Resin kits and conversion sets.

[Ian M]

I've been looking at some conversion sets in resin. I have never made any thing in resin so I would like to ask what I would need in the way of special things for resin.

I am aware that the dust is not the most healthy stuff to fill lungs with but got that covered. Any tips and advice well received.

Thanks

Ian M

[Gern]

From what I've seen Ian, even before worrying about the dust (quite right though 'cos it's nasty stuff apparently), the most obvious special thing you will need for resin is lots and lots of money! lol

Gern

[Guest]

I'm probably one of the few who really can't get to grips with resin. I find it fiddly and difficult to work and not worth the effort at the end of the day. It has always struck me that resin is beneficial to the manufacturers a lot more than it is to the modellers as it can be cast cold. I would rather scratch build some additional detail in polystyrene than mess about with resin, but I'm sure I'm on my own there. i know people say that you can get better detail in it than you can in plastic but I've never actually seen any evidence of that so I remain convinced that it's easier to produce after market bits by smaller companies who cannot afford the investment required for injection moulding equipment.

One thing you will need is a very good razor saw to remove the parts from thier very large blobs of resin they seem to come attached to. Any form of cutting or snipping tool seems to end up shattering the stuff as it's so brittle.

[Guest]

If I have to cut resin I cut it wet, keeps dust to a minimum and the same principle for sanding, and get the best superglue you can for fixing it.

[Ian M]

To right Dave! The price of a resin kit is silly money, I am more interested in conversion sets.

Yer ok, many of the conversions could be scratch built out of rod and sheet. The problems arrise when trying to fine all the drawings needed to get some thing that resembles what you are after. So in a nut shell Im a lazy git, who would rather buy the parts and get on with it.

As for the 'more detail' part of your comment Richard, I agree that some of the resin parts I have seen on the WWW I would not even pay half price. Bubbles, masive mold lines etc., and very poor detail. I think the real point is that some of the resin kits are made with more detail as the person doing the castings has more time, goes after the best result and is often also a specialist on the subject, where as a large firm making tools for injection molding has a some what larger out lay, and the complexity of the part is limited by what a machine can handle. A guy in a shed with nothing but passion and time can give it as much detail as he can without the worry of wasting his investment.

Ray, thanks for the tip about keeping it wet to hold the dust down. I hate super glue! Wonder if Gator glue can handle it?

Ian M

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Ian

Quality and detail varies with each resin manufacturer. I've bought kits that are absolutely fantastic (like resicast) and then some not so great, like the S-Models Sexton I purchased from Euromilitaire some years back. This model had so many air bubbles in it as to be useless - it would have been quicker to scratch build another Sexton than fix the kit's problems and this isn't funny when the kit cost £40 plus. That aside I'd recommend getting a good razor saw to cut resin parts away from their carrier blocks, never used gator glue so I've no idea whether it will work with resin. Why do you hate superglue?

Hope this helps

Paul

[Ian M]

Hi Paul, I have a razorsaw so no worries there. Superglue? Why do I hate it? Well I just cant get on with it I guess. I can stick anything to everything. Except the to things I actually want to stick together. I also gid it way to brittle and have an uncanny ability to snap bits of that stick out. I must confess larger parts get a ride on the soldering block. having found Gator glue things are looking up. The only down side is that the setting time is some times to long but thats probably me useing to much. (ditto superglue).

My last pot of supergoo had gone over and even though kept in the fridge on opening the new bottle it couldnt even stick a stamp on an envolope!!!

Prhaps I will try one more time and use a kicker.

If I brought a resin kit for £40 and it was full of bubbles, they would of got it back by return post, Not fit for purpose! If they argued that I would just write a really bad reveiw on the net for all to see so they would have problems selling them. Nasty I know, but admit it, how many time have you looked up a prospective purchase on the net and read all the reviews before buying it?

Ian M

[stona]

One thing you will need is a very good razor saw to remove the parts from thier very large blobs of resin they seem to come attached to. Any form of cutting or snipping tool seems to end up shattering the stuff as it's so brittle.

Never a truer word!!!! Ray's bang on about good superglue and keeping it wet to minimise the dust.I've used epoxy to secure big "lumps" as well.

As a man who's living his modelling life backwards,i.e.used to chuck everything at a kit but now goes for a straight forward approach I can also say you'll need a Dremel or similar. Details that can be nicely enhanced with resin include cockpits and wheel wells but I have had to thin wings and fuselages to a paper thin, literally translucent,thinness to get the resin sets to fit and then by no means perfectly,entailing quite a lot of work.

Ian,you may be standing at the top of a slippery and very expensive slope lol.

Cheers

Steve

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Ian

As the S-Models Sexton was bought at a show I couldn't remember which stall I'd bought it from when I did get round to opening the box, and as S-Models are Czech (I think) I just decided to call my losses rather than try and send it back. I've just chalked that up to a bad experience and left it there. On the up side there's a hell of a lot of good resin kits out there - I've got the resicast Bedford QLT Troop carrier to look forward to in the stash!

Sorry Richard for repeating the Razor Saw advice.

Best of luck with the resin Ian, I agree with Steve tho - this could turn into an altogether more expensive hobby!

Paul

[Guest]

Hi Ian, my only experience so far with resin has been with the cockpit of my Royal Navy Phantom, have a look at the beginning of the under construction forum. It was a swine to fit into the kit. Cheers Derek

[Ian M]

Well I will dip my toe into the world of resin with great caution. My main interest are some conversion sets, so I will start with those. As far as full blown kits go there are very few that could tempt me. Accurat armour do a rather nice Scammel tank transporter and a Matador truck both in 1/35 that hit me right in the eye every time I open the webshop. However things like that are way, way, way into the future. I have another big un I want to get first!

Ian M

[Guest]

There are some damn fine resin conversions and kits out there, and when you get into resin you will be hooked......and broke.

[stona]

As far as full blown kits go there are very few that could tempt me. Ian M

The 1/32 Fisher Sea Fury has always tempted me,trouble is I'd probably have to sell one of my daughters to afford it! Also I've never attempted an entirely resin kit so my chances of making a right dog's dinner of it must be proportionately higher.

Cheers

Steve

[Ian M]

There are some damn fine resin conversions and kits out there, and when you get into resin you will be hooked......and broke.

Managing that quite well on injection molded kits! :laughing:

Ian M

[AlanG]

Managing that quite well on injection molded kits! :laughing:Ian M

I'll second that.