X-wing repaints series. Episode 2: B-wing repairs

So recently, whilst playing my friend Aaron I broke one of my B-wings! Not just true model, but the peg. Right by the engines. Disaster. Especially because they are one of my favourite ships to fly! But also because I figured it would be a total pain to fix. 

So that was about a month ago. On Sunday evening I thought to myself, "I can fix that, I have the skills to fix that!" So I thought I'd give it a go. 

The snap was right in between the engines, and it wasn't a clean break. There was no way I could just whack a bit of superglue on it, it needed pinning. I don't know if you're aware of the X-wing pegs, but they are thin and comparatively brittle. Putting a drill into this made me nervous, because I'd only get one go with the bit that had snapped off. 

To get my eye in I decided to drill into the back of the b-wing first. This was comparatively easy, the drill went straight in-between the engines. My tip here would be to apply even pressure and work slowly, you don't need to rush it. I probably drilled 0.5 cms at least into the back of it. The key here is to go deep because you aren't going to be able to go deep into the peg. So you need that on the ship. 

Next, I drilled into the back of the peg, where it had snapped. This was more difficult, I had to take it really easy because I didn't want to snap the peg through drilling in the wrong place. I filed down the peg as best I could and then made sure that where I was drilling was the centre of the peg. This was tricky, the drill slipped a couple of times before it went in. 

The advantage with drilling into a peg is that it's clear, so you can see where the drill bit is. Make sure you are careful here, I was mentally telling myself that I only got one shot at this. I find it helpful to trial the paperclip out, see how much it goes in, if it's loose etc. 

What I did next, and the bit I think that has probably made this while exercise work is use green stuff. I put a little bit in each end, before dipping the paperclip in super glue. The green stuff makes the join secure when you out the paperclip in (you have no idea how much I'm trying to avoid innuendos) and the superglue cements the join.  

I having cemented the b-wing end, I assessed how much paperclip I'd need to make the join, and then cemented the other in. 

One of the joys about doing this was that I was able change the angle that the ship is flying at. I'm really pleased with this because I'd always wanted to do that with one of them but I'd never been brave enough! So I'm glad I was forced into it. Now I just need to finish painting it!