Building your first resin kit

[Alexis]

A few members and our very own fearless leader Dave ( Hi Dave ) have ask about building resin kits for some haven't tried one yet .

Well guys you have nothing to fear with building resin kits . The only thing which is really different is the medium of the mantirles . But not all resin kits are the same or of the same qualities as others . 3D resin kits are still fairly new so the subject matter is very limited . However resin kits for yester years can still be found . Some are very rare and hard to find while others are still out there at a fair price . Only drawback is this kits are 72 and 48 scale but with Lukgraph they are changing that game with their current FF 33 L and their future release of  an Albatros C.III  . We have two members who are currently have build threads going with two very unique building styles which are very inspiring .

Przemol build
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12194.0

Kent's
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12171.0

Another thread which needs mention is Frank's build on the Quadro plane . (Franks first resin build )
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12072.0

Mike has a few resin builds on the go as well
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12208.0

You can ask the guys any questions and they will share 

First kit I would like to show is Ardpol take on the Pfalz D.VIII in 72 scale .

The resin in this kit is hard in nature which can cause a few headaches , the resin will be hard to sand and it is brittle . To much force and flexing will cause the parts to break . The struts are the main factor in this and over time the will wrap under load . These are best replace with new ones made . But this choice is up to the builder . Clean up of the parts is needed with little casting blokes to remove which is always plus .

With resin kits there is also the chance of parts not fully formed ( short shot included ) as you can see on the right side of the fuselage . This looks worse then it actual is and is a easy fix . I will tack in place on the inside of the fuselage with plastic card held in place with Tamiya extra thin . The glue will not harm the resin at all but it provides a bit of the card to stay in place . On the out side these areas will be filled with putty , smoothed over and when dried sanded .

There are no PE parts or white metal so seatbelts and gun jackets will need to be sourced form some where else .

[Alexis]

 

[Alexis]

 

[Alexis]

 

[Alexis]

That's all for tonight ....I need my beauty sleep   


Alexis , making the world shine within !

[rhallinger]

Thanks Alexis!  This tutorial is much appreciated.  I have a couple of resin kits in the stash, but have not tried one yet.  Maybe this will encourage me.

Best regards,

Bob

[Rookie]

Thank you Alexis!

I have two 1/72 Choroszy Modelbud kits, the Caproni CA.3 and the Farman MF.11.

The parts look very fragile and the instruction are very basic, so these builds frighten me a little.

I also have the CMK Port Victoria PV 7, which I want to build alongside my HP V/1500. (The biggest and the smallest British aircraft that never saw action on the Western front).

But I hope that with the help of your tutorial I will have the courage to make a start!

Willem

[Alexis]

No trouble at all guys , hope that in the end it will give folks the confidence on tackling a resin kit .

Alexis

[Bughunter]

Thanks Alexis to take your time for explaining a resin build (with your experience of more then one kit!).
And thanks for linking my build!
 

The resin in this kit is hard in nature which can cause a few headaches , the resin will be hard to sand and it is brittle .

This hard resin has also an advantage. It is as hard as CA glue, so it allows a consistent sanding. Sometimes it is a problem to glue softer material with CA with the following sanding, which is not the case with this hard resin.

And good luck and have fun with this little Pfalz!

Cheers,
Frank

[Alexis]

You are welcome Frank and I hope it's not your last resin build . I won't be building this one , I'm showing different kits first and will let you guys decide which one 


Another type of resin kit which is higher up in the level of detail but will need a bit more skill on the building . The modeller is left to make the parts them self such as struts and cockpit details .

For this example I have chosen Copper States Model  HB W-12 . This was purchased when Eric owed the company and is the second boxing .

The resin in the kits before Edgar become the new owner is a medium base , easy to sand and the super glue will bond even better for it will settle in the microscopic holes . Primer and paint will also bond better as well . The detail of the resin is higher stand then the Ardpol kit .
The builder will have to work by refs with these kits for the instructions are history and scale drawings other then that there are no pic's to go by for part placement . All struts have to be made and detail needs to be added to the cockpit . The parts have resin blokes and there will be some sanding on getting parts to fit . These kits I don't recommend for your first build unless you are up for the challenge .

 

[Alexis]

 

[Alexis]

 

Here is the PE parts and resin Mes D.III engine .

[Alexis]

I would like to show one more type of kit which is even on the higher end .

Jager Miniatures DFW CV in 48 scale . These kits are very limited run . This is #3 out of 230 and can be hard to find . They are no longer producing kits but they do come up on e-bay from time to time and if you are able to grab one ...do so ..they others types as well .

The detail in this kit is out standing . There are no PE parts but it has a fair bit of white metal with bronze mix in . This type of metal parts I don't mind . They hold their shape better then just plain white metal parts .  The resin is dark tannish/grey colour and this is very hard resin but it's not overly brittle . The builder has to make the iter struts and contrail strut is provided in the kit along with detail wire for the engine . Push rods are left up to the builder to add . Only some of the parts have casting blokes so clean up is quicker then other resin kit manufacturers . Clean up on the metal parts will need a metal file but this goes rather quick once you get started . For the struts that are white metal if one wants to the can replace this as well . ( This kit has a fare bit of weight ) .

The fuselage is cast in one piece with an opening in the bottom for adding all the detail in the pit . Draw back to this is it makes it very hard painting the interior and installing all of the parts . The fuselage sides are saging in and this needs to be corrected before any paint and details are added . To fix this saging sides wedges will be made out of thick plastic card . A pot on the stove with boiling water and the fuselage will first be placed in the boiling water to soften up the resin . Removing this for the water the wedges will be placed in and another trip in the hot water for a few seconds , removed and after a minute of cooling cold water will get ran on over it setting the memory to the resin .

Reason for soften the resin up before the wedges are added is to ensure the resin will not crack , that happens and even more troubles lay a head . You will hot be able to redo the hot water treatment and that whole side will need to be removed and rebuilt up .

The instructions are text with pictures of the finished model as a ref and scale draws .


 

[Alexis]

 

[Alexis]