might also be an opportunity to check and see what I have.
Thank you for your advice -- it helps.