diff --git a/panda/src/egg2pg/eggLoader.cxx b/panda/src/egg2pg/eggLoader.cxx
index f6fe9841c5..648e797e09 100644
--- a/panda/src/egg2pg/eggLoader.cxx
+++ b/panda/src/egg2pg/eggLoader.cxx
@@ -1652,7 +1652,7 @@ make_node(EggBin *egg_bin, PandaNode *parent) {
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 PandaNode *EggLoader::
 make_lod(EggBin *egg_bin, PandaNode *parent) {
-  LODNode *lod_node = new LODNode(egg_bin->get_name());
+  PT(LODNode) lod_node = LODNode::make_default_lod(egg_bin->get_name());
 
   pvector<LODInstance> instances;