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As I'm a soft-hearted cretin, I've bitten off more than I can chew with this. I bagged this old Forgeworld Aquila Lander a few days ago, fully aware it was in this condition. So please, if you have any ideas, or doubts about what I'm considering, before I start, shout!

Whilst it's not quite as fethed up as I thought it would be...
As far as I can tell, the first maker gave up on the hinged pod after partly managing to hinge it, and glued the entire thing together. Then someone dropped it. A lot.
Now it swings, but only one hinge moves.

At some point someone clearly loved this kit, enough to personalise it. And through the nature of the hobby, it is perhaps going to be recognisable to the right people. I trust you guys; be kind, I'd hate for anyone to end up feeling bad from this topic.

That said, whoever "glued" this together: You did a bad job.

Basics:
Forgeworld resin.
(As far as I know) copious Araldyte glue.
Acrylic paints, no primer as far as I can tell.
Drilled and pinned in some places.

Damage:
Smashed canopy
Tail fin and wing detached
Missing engine. Missing guns. Missing legs. Missing canopy
The drop pod had come loose from it's glued position, and snapped the parts of the fuselage off with it
Frankly too much glue drizzled all over the place

My plan is to strip first, and get an idea of what I'm looking at.
I have two bottles of Dettol brown, and as there's no primer I'm expecting a relatively easy lift. Is there any reason I shouldn't put this near my resin? I don't want to learn from a bad experience with this particular kit.
Bear in mind I am not able to get Simple Green in the UK to the same useful formulation as the USA.

I know araldyte is notoriously hard to sort out, but is there anything I could do to soften it enough to shimmy this apart? If I can get the second wing off, I reckon I could fix the hinges to move correctly. There's also snapped pieces of the fuselage attached to things they shouldn't be. It could chisel them off, but I'd rather

I have one of the engines (see piccie) at this size, do you think it's viable to mould with instant-mould, or should I consider resin casting? As it's OOP I have a few friends I can ask to have a crack at it, but for brevity's sake I'd like to just get it done at home.

Thanks for any tips, thoughts or condolences for my poor life decisions.

Wow... this is painful to watch. Horrible.

The engine should be relatively easy to replace with instamould. The best bet is to leave it in detol for as long as you can and swish it around well every couple of days to try and loosen up glue and other kak.

You may find yourself just having to chip away glue with a knife :(

The UK formula simple green is different? I found it worked pretty well.

http://www.simplegreen.co.uk/

Oh so THATS what the vacuformed wreck was supposed to be in Battle for Macragge!

To fix the canopy:

1. Remove the canopy (gently cut/pry off)
2. Cut down a plastic sprue to replace missing piece
3. For missing canopy glass, use a hobby knife to cut out appropriate (separate) pieces of transparent report cover; then glue to canopy from inside with superglue
4. Re-attach canopy

Matthew wrote:Wow... this is painful to watch. Horrible.

I'll do her proud, even if it takes a long time. I've wanted this kit for so long but didn't have a job when FW were still producing them.
And yes, it's deeply painful.

SilverMK2 wrote:The engine should be relatively easy to replace with instamould. The best bet is to leave it in detol for as long as you can and swish it around well every couple of days to try and loosen up glue and other kak.

You may find yourself just having to chip away glue with a knife :(

Thanks! I've never insta molded anything this big before. Thinking of using a tinfoil core.
I have the detol and tub on hand, just checking here that nothing untoward has happened to other folks doing this.

I won't use a blade on this, I will slowly use very fine grit sand paper even if it takes days. I have shockingly bad luck with blades.

winterdyne wrote:The UK formula simple green is different? I found it worked pretty well.

http://www.simplegreen.co.uk/

Yeah, it is. I live with a formulation chemist in the detergent industry, and he compared the SDS. There's a small amount of solvent in the USA one that isn't in the UK. If anything is possibly affecting epoxy glue in the USA SG, it's that. I could expand on this if it's any interest.

