how would you fix this?

[gijoe]

I've picked up an old project that I abandoned for a while, Tamiya's Aston Martin DBS.  I set it aside because of some paint issues, and some damage to the hood.

The corner of the hood broke off, with the hinge, and must have been eaten by the carpet goblins. I posted a "wanted" ad on this site knowing that it was a long shot and nothing has turned up, so I'm going to attempt to repair it, but how?  I don't think I can use putty, it won't stay stuck, and would snap right off.  I may or may not rebuild the hinge, I think I'll have better luck just trying to rebuild the corner without the hinge.

If I cut the damage cleanly off, and add a bevel to add more surface area, do you think I can cement some sheet styrene?  Will it hold strongly enough to withstand the sanding and shaping that will be needed to smooth it out afterwards?

This is an expensive model, and I'm super happy with the interior that I built, and the chassis is coming along nicely.  I don't want to scrap it over something silly, but for the cost of the model, and hours invested so far, I really want the body to be as perfect as possible.  

If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!

Thanks. 

 

[tom q vaxy]

make a half lap joint with styrene and shape it to match the cowl cut out. use brass rod to reinforce the hinge flap thingie.

 

Edited January 15, 2019 by tom q vaxy

[935k3]

Contact Tamiya America for a new hood. Give them the sprue number and kit.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I fix stuff like this routinely. No speculation, no "maybe", no opinions on untried methods. I build a lot of stuff from hacked, bodged, given-up-on, and thrown out models.

It takes some thought. It takes some applied skill. It takes care. And it's entirely doable. 100%.

1) Regularize the damage to the hood skin.That just means file the raggedy broken edge to a straight line.

2) Cut a small piece of styrene sheet stock a little larger than you need to replace the damaged area, a little thicker too.

3) Using plenty of MEK solvent, glue the patch in place. Allow at least overnight drying.

4) FILE to shape CAREFULLY, then finish shape with sandpaper. Shape the repair side the mirror image of the good side, and fit to the body as you go to make certain you get it exactly right.

5) IF you want to replace the "hinge", just LOOK carefully at the shapes it consists of. MAKE those shapes from styrene, and glue in place and shape as above.

IF YOU DO IT CORRECTLY, IT WILL WORK, AND BE ALMOST AS STRONG AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY.

Edited January 15, 2019 by Ace-Garageguy

[gijoe]

Thanks, for the input everyone.  It sounds like you are confident that a properly done repair should hold up against the shaping and sanding.  I'm not sure I'll be able to pull off a half lap joint, like Tom posted, since the hood is fairly thin at the corner, but at a minimum I will be able to regularize the break (as Ace mentioned) and add a bevel.  

If anyone else has any suggestions, I'd appreciate all of the input that I can get.  It's possible that I can get a replacement from Tamiya, but I might as well try to fix it before resorting to that.  

[Snake45]

If you're worry about strength, you can fix it as Bill says and then back it up on the underside with "fauxberglass:"

 

[gijoe]

Thanks, Snake, that's certainly an option, I could replicate hood insulation with that.  The only concern is that the hood won't lay flush with the extra material underneath.  It's something to consider though.  

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, gijoe said:

  It sounds like you are confident that a properly done repair should hold up against the shaping and sanding.... 

Absolutely, positively, 100%. The key is careful fitting, and allowing sufficient time for the joint to dry hard.

I didn't go into a great deal of detail on the build thread represented below, but if you look at the lower edge of the driver's side of this body shell (just ahead of the indentation for the fender), you'll see a repair progress exactly as I described above.

 

[Zoom Zoom]

I looked at my built DBS earlier, there's enough space under the hood corners that you can do a reinforced repair w/a bit more thickness underneath than the hood itself which is very thin. 

[Snake45]

My "fauxberglass" is VERY thin. That's kind of its point. 

[89AKurt]

If it was me....  I would consider the purpose of the original hinge design.  From what I can tell, it's not really a proper hinge, that requires a pivot point, but it's more of a locator pin, so the hood comes off completely?  If it's not operable, above advice will work.  But..... but if you want the hood to to stay on the car, make a metal part with a real pin.  Thin down the underside of the part, superglue sheet metal on, hide with 'insulation'.

I see that I never did a proper WIP for my Monster Miata, so here is a picture of my hood hinge.  If you care to go this route, let me know.

[gijoe]

The good thing is that the kit includes 2 struts to prop the hood open, so the "hinge" isn't super important, but it may help keep the hood straight when propped open.  I'm far more concerned with being able to fabricate the corner piece of the hood than the hinge/support. I plan to use some of the advice given here to reshape the hood, after the body work I'll know how delicate it is and whether or not scratch building a new hinge makes any sense.  

 

Thanks again for everyone's input!

[gijoe]

Alright, so with the boosted confidence I got, I went ahead and started the repair.  I was surprised at how strong the repair was, once the cement dried, I ended up sandwiching 3 layers of scrap styrene together in order to get the thickness I needed to shape it properly, it's not perfect, I over-worked the outside edge a bit, but I think it will do.  I may fine tune the edge a bit more, and maybe add the hinge, but I'll probably skip the hinge build up, it won't be noticeable when the hood is closed, and when it's open there are struts to hold the hood open, I'm just not sure it's worth the trouble.  Anyway, here are some progress pictures.    

[cowboy rich]

Being your first try at such a job it looks good to me, I'd probably still be inventing new cuss words!

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, cowboy rich said:

Being your first try at such a job it looks good to me...

Agreed. 

[gijoe]

Thanks, guys.  I've been in the hobby for a long time, but I don't really do much scratchbuilding, so I wasn't confident, but the results are pretty decent.  I may work it a bit more to get a smoother edge, but it's not too bad in person, that last photo really highlights the flaws.  I might start a thread in On The Workbench to follow the rest of the build. The interior is done, and the chassis is mostly done as well.  I'm working through some paint troubles, but those should be resolved soon. 

 

Thanks again for the encouragement, I didn't have nearly enough confidence in the cement holding, but it did the trick!