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[olyeller01]

Hey guys,

As most of you know I recently retrieved my Joes from a 15 year storage.  One of the things I was very happy to find was my Hurricane VTOL.  Unfortunately the long storage time took its toll on the vehicle...the front left side wing is now bent downwards at a 20-30 degree angle when the rest of the wings sit level. 

Any advice for fixing this?  I tried gently bending it back but it just went right back to its bent position as soon as I let go.  I don't want to be too rough with it and break it off.  I've thought about setting the tip of the wing on something elevated and putting a light weight on it to keep pressure on it, but I don't know if this'll work.

Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[akpayne]

I don't know if it will work in your case, but I find very hot water followed by cold water (repeated several times) will eventually change the shape of plastic.
I have done this with several of my bent out of shape items with good success.

[ARROW]

Yea, hot water therapy should work here. Immerse in near boiling water for about 15-seconds until the part is pliable, remove and then work the change you need. Then run the part under cold running water to "lock" the plastic. It might take several sessions over a period of time to retrain the plastic back into its original manner.

The trick to this is two-fold: finding something big enough to hold the water you need to immerse the part, and getting a pair of rubber-tipped tongs to hold the part without damage.
I would heat the water separately , and pour it into a pan or large bowl.
Don't leave the part in the water. dunk it for a count of 15 -20 seconds and then pull out. If the water is really hot, that is all the time you need.
Leaving the part in the water will cause the plastic to really deform and warp, making straightening it out a royal pain.