discussion Resin or plastic

[Guest]

Sorry, me again!

What's the diffrence between resin and plastic parts(apart from the obvious!) and which is better, and are resin kits worth the extra price?

Cheers

Wayne

 

[Guest]

I could be wrong but I think resin parts are better moulded with more detail than the plastic bits in a kit. What seems to happen is that someone might notice a kit part that's inaccurate so they sculpt a new one, then that get's made into a mould and the result is a really accurate, detailed part. It's often just modellers who make this happen, rather than any large manufacturer. I've seen gun mantlets, wheels, whole turrets all kinds of things really. But the resin stuff can be expensive!

Patrick

 

[Gern]

I've also heard that resin dust can be very dangerous to the lungs! While it may give more detail, I think I'll stick to plastic thanks!

Gern

 

[Guest]

Cheers chaps, the reason i asked is because i found some vietnam model kits (which i now can't find the site agin!) which were all resin and seemed to cost alot more than plastic WW2 kits.

Cheers Wayne

 

[stona]

Resi is more difficult to work with than plastic,just sticking it together can be tricky. You can achieve great detail with resin sets,most are produced on a small scale where injection moulding (as per plastic ) simply isn't viable. There are some superb resin models around. The stuff Paul Fisher does springs to mind but it is pricey. The dust is toxic but sensible precautions easily avoid any problems.I was given a Fisher Sea Fury as a present some time ago but haven't plucked up the courage to start it!

Steve

 

[Guest]

So it would be a good idea to stay away from resin till i'm more confident in my skills!

Cheers

 

[Guest]

From what I have seen while trawling through loads of forums (none better than this one) is that resin is regarded as advanced specialist stuff. It appears to come in two types. Full kits which, from what I can gather tend to need quite a bit of cleaning up and resin may be brittle as I have often read comments where bits have broken off. The glue needed is Epoxy Resin which can take a while to set even the quick ones. This means that it would be a slower build and require a lot more clamping up etc while the epoxy sets.

The other thing resin is used for is 'add on parts' to replace items of a specific kit. For example, you can get resin cockpits and seats which are better detailed than the original plastic parts or even to convert the model from one type to another. Again, I don't believe it is as simple as it sounds to fit these, I bet there is a fair bit of tweaking needed to get them to fit.

I am certainly a long way of resin and I doubt I would ever go for a full resin kit. They tend to be versions of whatever tank/aircraft that is not available as a plastic.

 

[Junkers12]

I have never worked with resin but I don't think it is worth the trouble. But if I had more time maybe. Also the danger to your lungs worries me, I have a little boy running around the house.

The parts do look very good I have been tempted the odd time to order a resin aftermarket part or parts. I think you also have to use a special cleaner to soak the parts in over night too. If you don't clean them properly you will be having alot of frustration trying to glue or paint the parts.

 

[stona]

Resin after market parts can certainly add to a model much as some photo etch can. I made a decision some time ago to build "out of the box" only adding details like seat belts that I could make myself. I do still use after market decals. This was pretty much on economic grounds. I had accumulated detail sets that I knew I would never use! At a more mundane level I display a few of my models on shelfs in such a way that nobody but me would even know the stuff was in there.

It's each to their own really but this kind of detailing can be expensive and not always very easy to fit. I have also had to fill parts before using them. Also, something not yet mentioned,resin parts are relatively heavy. I have had to strengthen undercarriages (or spend even more on metal legs) and insert rods to hold it. I don't want to put anybody off,I mean you might just want to add a nice set of wheels, or gun barrels,but be aware of the pitfalls. You may be at the top of a slippery slope!

Steve