Small Dents

For small dents in the surface, sometimes it may be easier just to fill them in, depending on their location. But in most cases, you will want to replace that dent with some new foam, as we are going to do on this leading edge.

Step 1. Cut away a section of the damaged material using a fine-tooth razor saw, and glue in some new foam. We like to use a small amount of epoxy glue for this fix, but you can use foam-safe CA. Make sure the replacement piece is a bit oversize, and spray it with some foam-safe accelerator. Apply the CA to the cutout area and insert the replacement piece, then hold in place until the glue sets.

Step 2. Use a razor saw or sharp hobby knife to remove most of the unwanted material, then use your sanding block to smooth the replacement piece.

Step 3. Use a little hobby filler around the edges to fill in any gaps; Hobbico HobbyLite Filler is great for this.

Step 4. When the filler is dry, use the fine sandpaper to smooth out the repair area. If you need to apply more filler around the repair area, this is the time to do it. Your final pass will ensure that the repaired area is smooth and feathered out.

Step 5. This is actually the hardest part of the entire repair: finding some matching foam-safe paint to use. Usually, the manual provides some indication of the color used, but if not, go to your local hobby store and check out the Master Modeler and Tamiya brands of acrylic foam-safe paint. If you find something close, you will be able to match it up by slightly lightening or darkening the color. In real life, warbird repairs seldom matched the rest of the airframe, so don’t dwell on it too much. Apply the paint by using a couple of light coats rather than one thick coat of paint. This will help blend the colors and make for a seamless repair.