Full Resin Kits. A bit of advice sought....

[fightersweep]

Hi All;

 

As the title says, I'm looking for a bit of advice regarding full resin kits. I'm not a modelling novice by any means, and have used a lot of resin aftermarket stuff over the years. However, I've yet to tackle a full resin kit, so I thought I had better get some of the expert opinions here before I crack on. I've just taken delivery of a XS Models Yak 11, and I have a stack of Silver Wings kits to build...so it's high time I cracked on with them!!

 

1. Glues! What are the recommended glues to use as well as accelerators? Any pointers on the best glues for different aspects of the build...ie: slamming the fuselage halves together? I'm in the UK, so would be interested in pointers for products available in the UK.

 

2. Paint! I exclusively use enamels. Do these adhere better to resin, and what is the best product for priming?

 

3. Fillers! What would be the best product to use as a filler? I guess CA for smaller gaps...but what about any canyons that need filling?

 

4. Scribing! I haven't tried yet, but does resin like being scribed? The XS Models Yak appears to have that hard, slightly brittle yellow resin that I'm a bit hesitant to try and scribe!

 

6. Warped parts (Oooer Missus!) What's the best method for straightening out parts that are a bit warped, such as tails, wings etc?

 

5. Any other useful hints and pit falls to avoid would be greatly received.

 

Sorry if this is a bit of a large question, but any advice would be very welcome. I'm probably fretting over nothing, but I like to check before I jump!

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Regards;

Steve

Edited March 28, 2013 by fightersweep

[dennismcc]

I'm not an expert by any means but I'll try and answer some of these

 

1. Glues! What are the recommended glues to use as well as accelerators? Any pointers on the best glues for different aspects of the build...ie: slamming the fuselage halves together? I'm in the UK, so would be interested in pointers for products available in the UK.

I use CA almost exclusively, ZAP A GAP Medium CA+.

 

2. Paint! I exclusively use enamels Do these adhere better to resin, and what is the best product for priming?

I only use enamels (Humbrol for detail work, WEM and Xtracolor for finishes), and airbrush straight onto the kit, which has to be thoroughtly washed before assembly and polished up with a nail buffer before painting.

 

3. Fillers! What would be the best product to use as a filler? I guess CA for smaller gaps...but what about any canyons that need filling?

For canyons I use plastic tubing or plastic strip to fill glued in place with CA and then finished with CA, then sand/polish.

 

4. Scribing! I haven't tried yet, but does resin like being scribed? The XS Models Yak appears to have that hard, slightly brittle yellow resin that I'm a bit hesitant to try and scribe!

I avoid scribing in resin, when necessary I use a bare metal scriber but very gently.

 

6. Warped parts (Oooer Missus!) What's the best method for straightening out parts that are a bit warped, such as tails, wings etc?

I have limited experience here and have only used hot water and manual persuasion.

 

5. Any other useful hints and pit falls to avoid would be greatly received.

If there are tiny airbubbles Mr Surfacer 1200 is great.

 

There's bound to be an expert around soon so you should be OK.

 

Cheers

 

Den

Edited March 28, 2013 by dennismcc

[eoyguy]

I'm not in the UK, so take this for what its worth.

 

I avoid super glue as a filler. IMHO it cures too hard and is difficult to sand without destroying detail around it. I now use Bondo 2 part auto body filler. Not only does it cure quickly (with a lovely smell...open the windows) but its not overly hard and its easy to sand and feather the edges. Not really "scribable". My second choice of filler is the Magic Sculp epoxy putty I use for converting figures. Great stuff, I fill the big gaps with it. Smooths with water and is easily sandable. Takes about half a day to fully cure, though. Any panel lines can be "sculpted" or embossed in while the putty is firm but pliable, no need to scribe later.

 

For larger, heavier resin pieces, 5-10 minute 2 part epoxy is probably advisable to super glue for attaching parts.

Warped parts usually straighten themselves if dipped in very hot (not boiling) water.

Scribing I would avoid depending on the resin. Some good quality stuff will allow you to LIGHTLY scribe it, but many times resin will crack and chip, or expose under the surface air bubbles.

If the resin is free of grease, dirt and mold release agent, any paint that you use on other models should work equally as well. I am a Tamiya acrylics guy and they have been fine for any model I have sprayed them on.

 

I'm no expert either, but I hope that helps a little

Cheers

Jason

[LSP_Ray]

Hi All;

 

As the title says, I'm looking for a bit of advice regarding full resin kits. I'm not a modelling novice by any means, and have used a lot of resin aftermarket stuff over the years. However, I've yet to tackle a full resin kit, so I thought I had better get some of the expert opinions here before I crack on. I've just taken delivery of a XS Models Yak 11, and I have a stack of Silver Wings kits to build...so it's high time I cracked on with them!!

 

1. Glues! What are the recommended glues to use as well as accelerators? Any pointers on the best glues for different aspects of the build...ie: slamming the fuselage halves together? I'm in the UK, so would be interested in pointers for products available in the UK.

 

2. Paint! I exclusively use enamels. Do these adhere better to resin, and what is the best product for priming?

 

3. Fillers! What would be the best product to use as a filler? I guess CA for smaller gaps...but what about any canyons that need filling?

