21st Century TBF Avenger--sagging wings?

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 3:51 pm

I have a question about 21st Century's TBF Avenger's sagging wing problem---is it possible to glue the wings in the flying position with the PROPER DIHEDRAL?

Thanks for any info.

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:35 pm

So no one tried to glue the Avenger wings in the flying position with the proper diehedral?

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:32 am

Dragon, I think everyone's too caught up in the Monkey Depot orgy to answer your question. I'd try, but I don't have an Avenger yet (on the way!).

Grilledcheese · Post by **Grilledcheese** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:09 am

I used a small piece of clear packing tape. Push the top edges of the two wing parts together snugly and put a piece of tape across the joint, above where the folding mechanism is located.

A long time ago I post pics in another Avenger wing sag thread but I can't find it right now.

It worked out great and the tape isn't noticeable, and it can always be removed.

Jeffrey

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:42 am

GRILLEDCHEESE:

If I glued the Avenger wings in the flying position, can it be done with the correct diehdral slightly upwards---or would the wings be flat?

mikeg · Post by **mikeg** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:04 am

I'm not into this "glueing wings together thing," down the road, you may want to display it differently or rebox it to sell- why not just find something to insert into the mechanism to hold the wings up? I would think that in any room in the house, you could find something to bend, manipulate, massage or otherwise fit between something and something else to make it work.

Grilledcheese · Post by **Grilledcheese** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:24 am

Hey dragon, I guess you could glue them, but just make sure the top joint is tight. That will keep the wings flexed slightly upward.
Man, I still can't find that old thread...

Jeffrey

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:38 am

GRILLEDCHEESE:

Thanks for the info. I had a lot of trouble with my BBI F6F Hellcat's folding wings--I had to use Krazy Glue for one of its wings.
I'm not sure about buying the Avenger because the sagging wings may be more trouble than its worth.

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:40 am

MIKEG:

I don't own an Avenger, so I'm not familiar with the wings's folding mechanism--and how to fix the sagging. Glue seems like the best choice.

mikeg · Post by **mikeg** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 1:20 pm

DRAGON53:

I'm from the South, why approach certain issues with tact and kids gloves, when one can just jump to conclusions and put it out there? Sorry for being mean, I have a atlantic as well as blue 28, the grey ones' wings are fine extended and the blue 28 has negligable sag..but naturally the one you would order and get would be the one that should have got the chinese plant inspector shot.

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 5:23 pm

MIKEG:

I'm from the South, too--North Carolina. You're right about me getting a lemon model---I see many post on SSHQ about receiving their BBI and 21st models without flaws. Then I got mine---full of flaws and always on the left side of the model which is the side I look at.
Example---the BBI Dauntless which drew rave reviews about the lack of flaws. Mine came with little white "footprints" on the left wing, the canopy wasn't glued entirely into the fuselage and the pitots were bent.

Back to the Avenger, I'm still thinking about it. It's a great-looking model, but after buying FIVE 21st Century P-51 Big Beautiful Dolls---all with numerous flaws---I don't trust 21st Century's quality control. After dealing with my BBI F6F Hellcat's sagging wings, I'm very cautious about the Avenger---but the $35 price and its Bermuda Triangle history make it appealing.

Grilledcheese · Post by **Grilledcheese** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:20 pm

Well I never did find the thread, but I still have the pics:

Here's the tape placement:

And the result:

That was a year and a half ago or so, and the wings haven't budged.
But then again, I haven't tried removing the tape either.

Jeffrey

iflabs · Post by **iflabs** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 3:43 am

What is this madness? Mine has been hanging from the ceiling for a year without any issues.

On the same topic, the BBI Hellcat wing sagging was bad enough that I kept the wings folded.

Grilledcheese · Post by **Grilledcheese** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:26 am

I guess the little chinese kids have bad weeks and good weeks. My Hellcat's wings are tight and straight while my Avenger's were anything but.

Go figure.

Jeffrey

dragon53 · Post by **dragon53** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:32 am

GRILLEDCHEESE:

Thanks for the photos.
If tape holds your Avenger's wings up, maybe Elmer's Glue might work, too.

I tried Elmer's on my BBI Hellcat and it worked---except if you picked the Hellcat up (which I do), the Elmer's bond would break---so I used Krazy Glue for one wing.