I have been reading this thread with interest and I'll now weigh in on the Flip 3D with the supplied metal hinges: They are CRAP!

I epoxied them in when I orginally assembled the model. After flying one day, I storing the model and noticed that there was some abnormal play in the rudder and elevator. I pulled a little and they came right off! I reglued them in, and then drilled and pinned them in place with metal pins.

Another day, I was flying and the right aileron literally came off and was held on by the control linkage! Believe it or not, I was able to get the model down thanks to its slow flying characteristics and the large throws of the elevator/rudder/left aileron. I pulled off the left aileron when I got home, removed the metal hinges on the ailerons and put in CA hinges.

Lastly, I was flying and noticed play *again* in my tail, and the metal hinges were actually breaking along the hinge line!. I pulled the rudder/elevator off, cut the wood off the trailing edge of the horizontal stab, and the end of the fuselage, replaced the wood, then put in CA hinges.

Since I have had CA hinges in this plane, I haven't had any more trouble. The epoxy I used to glue the metal hinges in was good, since I have used it for other stuff since then that held, and I literally drown stuff in epoxy when I glue it. I can't explain why I had so many problems with the metal hinges, but the CA hinges worked best for me.

My 2 cents...