Resin?

I have a quick question about what exactly resin is; in terms of the physical attributes of resin, does resin approximate the typical tamiya kit or is it more of a rubbery waxy kind of substance used in the fabrication of animé figurines?

also, I've been building models on and off for about five or six years; while I can complete a kit OOB with adequate quality, it is not near some of the awesome stuff on the forums and my skill is that of a novice. I have observed some of the threads pertaining to resin kits and I was wondering how much more difficult resin kits are compared to the average tamiya or fujimi kit? are there any differences in terms of how to paint/glue/sand/chemical reactivity of resin?

thanks in advance!

There are several types of resin just like there are many types of styrene used by different manufacturers. Since you're comparing it with Tamiya, I'd say most materials used in resin kits are a little more brittle than the plastic Tamiya uses. The soft rubbery material used in anime figures are usually PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and is quite different from resin. (but many anime figure "kits" do come in resin.)

If you know the basics of body preparations like smoothing out seam lines, properly aligning parts, etc., you won't have any problem building resin kits. You can't use solvent glue, and have to use super glue or epoxy glue. Painting and detailing are pretty much the same.

Thanks for clarifying. Any advice for someone who has never used epoxy or super glue in modelling? As in, which one is easier to handle/use?

Thanks!

I do not know much about the chemistry involved in resins except that resins used in modeling are called Polyurethane resins. Polyster resins are also used but on a smaller scale mostly for transparent parts. Resins (I am talking about models and kits) are a sort of liquid plastic that can be poured in moulds and becomes comparably hard (well, a bit more soft than) to styrene when cured. It can be cast in relatively cheap silicone moulds. Therefore, while the resin itself is too expensive compared to styerene, the low mould costs makes it affordable for small scale manufacturers.

The quality of resin kits varies considerably. The best I have seen are those made by the Modelhaus and Tom Coleedge. Model car world kits come second only because they do not include chrome parts, but they are equally good as far as surface finish is concerned. R & R vacuum craft comes next but still useable. TKM produces the worst kits I have ever seen. In all cases resin kits requires much more sanding, adjusting and fitting work than any other styrene kit. Another major work load is cleaning the parts from mould release agents. If the parts are not cleaned properly, paint will never adhere to the surface. Primers are often required in contrast to plastic (styerne) kits.

Most of resin kits are reproduction of primitive dealer promo. models, so do not expect the level of detail you find in Tamiya and Co., except the noble Multi-Med kits.

Resin parts can be glued only by two component epoxy. I never used super glue and cannot make a comment therefore.

Resin dust is nasty, and there will be a lot produced when you work with a resin kit. My advice is to sand wet, not only because of the surface quality, but to catch dust as well. You should also put on a mask and protection glasses. Gloves are not a bad idea.

Walid

CA is good for gluing small detail parts together or other non-structural parts. Epoxy is good where strength is needed. You can get epoxy in several varieties and the longer the setting time(5 min epoxy, 10 min, etc) the stronger the bond in general. 5 min is a good all around epoxy and plenty strong for anthing a model should be able to require.

I love working with resin. It sands very easily and the nice thing is that if you screw up the paint, you can dump the whole resin body in lacquer thinner and it won't hurt it. Makes stripping a 5 min process.

Be sure to be good about priming the surface. I use automotive primers, like the kind you get at local parts stores. Look out for pinholes and airbubbles. These need to be filled before painting.

Chris

Wow, thanks for all the detailed info. What brand of epoxy do you guys recommend? Also, is the superglue made by Tamiya? I remember seeing a super glue CA package from Tamiya...

One last thing... I noticed that in the MFH kits a lot of the parts are PE... including body panels; does that mean I should/can prime the entire body (after everything's been assembled) with tamiya's metal primer? or just prime the metallic parts with metal primer and the rest with tamiya's surface primer?

Thanks again for all the input; I appreciate it!

Any superglue (C/A) will do. DON'T buy Tamiya's, wayyy too expensive. You're mainly paying for the brand name:dunno: . I know a lot of people use the cheapest they can find but I use 3m's stuff, it comes in a red or grey protective bottle where the tube itself is inside.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/3529/2074164619395.jpg
Red is the liquid type, grey is the gel type.
IMHO it lasts longer due the the bottling design.
I've had a red tube last for over a year without hardening. thickening up but not hard.
The only downside of using C/A is the it leaves a hazy white smoke on nearby areas when gasing out... so try to keep a steady air flow on it when its drying...

HTH,
Steve

I agree about Tamiya's stuff being too expensive. I use whatever brand is handy at the hobby shop. It's really not too important. I know some guys that use those little packs of disposable tubes, but that gets expensive since you don't get much at all.

I find little use for the gel types and I use the medium stuff most of the time. The thin stuff is good for flowing into cracks or joints and dries pretty quickly.

As far as epoxy goes, again, whatever the local shop carries is fine. You'll find you don't use much to get the job done. I've had a pair of 4 1/2 oz each 5 min epoxy bottles(epoxy and hardener) for as long as I can remember, at least a year and a half, probably more, and I've used maybe a quarter of each bottle.

Chris