Resin Kits

sisu1a

Not all resin kits are created equal!  

Paul is right!  I should mention that you should run, not walk, away from Unicraft resin kits.  A friend gave me four or five of them to build for him.  He is no longer my friend.

Eric

Not all resin kits are created equal! Some really suck, while others are simply fantastic. I can recommend with good conscience any model from Ardpol. Generally Polish subjects, but their molding and casting is remarkably precise, and their models build up much like styrene, with hollow fuselage halves, alignment pins/slots, and usually come with some photoetch parts. Fit and finish are excellent, which makes them well suited for novice builders.

http://www.ardpolmodels.com.pl/produkty-en.php

*Most Anigrand models tend to be nice too, as well as several offerings from Planet Models. Newer Czechmaster resins are good, but their older stuff seem like more typical 'cottage kits'.

-Paul

Hi Khalee2!

A couple of years ago I tried my first all-resin kit.  It was Anigrand's 1/72 XP-67 Moonbat.  I think it was a great first resin kit because it was a very nice size to work with, had few parts and was just the perfect thing to get my feet wet.  The limited number of parts meant I could do a quick assembly and then really concentrate on the finishing of it.  By that I mean the resin, while very good all around, did have some microbubbles in it.  These were VERY easily dealt with through the use of Mr. Surfacer 500 and some good wet/dry sandpaper.

I've heard that these bubbles are not uncommon when it comes to all-resin kits.  Yes the Anigrand Moonbat had them but they were not horrific by any means and they were definitely a good "teaching moment" for a resin newbie like me.

Along with all that, it was pretty inexpensive, too!  I don't remember exactly how much it was but I know I'm a cheapskate and I don't think I'd spend too much on such a kit.

I hope this helps!

Eric

[EDIT]  I just checked and I paid about $51 for the kit.  I must have gotten a Christmas bonus that year or soomething because I normally don't spend that much on a kit.  I'd still say it's worth it though.

Resin kits have generally been products of small production runs only because the kit being made is usually not a "popular" subject, or is a derivative of something already on the market. Resin is used because it can easily be poured, whereas injection molding of plastic kits is a far more difficult process necessitating much more investment in the proper equipment. As a result, many resin kits are expensive, because they're "niche" subjects.

Having said that, resin kits are not easy, nor for beginners. What's more, they often don't contain "all the parts". A lot of times, you have to fashion smaller parts out of plastic, wire, etc. Cleanup on them is messy and dangerous--you MUST wear breathing protection. And warped kit pieces is always a common problem.

I've been building for 25+ years and only recently got my first full resin kit--a Country Squire Station Wagon. I bought it out of frustration that it's not available as a plastic kit. Surprisingly, it's an amazingly well-made kit, with "all the parts"! I can't tell you what plane models might catch your fancy, but make sure you know what you're getting so that your first experience with a full kit isn't a grave disappointment.

I have one on order. It's actually a conversion of a Trumpeter Tu-95 to a Tu-114, so it will be resin and styrene.

I've not built any full resin kits yet, but i do have a few in the stash. Generally speaking they look rather nice. The ones i have are Luft 46 aircraft, that gives me a bit of scope to add AM parts for other aircraft rather than scratching. Without getting the kits out to look at, i think the best one i have is an Aretech kit of the Ta 183.

But i to look forward to seeing responses from those who have built resin kits.