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Resin BB35 USS Texas question

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  • Member since
    November 2005
Resin BB35 USS Texas question
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 11, 2006 6:00 PM

I am really wanting to build a USS Texas.  It's the BB just down the highway from me in 1/350 scale.  Has anyone here built the resin kit I see advertised?  Is it worth 300 dollars or should I keep waiting for a styrene kit?  If I got the resin kit,  it'd be my first.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Mansfield, TX
Posted by EdGrune on Saturday, March 11, 2006 7:40 PM

There has been no rumors of a styrene Texas.  Resin is your only choice. 

Three hundred dollars for a battleship sized resin kit is actually a pretty good price.  Consider that a plastic battleship (i.e. Trumpeter NC) will be 80 to 100 dollars.   Photoetch for a kit will be another 80 to 100.   In a resin kit - the PE is included.  In a resin kit you do not need to go out and get aftermarket items to complete ther model.   This is a fact that many people do not consider.  They look only at the initial cost outlays.  They do not consider the total package.    Yes resin as a material is more expensive.  Styrene runs about a dollar a pound -- and there is only about a pound of material in the finished product.   Bulk resin costs 10 to 20 dollars a pound.   There may be 5 pounds of product in the kit.

If it is the Viking kit, walk ... no run ... away from the kit.  Viking is out of business.  They had piss-poor customer service.   No loss to the hobby.  If you have any problems with the kit -- you are out of luck.

If you are talking about the Commanders/Iron Shipwright kit (ISW), it would be a good opportunity.   ISW has excellent customer service.  If you have any problems they will work with you to resolve them.

There is also an excellent resin & brass Texas in 1:700 scale by Samek models.  Another by HP models is resin only (i.e. you need to buy aftermarket PE).

Working with resin is not a major difference.   Resin requires CA as opposed to a solvent glue. 

If you have never worked with PE on a ship kit you may want to consider a learner kit.   For this I would recommend one of the small kits by ISW,  the PC461 kit is an excellent choice.    

  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: West Virginia, USA
Posted by mfsob on Sunday, March 12, 2006 10:01 AM

If you've never built a resin kit before, I would by a "starter" kit to learn the differences between working in resin and styrene, and to learn the intracies of photoetch parts. My first model in more than 30 years was a 1/700 resin Victory ship, and yes, I learned a lot from building it, so the second one actually turned out the way I wanted it.

My third kit was a 1/700 plastic Perry class frigate, and although I bought the aftermarket photoetch, there were construction differences, primarily using plastic model cement as opposed to cyanoacrylate glue. The big thing that kept throwing me off was the weight - resin ships, no matter what the size, have a certain amount of "heft" to them, which makes them less likely to wander off and fly through space. I was constantly misjuding how much force I needed to apply to the much lighter plastic kit, resulting in a few trips "over the side" of the construction area until I got the hang of it.

Learning on a smaller, cheaper kit is the way to go - yes, it's an additional expense, but in the long run, it will save you a LOT of aggravation, time and expense. BTDT!

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 12, 2006 11:13 AM

Thanks for the info folks. Good to hear about what kits are good and the insight on application of parts.  I think I'll try a smaller 1/700 kit first.  Can anyone here recommend a couple of types of paint that is best to use on resin, acrylics or enamels?  I have been using acrylics. Do they stick well or should I use a primer coat?

Thanks again,  I appreciate hearing from your personal experience. 

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Mansfield, TX
Posted by EdGrune on Sunday, March 12, 2006 12:19 PM
 Old McDonald wrote:

 I think I'll try a smaller 1/700 kit first. 

By smaller, I wouln't discard the thought of smaller 1:350 kits and jump directly to 1:700.   My recommendation of a 1:350 scale resin subchaser (PC461) is the same size as a 1:700 scale destroyer - but the parts are bigger and allow you to practice on larger parts.  Then if you then choose to go to a smaller scale it is easy to transfer the knowledge to the smaller size. 

For example on a 1:700 scale ship the railings are about 1/8 inch tall.   On a 1:350 kit they are about 1/4 inch. 

My build of the PC kit on the ISW website

http://www.commanderseries.com/pages/PC472.htm

The kit lists for 25 dollars on the ISW website and includes resin & brass parts, plus the ISW customer satisfaction warranty.

A resin destroyer in 1:700 scale will likely cost that much or more.

See Phil Kirchmeier's build article on the kit here at FSM

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/objects/pdf/fpb040422.pdf

 Old McDonald wrote:

 Can anyone here recommend a couple of types of paint that is best to use on resin, acrylics or enamels?  I have been using acrylics. Do they stick well or should I use a primer coat?

One of the good things about resin is that you can continue to use the paint system which you are most familiar with, enamels or acrylics.   I have found that I do have to prime the resin.   After thouroughly washing the pieces and allowing them to dry (to remove the mold release) I spray them with some primer in a rattlecan from the local hardware store.   American Tradition's Red Primer from Lowes is my favorite - a good color match to the hull red. 

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