Fixing Broken X-Wing Peg Mounts

What should you do if you need to repair broken peg mounts on X-Wing Miniatures ships?

Relax, it's not actually that horrible and the process isn't too hard. The plan is basically this:

1. Cut off the broken peg.
2. Drill a hole in the body of the ship.
3. Cut the female end from another peg.
4. Glue that end into the hole you drilled.

Easy, right? OK, the drill step could be a little tricky. If you want to avoid that, here are some other tips:

• Use the above method, but simply glue the female end to the bottom of your ship without worrying about drilling a hole for added stability.
• Roll a small cylinder of green stuff, push the male end of a peg in and let it dry. Once dry, clean up the green stuff and super glue to the bottom of your craft.
• Buy one of the kits out there that will allow you to magnetize your ships and convert.

If you're ready to learn how I fixed my ship, click on through.

Did you just find my ships and would like to see more photos of the completed fleet? I've got those too.

Clean up the Broken Pieces

This is fairly straight forward. Get yourself some side cutters and cut off the broken mount. You don't have to do this all in one go. Be careful and cut a little at a time.

Thin wire cutters or sprue cutters will allow you to get real flush with the body of the ship.

Drilling the Hole Out

This is the part that gets a little intimidating. As I mentioned previously, you're fine gluing the female peg to the bottom of the ship at this point. If you scroll down, you'll see how I've prepared the mount. However, drilling a hole will add a little extra stability to your new mount.

First, I use a hobby knife to create an indent for the tip of my drill bit to sit in to. This will prevent the bit from sliding around as I start drilling.

Choosing a Drill Bit

What's the size of an X-Wing peg? According to many sources online, it's 3mm in diameter. I couldn't find my calipers to get an exact check, but in this drill set of mine, it fit through a 3.57mm (9/64") hole with room to spare, but didn't fit through a 3.18mm (1/8") hole. When I drilled out the hole with a 1/8" bit, it didn't quite fit. Sooooo, I guess that's what happens when you trust Internet.

A nice drill set is quite handy. If they've got these speed load ends, you could turn the bits with your hand without using a power drill if you want to be more careful. I typically drill miniatures using a power drill, though I'm extra cautious, with only a few revolutions at a time and use 3-in-1 oil on metal miniatures.

Drilling the Hole

I've started off with a small 1/16" drill bit to create a pilot hole. Careful while drilling - you don't want to puncture your ship's hull on the other side, especially if you're holding the ship in your hand with a finger ready to be injured.

Moving up, here's the 1/8" drill bit next to the 1/16". You'll notice here too, the bit looks juuuust a little smaller than the peg.

So, using the 1/8" drill bit, I expand the pilot hole that I started with.
Still, you can see the peg doesn't quite fit.

Finally, I move to the 9/64" bit. I've got to be a little more careful and just make a few quick revolutions to scrape the sides. You might be safer to do this one by hand.

The peg fits with a little room to spare. This ends up working out well once I add some paint and glue. Not much wiggle at all.

If you err on the side of drilling a little smaller, you can always use a hobby knife to cut the edges and expand the size of the hole a little.

Paint the Hole

Since you're about to glue a clear piece of plastic into this hole, you don't want the miniature's plastic showing through. I painted the edge and inside with some Liquitex Black Gesso.

Fit the New Peg

I'm sure you have plenty of spare pegs floating around. I run all my ships with just 1 level anyways, so the answer to that is a resounding "yes." I was worried the plastic would bit hard and brittle and that I'd have to cut it instead with my jewelers saw, so I did a test cut. It was quite clean.

Then, I check the sizing of how much of the peg I need to leave. Comparing to what it looks like on another ship, I also stick the end of the peg I'm about to cut into the hole and mark depth with some paint.

Once I have an idea of where I need to cut, I cut. If you're unsure, better you cut it a little long and trim what you need.

Glue the New Peg

Before gluing, it doesn't hurt to do a quick test fit.

Another quick check is to see what the orientation of the peg should be. OK, so X-Wing pegs have the flat end facing the front of the ship.

Add a little glue to the hole with either a nozzle or using a tool to gather a drop of glue and apply it inside the hole. Don't use too much, otherwise it'll spew out when you push the peg in because there's not that much spare room.

Finally, with the peg roughly in the position you want, place it in the hole.

Cleaning up the Peg

Super glue sometimes causes frosting but you can scrape this off the plastic peg. I've also painted over the glue with some more Gesso.

I was left with some different shades of black and glossiness underneath the ship and felt it looked a little ugly. A quick layer of Liquitex Varnish took care of that and evened everything out.

Completed Photos

This all looks pretty good to me. Almost good as new, I'd say.

It's Not Perfect, but That's OK

I don't think it ended up being perfect, but that's fine. The glue dried really quick and I didn't have the opportunity to adjust it at all. But it's close. Real close.

Do you have some fixes you're proud of from repairs you've made to your miniatures?