how to fix broken front pillar...

[shineofleo]

Finally it happened.

I put too many other car model boxes and weights on Tamiya Lexus LFA box, and yesterday, when I opened the box, found the body of LFA is... broken! Front pillars were cracked obviously due to heavy stuff on this box.

I checked other cars, luckily no more casualties. Some cars like Tamiya Enzo, FXX, Porshe Carrera don't use on piece of body, and other cars like WRC have very strong front pillars.

I think this should be easy to fix, any good idea or information? Thanks!

[crisjr]

Try to use super glue and sand it.. just check if it's not bent

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

The A pillars in the LFA are a bit weak at the top. The material is very thin, repair might not be feasible. Do you want to risk breaking it again when you are polishing the paint?

Order a new body from Tamiya, if possible. They do offer that service.

[lotus123]

There are two ways you can tackle this, it depends on the size/thickness of the pillar area that broke.

Method 1: Use a piece of photo-etch sprue that's just wide enough, and extend across both sides of the break (behind the pillar, i.e. inside the passenger compartment). Glue with superglue, and let the glue build up a bit around the edges. When the glue has hardended you can sand back to hide the edges of the sprue.

Photo-etch sprue is much thinner/flatter that wire, and more likely to "disappear" when painted. I've used this method to repair lots of breaks, and it stays put, even under sanding and polishing.

Method 2: Drill a hole in both ends of the break, and use a thin piece of wire to "pin" the joint. Glue it in with superglue, then finish the remaining crack with filler (with luck you might be able to avoid this step, if the glue fills the gap). This is probably the quickest and easiest fix, and it will be strong.

Good luck! Personally I can't stand the thought of losing a body, even if Tamiya will replace it.

[shineofleo]

Thank you guys! Very professional advice! I will try to fix it and if not I have to look into get a new body.

By the way I am just wondering if the actual LFA is weak at the A pillars as well so the driver should be nervous about anything landing from above! LOL

[hirofkd]

Once you fix the broken pillar with a strong styrene welder, you just need to switch the assembly order around a bit. Paint the trim at the bottom of the windshield (D17) and the black area on the inside of the window part (H6), and "gently" glue them on the body so they'll act as a reinforcement. Then mask those areas and start working on the body as you'd normally do.
You can even glue the window part before you fix the a pillar (but D17 still has to be glued first). You'll probably need a tiny spot brush when applying glue in order to reduce the risk of ruining the clear part.