In an ideal world we’d build our models with no problems whatsoever. Perfect nub removal, perfect fit, perfect paint job, perfect finish. Sadly, we do not live in an ideal world. We live in this one. And in this world, shit happens. Screwing up nub removal happens. Bad fit happens. Broken pegs happen. Mistakes happen.
And while mistakes suck, they are also a great learning experience. Having to fix something you did wrong will teach you much more than doing something right 10 times.
Broken pegs became a pretty hot topic after the release of MG Freedom 2.0 due to its infamous hip joints. And while I managed to complete Freedom 2.0 without a broken hip joint, the curse caught up with me during my custom Barbatos build.
Fixing broken pegs
My first thought? “Cool, now I can learn how to fix it!”. As always, let’s start with materials we’ll need:
- A broken peg (obviously).
- Wire cutters (never use your plastic nippers with brass rods and other metal elements)
- Pin vise (don’t use Dremel for this)
- Flat file (optional, but useful)
- Brass rods
- Plastic cement
- CA glue
- (Optional) 2-part epoxy glue.
Pegs are usually load-bearing parts. If we simply try to glue them back together, they’ll most likely snap right off next time we handle the kit. For a proper fix, we’ll have to reinforce the part with brass rod.
The fix
| First off, if possible, we glue the broken part back together using plastic cement. Make sure it’s attached properly and that the peg is straight.
It’ll make following steps much easier. |
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| Give the glue some time to cure. Next up we drill through the part, trying to stick to the center. Starting with smaller drill first will make it a bit easier.
You won’t always be able to drill clear through – for example if peg you want to fix is a part of armor panel. It’s fine, just go as far as you can. |
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| Now it’s time to add the brass rod, preferably same size as the drill we used. Before inserting it, we can apply 1-2 drops of CA glue to help it stay in place.
All that’s left to do is to cut off the excess rod and file down the leftovers until it’s level with the part. |
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| As an extra step, we can add a bit of CA glue on both ends and around the bit we glued back on. Apply activator / filler if you have any. If not, just leave it until it’s dry. 2-part epoxy glue is a good alternative.
All done. |
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This method should work for most pegs, including ball joints. If you’re having trouble, feel free to ask a question in the comments or on my Facebook page.
Fixed hips are holding strong.
What if:
1. The peg of the arm broke
2. Most of the peg is stuck in the peg hole due to over application of superglue fix (ie: loose connection)
This happened to me just now and I am panicking.
That kinda depends on the socket, but in most cases you should be able to push the peg out using a toothpick. If needed, drill a hole through the opposite side of a socket using 1mm drill bit.
Check out disassembly tutorial, it might help.
What if the peg joint isn’t broken, but merely stressed? Will the pinning with a metal rod confer any benefit?
Yeah, it should prevent it from breaking. That’s something I’d do while scratchbuilidng, make load-bearing pegs out of plastic pipe, with a metal rod inside for extra durability.
If the peg and the loop it goes through can’t be accessed in the usual way (e.g. the joint is glued together so the only way to approach the peg is from the outside, e.g. glued shoulder joints in the armor), can we approach from the outside in a woodworker’s manner (carefully measure and drill from outside)?
If I’m understanding it right – yeah, don’t see why not. Just a matter of patching up outside hole later.
All the while most tutorials discuss broken pegs. But what remedy is there if it is the loop, not the peg, that breaks, and the loop is part of a weight-bearing part?
Well, pegs breaking is a more common issue – like here with Barbatos MG Freedom etc, plus the solution is always more or less the same, so yeah. there’ll be more tutorials for fixing it.
If the outer ring is broken, it kinda depends on specifics. Some parts will work just fine with a bit of it missing. Sometimes you can just glue the ring itself back together and it’ll hold just fine, so long as you don’t repose the kit often. And sometimes all you can do is either rebuild the whole joint from scratch or glue it all shut so it doesn’t move. Depends on the part and how damaged it is, really.
Don’t bother with brass rods, visit your local general store, they should have metal coat hangers that use 3mm steel rods (and I do mean steel, not bendable garbage soft cheap metal)…that’ll do the trick and you wont have to ruin yourself on shipment costs on an online order
Hmmm and just read you can’t use dremels on this…shit, I don’t own pin vices, knew they would come in handy one day…why isn’t a dremel up to the job? Too powerful and it will wreck the part I’m guessing? looks like I won’t be able to pypass an online order Im afraid…
Sweet tutorial thx mate. I was planning on doing the exact same thing to fix broken pegs on a Frame Arms…I was just wondering if it was doable and you article confirms it is. Can’t think of a better way to fix a part thats gonna have to move quite a bit…however I’d use something a little thicker, like 2mm diametre steel rods. The only issue now is where to find them…I can’t think of household appliances that use these kind of parts, that would save me from having to order them online (wire coat hangers maybe?? Naaaah too thin and fragile). Don’t mind spending money, but can’t be asked to have to wait for the order to be delivered.
May I ask what are the sizes for the brass rods and drill head? (in a unit of millimeters)
We already talked on FB, but for anyone else interested – it was 1.6mm, though depending on the size of the peg, you might need to go smaller.