Talys wrote:To fix the canopy:

1. Remove the canopy (gently cut/pry off)
2. Cut down a plastic sprue to replace missing piece
3. For missing canopy glass, use a hobby knife to cut out appropriate (separate) pieces of transparent report cover; then glue to canopy from inside with superglue
4. Re-attach canopy

We're on the same page. I've got one ordered and have a [W] up in the trade forum.

The only issue is the glass for the dome, it is provided as a bubble that you heat and press into the original. My pet chemist has two, but he's never built his own Aquila (boo hiss!) so I can't poach his spare until he has.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh feth.

Just found out that it's got more issues than first appraised.

The drop pod shouldn't be attached to the piece that holds the tail. It's glued to it, and they've shoved it down too far, so it covers the windows.
The bolt that stops the drop pod.. dropping.. is MIA. Now I understand why it was glued in place.

Luckily I have a mint, uncut one in the house to spy on and copy, but I'm super not allowed to cast from it for ear of breaking that too.

I'm determined to get this flying again, I shall not let this bring my week down!

It turns out it was primed. Apparently with something secreted from the armpit of an elder god.
Two full size bottles of Dettol at a 1:1 mix with water and it got to the point where much of the paint sloughed off, but the liquid was making everything dirtier when I put it back in to soak.
Going to get more Dettol this evening, to hopefully soak off the black residue and down to actual resin. It was on so thick that I didn't realise the design has rivets.

I'm getting a clearer view of the structural damage, and I believe I may be able to razor saw the epoxy out from the other wing (it's a very bad join- you can see light through it) and get my hands on the hinges to mend them.
Whether I want to do that is another matter because it turns out the rear fuselage is shattered under the paint. I'm coming to the conclusion a static build may be less heartache long term.

Haven't yet thought of a paint scheme. I'm thinking pale.

this is definatley going to take time, but in the process of stripping the paint, you should be able to loosen up a large chunk of the glue. If not chip carefully at it with a hobby knife and enjoy the hours of work

Deleted

Kaptin, I do not see how you draw that conclusion from this topic. An abused model that has survived being dropped, incorrectly assembled and stripped is a testimony to the product, not a damning of the company.

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:
Well, now we know that Forgeworld is
Should've known all along...

what?

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Kaptin, I do not see how you draw that conclusion from this topic. An abused model that has survived being dropped, incorrectly assembled and stripped is a testimony to the product, not a damning of the company.

I though you were talking about how badly it was damaged. Misunderstood. Sorry.

No harm, no foul.

I'm hoping another stripping now there's far less paint will allow for a long soak and softening of the glue. If not, a long road indeed.

Gah!
HERESY! (Of the prior owner)
BLESSINGS OF THE OMNISSIAH! (Of the great work about to be done...)

Looks like the tail fin bracket was to straddle the two engines at the back but is instead glued down on the container that drops down.
Seems all that glue does need to be removed and much paint so the various joins are not covered up.
I foresee using much pinning for strength and some gap filling for the impatient assembly of the prior owner.
I am very curious how the container is retained in the up position, it may require a magnet mod or some sliding lock pin.
Really, it is the cleaning up that will be the chore, the soft material of resin is a bit of a blessing for ease of drilling.
The only fear is parts distorted from warpage not originally dealt with or the real pain of bits missing.

From what I see there, it should all end well, just clearing the hinges and getting it all to line-up will get exciting.
Maybe look at screws with smooth shafts for the connection points? It may be more durable (washers if surface area iffy for strength).
Try many dry fits before any glue happens.

Thanks for the support. Hopefully I will have confidence to pick up metal and cut. If I damage something on a flat panel I have confidence in repairing that, but areas like the pilot and frustratingly crooked navigator are extremely daunting.

Thank you for mentioning magnets, I had not thought of that! the original bolt was smashed off, I can't yet get a clear view of whether it can be replaced.

A photograph that BullDogUK took (for my pet chemist) of the clasp on the Aquila he was commissioned to paint:



And I have attached my own.

