Attaching a wing to a drag car?

[crowe-t]

I made a wing to go on a 1/4 mile drag car body.  I don't want to just glue it on the trunk lid.  I think it would be better to install it with some pins into the trunk lid and then some straight pins as the supports to the rear bumper like in the picture of the red car.

Has anyone done it like this?

[afx]

How I do it:

• layout where you want the pins to attach to the body - I use a mechanical pencil to trace the wing attachments or simply measure out the locations
• drill the holes in the body
• hold or tape the wing in place
• using a pencil or a drill bit from inside the body mark the pin locations on the wing 
• remove the wing, drill the holes and install the pins
• mount the wing to the body after paint

The rear wing on this Barracuda is pin mounted using this technique. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by afx

[crowe-t]

11 hours ago, afx said:

How I do it:

• layout where you want the pins to attach to the body - I use a mechanical pencil to trace the wing attachments or simply measure out the locations
• drill the holes in the body
• hold or tape the wing in place
• using a pencil or a drill bit from inside the body mark the pin locations on the wing 
• remove the wing, drill the holes and install the pins
• mount the wing to the body after paint

The rear wing on this Barracuda is pin mounted using this technique. 

What type of pins did you use?  Straight pins, brass rod...?

[afx]

12 hours ago, crowe-t said:

What type of pins did you use?  Straight pins, brass rod...?

Depends on the diameter I need.  I have used straight pins and brass rod as well as pieces of wire.  The wire allows for more adjustment after install (if needed) as it bends more easily than the other materials.

[crowe-t]

19 hours ago, afx said:

Depends on the diameter I need.  I have used straight pins and brass rod as well as pieces of wire.  The wire allows for more adjustment after install (if needed) as it bends more easily than the other materials.

I installed three 1 mm brass rods into the wing to attach it to the rear deck and used straight pins for the four supports that go into the bumper.

[afx]

4 hours ago, crowe-t said:

I installed three 1 mm brass rods into the wing to attach it to the rear deck and used straight pins for the four supports that go into the bumper.

Looks great.

[Casey]

I would suggest using brass tube or rod in the appropriate diameter, then flattening the ends at the angle needed for use as attaching flanges. Not great pics, but something like this:

Edited February 3, 2022 by Casey

[Ace-Garageguy]

If you want to represent the bumper-attachment brackets / flanges with a scale-correct appearance, I suggest considering something like 3M's heavy aluminum tape, used for temporary aircraft and race-car skin repairs, among other things.

Easily cut with scissors or sharp hobby knife, self-adhesive.

It's 2 mils thick, .002", which is roughly .05" in 1/25 scale, between 16 and 18 gauge in 1/25 scale, and about what you'd expect to find in a real bracket that is primarily in compression, and also locates the struts laterally and longitudinally with small through-bolts or rivets into the bumper.

NOTE: Your photo appears to show the bumper brackets as having ears and a cross-bolt that attaches the struts to them. Not very easy to do in 1/25 scale, but small squares of the above mentioned foil will at least give the initial impression of something more elaborate than pins stuck in holes.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

[crowe-t]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I just put this together the other night and do plan on refining it and adding details where the pins go into the bumper.  I also have to remove the pin heads so they don't show on top of the wing.