 

4. Scribing! I haven't tried yet, but does resin like being scribed? The XS Models Yak appears to have that hard, slightly brittle yellow resin that I'm a bit hesitant to try and scribe!

 

6. Warped parts (Oooer Missus!) What's the best method for straightening out parts that are a bit warped, such as tails, wings etc?

 

5. Any other useful hints and pit falls to avoid would be greatly received.

 

Sorry if this is a bit of a large question, but any advice would be very welcome. I'm probably fretting over nothing, but I like to check before I jump!en I

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Regards;

Steve

1. I use CA glues: thin, gap-filling, and an acrylic-based one (Gator Glue) when I need time for positioning, like with small PE parts.

2. I use mostly enamels. I do use a primer, either Tamiya or Gunze Mr. Surfacer 1200, especially if the kit is a multi-media with white metal and/or PE parts.

3. I will use any filler that works for a specific type of joint. If you use CA for a filler, use an accelerator and sand as soon as possible so it is still a little soft. Once it is completely cured it is much harder than the surrounding resin. I also use putty and Milliput putty for large gaps.

4. Do as little scribing as you get away with. I use the Hasegawa Tri-tools or Radu's scriber as they make finer lines than the Bare Metals one.

5. I agree with the others: hot water is usually the best bet. Get it straight then run it under cool water to set it.

6. I would start with the cleanest resin kit in your collection as a first go. The Silver Wings kits are nearly injection molded in their quality. Same goes for Montex and HpH

kits. I don't have any experience with the XS stuff.

 

Hope this helps!

[KOTR]

Practically everything has been said, though I'd advice against using super glue, as I had a problem with seams constantly splitting up again on my Planet Resin He-178. I recommend 2K epoxy glue, normal or 5 minute depending on the seam lenght (I'm using Pattex 5 minute glue ATM, but that seems to be more like 3 minutes to me ) Super glue is fine for small parts like the cockpit etc. though.

 

Automotive 2K putty is fine, if you don't have to redo engravings, otherwise I'd also recommend something like Milliput, Apoxy Sculpt etc. I try to avoid engraving resin, If I can't, I use a specially prepared old #11 scalpel blade.

 

Primer the usual suspects like Tamiya Fine Primer, Mr Surfacer 1000/1200, but as you are in UK, some swear on Halfords automotive primer. Once primed, you can use any colour you like (wasn't that a Pink Floyd song? )

[DougN]

I would agree with everything Ray has posted. See the links in my sig below for the Yak-1b and all SW build guides are resin kits if you want to check them out. Additionally, note that resin sands very easily, which means you can easily correct any fit issues. If you use CA for filler (which I do) on them, just be sure to sand within 48 hours so it does not get too hard, otherwise you will have trouble sanding it out and not damaging the resin areas around it.

[OldTroll]

I found Richard Marmo's "How to Build and Modify Resin Model Aircraft Kits" to be a gold mine of information. It is out of print but still available (used) through Amazon. I bough a "used, very good condition" one for about $25.00 and it was worth every penny.The book plus the good advice you get here should ensure a smooth entry into the resin model world.

[LSP_Kevin]

I'm currently building my first resin kit, which happens to be the XS-Models Hughes H-1 racer. While I have been using CA for bonding, there have been times when I wished I'd used a more forgiving adhesive like 5-minute epoxy.

 

Just a note about using CA as a filler: if you mix it with plain old talcum powder, you get a viscous paste that can be varied by the amount of talc you add, which is easy to apply, fills gaps very nicely, sands out well, and best of all, cures nowhere near as hard and brittle as straight CA does.

 

I've just started rescribing my build (needs a lot!), and it's actually easier to rescribe than standard styrene, but clean-up is more difficult since the old liquid cement trick doesn't work.

 

I'm still learning about working with resin at this scale, but I'd recommend starting with a Silver Wings kit, as the XS-Models stuff is not in the same class (that's not to denigrate XS-Models kits, but they're definitely not 'easy' builds).

 

Good luck, and make sure you share your progress with us!

 

Kev

[Out2gtcha]

Kevs got a good point about fillers on all resin kits. I too have built a few, and CA works great as a glue but not as well straight as a filler.

 

The other option to get a good filler for resin kits out of CA is what I use, and that is microballoons:

 

 

They do the same thing as the talc that K1 mentioned but IMHO clump together a bit less and give you a smooth flowing finish. The drawback however is that the MB are more expensive than just plain talc.

 

I have mixed MBs with CA, and even epoxy with great results on resin kits.

 

 

I would also personally recommend some Westleys Bleche Wite to soak your full resin parts in for 24 hrs:

 

 

The stuff works MAGIC on removing really stubborn mold release agents that warm soap and water may miss occasionally. Its a bit chemically caustic, so not something to dabble your hands in, but each time I use it afterwords I can almost ALWAYS see a greasy layer/film on the surface after soaking the parts overnight, that soap and water missed.

[Fred Jack]

Craftworks put out a book, that they probably sell, in which they walk you through one of their very complicated Macchi C.200 kits. I've considered it a very valuable reference for my builds.