Darth Vader Tie Fighter broken Latch hook

[vivas00]

Hi, can anyone help. I bought a vintage Darth Vader Tie Fighter, but the wings don't stick and fall off.
I've opened it up and the buttons to press for the wings to come off show that the hook part have long since come off. Is there any way I can rectify this, or is the only way replacement parts, and if so where from?
Thank you for looking.

[LusiferSam]

Have the hooks worn off or broke off? I might have an idea or two on how to fix it. Also could you post a photo of the part (and area of the part) you're talking about. I'm 90% sure I know what you're talking about, I want to be on the same page.

If they can't be fix, I highly doubt you can buy replaces other buying another TIE and scavenging.

[vivas00]

Cheers for the reply. Unfortunately they're both broken. If they can't be fixed, should I glue on the wings, or wait to find replacements?
Also, do you think we should have a section for restoring vintage SW toys?
Thank you.

[LusiferSam]

Cheers for the reply. Unfortunately they're both broken. If they can't be fixed, should I glue on the wings, or wait to find replacements?

Darn. That is a clear brake. What I was first thinking of really isn't going to work. Plus I was thinking the hooks were a different shape. I wouldn't glue wings. That really kind of permanent and will devalue it if you (or someone else) tries to sell it. And you might farther damage the ship with the glue. So my next question, is this piece just for display or do you want to play with it? If it's just for display, put the cockpit back together but leave the springs out. The wings will stay on just fine. If you want the thing to work right, you're going to have to looks for parts or a new cockpit.

A few quick tip on the photos (thank you for posting those by the way). For close ups like that you need to switch you're camera to macro focus. That way the camera on focus on the close up details and doesn't look unfocused. It's normally a button with a flower icon.

Also, do you think we should have a section for restoring vintage SW toys?

A whole section? No. A sticky with links to the threads where we have talked about different restorations would work fine.

I've been writing guide to electronic restorations on and off for a while now. Steve and some of the other regular vintage folks liked the idea. The problem is I rarely have time to work on it. Lucky most people have the same questions: How to fix the Falcon and how to fix the ITT.