Whilst it's daunting, I'm never happier than when restoring something to its rightful use, Often I'll take a project over a brand new item,
And this week it's giving me something to throw into. I don't mind a little obsession when it fills up the time I could be thinking of other things. I'd rather be arms deep in paint thinner and resin dust than contemplative.

A nice easy locking mechanism looking like it was wrecked for no particular reason.

Nasty looking work to clean up.

I assume the landing gear is nowhere to be found?

Plastic tube and card fabrication to commence?

I half expect to see the compartment full of glue when it is released.

There's a chair in it. An unpainted chair. Right at the back.
I just don't know what to think any more.

No legs. Gonna give that some thought as its very heavy. I think I might even pack some metal tubing with greenstuff.
The original legs are laughably flimsy, so even mechano would do.

Oh, so you're the one who ended up with that wreck. I bid on it, but I wasn't willing to pay anywhere near what it finally sold for. Good luck restoring it!

Well. Let's Uh
Let's steer away from that rail of conversation.

I basically put a bid of a few pounds over what I thought was original retail. £5 more and it would have been someone else's.
I don't regret it at all because I enjoy a good project, but I won't say it was a sensible price. My friends think I'm cracked.

Sometimes we throw caution to the wind to distract ourselves and that was one if those times.

At worst, you have the raw material for the best 'crashed Aquila Lander' terrain ever

Are you planning on playing games with it, or would you be happy with a nice display diorama? If the latter, that opens up many more possibilities to hide the model's defects, e.g. modelling it being repaired or maintained (or looted ).

Boy that looks like a "fun" project

Good luck man.

[Quiet whimpering]

So .. much .. glue..

I got as far as I could with stripping (another two bottles of Dettol used up beyond redemption), so I then decided to dry up and have a look.

I then got it apart as much as I can.

Next up is flattening those surfaces out, filling gaps, clearing flash, weeping, and repairing the fuselage.


Long term, yes I'd like to play it. I'll settle for it not being a heap of slag in the short term.

Wow I used to like sorting out battered old miniatures but there are limits.

Do other things.

Come back, chip at it and file.

Repeat until all surfaces are smooth.

Look at the most solid way you can piece that all together.

Pins, screws, rare earth magnets.

Maybe model in flying configuration with no moving parts if desperate.

It still looks salvageable, it is just hard to imagine how a sane person could apply all that glue.

It is certainly possible to get the pod back on and hinging correctly. What's not certain is if I can get the back of the fuselage back into one piece strong enough to support itself. I may have to fun an under "mesh"of some thin material and reinforce it.

I have some small RE magnets and some magnetic paneling, placement I'm thinking about right now.

I was thinking much pinning at the back for that rudder attaching to the engines which will have to be solid.

Sorry fella, I don't quite follow you?

Did half an hour of gentle scraping and can get the left wing to go on cleanly enough to hold in place without glue.
Found where the pale grey resin makes up the vents over the engines, one end cleanly joins the back piece, the other sadly has sections missing. I can rebuild, it's just reinforcing the build that troubles me.

I've been doing a little each night. Some areas will never be as clean as new, but the worst of the epoxy is off the left wing, I got the drop pod out and can hinge it again.
I need to do some more detailed stripping (crew) but this week has not yet allowed it.
The other wing is still a heavy mess, I'm taking it slow.

Any ideas what I could use to replace the gun?

Edit: iDon't iPhone very well. Now with different pictures instead of 5 of the same.

...one step forward, two steps back. The other engine casing crumbled off, today.

Cleaned for several days. Scraped, filed, drilled, pinned the fuselage back together, the broken wing is as level as I could get it after three days of sanding and swearing.
Gave it a bubble bath because it was covered in resin dust, remnants of Dettol and mucky swear words.
Next up is lots and lots of very careful, very dull levelling and smoothing and scoring with putties.

I've got the replacement canopy mostly sorted, cut from the crashed Aquila scenery. Any advice on replacing the gun or under-carriage would be greatly appreciated.