Sculpted art concepts by James Hakola
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Sculpted art concepts by James Hakola
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Build-Up Gallery NEW!!
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Beginner's Tips On How To Build Resin
Kits
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CAUTION! Resin kit assembly requires the use of sharp hobby knives, glues and paints. All of these things can be very harmful if used improperly. Change hobby blades often, and always cut AWAY from yourself and your fingers. Use all paints, solvents, and glues in a well-ventilated area, or better yet outdoors. READ THE MANUFACTURER'S LABELS!! They are there for a reason. Resin kit assembly is NOT RECOMMENDED for children under 12 without an adult's close supervision. |
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Basic tools for the resin modeler! You may use a hair dryer that's newer than 1982. But why would you want to??
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The goal of this page is to show you the ways that building a resin figure kit differs from a plastic model of a car or airplane. I wrote this a long time ago, but everything here still rings true! A time honored tradition never dies, it only gets... time honored. ================ You WILL need the following! -Hobby knife (Excel or X-Acto brand work well) You MAY need the following! -Hobby cutting pliers (flush cutting for better control) |
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Lay out the object of your affections... soon we will be together, my pet! Ahem. Sorry. |
Wash all resin kit parts with dish
detergent to remove dirt and mold-release residues. This will help paints,
glues and putty stick to the resin better. Hint-- try scrubbing in the crevices
with an old toothbrush. Be sure to rinse off the soap until the the part
"squeaks" in your fingers (nothing is worse than soap residue
to keep paints from adhering!) Let the parts dry thoroughly.
Trim away the extra flaps of resin (called "sprues") from each
part. Thinner ones can be cut with a hobby blade, while the thicker ones
may require a hobby saw or cutting pliers. Be careful not to cut into
the actual part! Always cut away from yourself, and don't try to slice
through a big slab of resin in one pass! Try whittling off small shavings
to gradually remove the unwanted sprue. |
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Pop out that air bubble... fill it with putty! Yes, your fingers will get dirty.Wear it as a badge of honor. |
If there are any overly persistent
seam lines, you may want to work them down with the edge of your hobby knife
first. Instead of a cutting motion, place the knife blade at a 90 degree
angle to the part surface and scrape gently, you should be able to scrape
away small shavings of the resin until the seam becomes less pronounced.
Scrape AWAY from yourself! This can also be done with a small jeweler's
file. When finished, you can then putty it as normal.
Using a medium grit of special "wet" sandpaper, continue to carefully work down the seam lines, sprue marks, and putty areas. Then change to a finer and and then a super-fine grit for a smooth finish. Sandpapers are rated with a number according to their roughness: the smaller the number, the rougher the paper. Try starting with a 320, then a 600, and finally a 1000. Be careful not to sand away detail, round off sharp edges, or create flat spots on rounded surfaces. If you want to give a final polishing for that glassy-smooth finish, try steel wool, or synthetic steel wool (the green nylon kind). Now wash the parts again. |
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Hey look, the model magically changed again! A free bananna if you can identify this figure. Resin seams are hard to photograph, so I drew one in. Sneaky, huh?
Goro hate gap between parts!! Smash putty in or I smash you in face!! |
Give all the model parts a coat
of white or gray spray primer to reveal any final blemishes. Use a sandable
auto primer, or better yet, a special figure model primer available at some
hobby stores (try the stores that sell gaming miniatures).
Carefully test-fit parts before gluing to make sure they they will fit together nice and tight. I recommend using a cyanoacrylate, or "super" glue. These glues come in different consistencies, from super-watery, to a thick gel type. Gel is probably better for beginners or younger modelers, because it tends not to run all over the place. The runny kind can be good for getting into tiny gaps, but often it will spill over, coating your model surface, or worse still, your hand. This stuff was first developed by the army to close up wounds on a battlefield, so it adheres INSTANTLY to skin. Hospital ERs are full of stories about people gluing their fingers together, their eyelids shut, gluing objects to themselves, you name it. DON'T BE BE A STATISTIC! Use common sense and EXTREME CAUTION when dealing with super glues!!! After gluing the part in place, you can then spray it with a super glue accelerator, or "kicker" to cause it to harden instantly, this is very handy! Be sure to have VERY GOOD ventilation when you use this, preferably you should do it outdoors. If there are any gaps left between the parts, you can fill them with your putty. Some parts which are larger, or weight-supporting may need to be reinforced with a metal rod (1/16" diameter is good). Before gluing, use a drill or "pin vise" to make matching holes in the two parts, along the surface where they will be joined. Then insert the rod, and join the parts. The pin should line up between the holes and anchor the part securely. If you have trouble lining up the holes, make one hole wider wiyh a larger drill bit, and fill it partially with epoxy or Bondo. Insert the pin into the other matching part (with the original hole) and then "squish" the two together into the putty-filled hole. When the putty hardens, the pin should be rock-solid. Test-fit before you do this! If a thin part is warped or bent, heat the part in hot water or with a hairdryer. The part should become more flexible. Gently reshape the part, and it will keep its new shape after it cools. Take care not to burn yourself or the part. Some parts are better to paint BEFORE assembly. A little planning can save a lot of time later on. |
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All content ©1997-2006
James Hakola. All rights reserved.
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