Replacing nose gear after a hard landing...

cruiserandmax

cruiserandmax

Pre-Flight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
61
Location
San Francisco
Display Name
Display name:
cruiserandmax
We had a replica desktop model of our 1973 Cessna 182 made in the early 80's. In a recent move it was packed poorly and sustained a crushing blow to the nose gear. Even worse- the loose nose gear was nowhere to be found after unpacking. This model is essentially a family heirloom at this point (yeah- I should have packed it better before the move). It is a 1/32 scale model. I searched ebay for 1/32 scale plastic model kits and all I could find were 1/32 Skymaster (RG) kits. Maybe I could use on of the nose gears from those kits to replace my missing nose gear- but they are from a different airplane, are generally $60+, and ship from Ukraine- so I am not sure if I should try that...

Anyone have any better ideas on how to replace a 1/32 scale C182 model nose gear?
 

Attachments

  • IMG-1559.jpg
    IMG-1559.jpg
    83.8 KB · Views: 52
cruiserandmax said:
Anyone have any better ideas on how to replace a 1/32 scale C182 model nose gear?
Click to expand...
I dont know if any are still around but look to see if you have a local modelers club. Knew of one person who had an entire display case of helicopter models damage during a hurricane where the local club were able to fix most of them.
 
cruiserandmax said:
Maybe I could use on of the nose gears from those kits to replace my missing nose gear- but they are from a different airplane, are generally $60+, and ship from Ukraine- so I am not sure if I should try that...
Click to expand...

Ask them how much more it would be to ship the nose gear from a SU-25.
 
3D printer and a kid who likes to tinker. Use a real 182 and take pics and measurements, divide by 32. You don’t have to print the part in one go; do strut & fork, tire, and links, then glue and paint. Better yet, do 2 halves.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
3D printer and a kid who likes to tinker. Use a real 182 and take pics and measurements, divide by 32. You don’t have to print the part in one go; do strut & fork, tire, and links, then glue and paint. Better yet, do 2 halves.
Click to expand...

Wow- now you've got me thinking about getting a 3D printer and doing this with my own kid! 3D modelling happens to be solidly in my wheelhouse- I just never thought of getting into the physical/maker side..
 
If you can do 3D cad, it would be easy. I have a filament printer, but for little model stuff I'd probably suggest a resin printer. They're pretty inexpensive these days, and probably perfect for modeling. More or less, I think it's UV cured plastic, with UV leds shooting through an LCD panel from a smart phone, on a movable platform to build the parts upside down one little layer at a time.
 
cruiserandmax said:
Wow- now you've got me thinking about getting a 3D printer and doing this with my own kid! 3D modelling happens to be solidly in my wheelhouse- I just never thought of getting into the physical/maker side..
Click to expand...
You've got the hard part down. Getting access to a 3D printer is easy. You can check around your neighborhood for a maker space, check around your friends for their 3D printers or even check your local libraries as those sometimes have one too.
 
asicer said:
You've got the hard part down. Getting access to a 3D printer is easy. You can check around your neighborhood for a maker space, check around your friends for their 3D printers or even check your local libraries as those sometimes have one too.
Click to expand...

Aren’t there online services that will print for you and send you the part too?
 
RudyP said:
Aren’t there online services that will print for you and send you the part too?
Click to expand...
That too, but given the other options I'd save that for last resort.
 
cruiserandmax said:
all I could find were 1/32 Skymaster (RG) kits. Maybe I could use on of the nose gears from those kits to replace my missing nose gear- but they are from a different airplane, are generally $60+, and ship from Ukraine- so I am not sure if I should try that...
Click to expand...

I *would* try that.

In fact, I’d ask them if they can make exactly what I wanted.

PoA member Meglin is an example of an aviation enthusiast in Ukraine who makes quality custom products for export. He posted a month ago in Classifieds that he’s still in business and still able to ship his custom propellers.

Try contacting the model-part seller and let us know what happens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top