Uber-cheap recast kits, and different types of resin.
Tuxedo Mike
guess I'll risk it.
I picked up a bunch of recast kits in HK, because they were relatively
cheap, but good quality. Now, a couple of days ago, I bought a Ranma 1/2
resin kit because it was Super-cheap on Ebay. I've got some customs in mind
that I bascially need just bodies for, so all I need is a so-so torso, limbs
and head. But man, this thing sucks. It arrived today, and the resin is
brittle as hell. I'm hoping this is my "Bad Karma" kit for buying recats -
that is, the really bad one I can expect to get every once in a while if I
don't buy originals. Is it a totally different kind of resin, resin cured
under bad conditions, or what?
Ironically enough, it has less flaws than one of the HK kits I have, but due
to the better quality material of the other kit, that one was easier to
fix..
And also.. Is there anywhere a little more reliable than ebay I can get
stupidly cheap recasts for custom work? :)
Hobbyfan is okay, I have yet to look properly at e2046 or whatever it is,
but seeing some of the prices some things go for on occasion, someone must
sell them /close/ to that cheap..?
Mike
David Chiu
news:am8and$c9e$1...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...
: I'm sure the subject of recasts is a tad thorny on a group like this, but I
: guess I'll risk it.
Consider yourself flamed ;-)
: and head. But man, this thing sucks. It arrived today, and the resin is
: brittle as hell. I'm hoping this is my "Bad Karma" kit for buying recats -
Ahh. the infamous Poly... My guess is that the kit shipped out from Thailand?
: that is, the really bad one I can expect to get every once in a while if I
: don't buy originals. Is it a totally different kind of resin, resin cured
: under bad conditions, or what?
Different material; a lot cheaper than the white resin/hicast, and supposely
less stressful to the silicon mold (so the manufacturer gets more pulls out of
a single mold than with hicast.)
: Ironically enough, it has less flaws than one of the HK kits I have, but due
: to the better quality material of the other kit, that one was easier to
: fix..
It is a common material for pre-finished statues being sold these days, but
working (cutting, sanding, etc.) with the stuff is like pulling teeth. Short
version of it is that you get what you paid for...
: And also.. Is there anywhere a little more reliable than ebay I can get
: stupidly cheap recasts for custom work? :)
No comment.
Tuxedo Mike
"David Chiu" <no...@nowhere.org> wrote in message
news:am8cf...@enews2.newsguy.com...
> : I'm sure the subject of recasts is a tad thorny on a group like this,
but I
> : guess I'll risk it.
> Consider yourself flamed ;-)
Well I did ask for it. At least I got civil answers to honest questions.
> : and head. But man, this thing sucks. It arrived today, and the resin
is
> : brittle as hell. I'm hoping this is my "Bad Karma" kit for buying
recats -
> Ahh. the infamous Poly... My guess is that the kit shipped out from
Thailand?
I think so.
> : that is, the really bad one I can expect to get every once in a while if
I
> : don't buy originals. Is it a totally different kind of resin, resin
cured
> : under bad conditions, or what?
> Different material; a lot cheaper than the white resin/hicast, and
supposely
> less stressful to the silicon mold (so the manufacturer gets more pulls
out of
> a single mold than with hicast.)
Ah, figures. No pun intended..
> : Ironically enough, it has less flaws than one of the HK kits I have, but
due
> : to the better quality material of the other kit, that one was easier to
> : fix..
> It is a common material for pre-finished statues being sold these days,
but
> working (cutting, sanding, etc.) with the stuff is like pulling teeth.
Short
> version of it is that you get what you paid for...
I'll just chalk it up to experience and never buy a Thai kit again. ;)
I guess I'm a little less disposed against recasts because I came across
them in HK, where real kits are like gold dust AFAIK.
> : And also.. Is there anywhere a little more reliable than ebay I can get
> : stupidly cheap recasts for custom work? :)
> No comment.
Fair enough, thanks for the materials info. :)
Mike
cat
miaoued:
>Different material; a lot cheaper than the white resin/hicast, and supposely
>less stressful to the silicon mold (so the manufacturer gets more pulls out of
>a single mold than with hicast.)
Be careful. There are a large number of resins which end up
white and they range from cheap and brittle to expensive and sturdy.
Colour is not any indicator of quality.One of the worst, most brittle
resins I ever tested was white and the strongest, most dense high
quality was a sort of Panzer Gray. At one time almost all resins were
either clear or a sickly brown. A lot of customers thought the brown
looked cheap and ugly so makers complained to the plastic suppliers
and they responded with new colours. It raided the price but resulted
in happier customers, so the casters bought it. The cheap casters
bought cheap coloured plastic and the high quality casters bought
better coloured plastic. the resulting products looked the same but
had many differences. You can never go by simple colour anymore.
Weight is a better indicator and that is not always a totally reliable
one. Unless you know what they are casting with, you will just have to
trust to the attitudes of the maker, your best estimate, and luck.
cat
Gus Jae
Back in '96, I was in HK and picked up a lot of recast resin kits too. But
I personally examined them. Some of what's offered are good, some are
landfills. Some are, funny enough, better than the originals (Usually con
kits getting re-tooled).
I still have a boat load of resin kits that I need to sell sometime soon,
since my new hobby is diaper changing and "Where is the binkie?" :P
Gus
"Tuxedo Mike" <mo...@animedisciples.com> wrote in message
news:am8bij$279$1...@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...
Tuxedo Mike
"Gus Jae" <gus...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:amae4p$f75$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...
> I got bit big time buying a recast kit from Thailand thru ebay :(
> Back in '96, I was in HK and picked up a lot of recast resin kits too.
But
> I personally examined them. Some of what's offered are good, some are
> landfills. Some are, funny enough, better than the originals (Usually con
> kits getting re-tooled).
Oh, HK ones are superb quality. Any store which sells them will generally
FORCE you to inspect them, in my experience.
> I still have a boat load of resin kits that I need to sell sometime soon,
> since my new hobby is diaper changing and "Where is the binkie?" :P
You've got email about that. :)
Mike
John Hwang
>I still have a boat load of resin kits that I need to sell sometime soon,
>since my new hobby is diaper changing and "Where is the binkie?" :P
Congrats on your new hobby!
Getting back to the original poster, if one wants to practice on resin, I think
the best answer is to buy a kit you like, and recast parts yourself. The stuff
is widely available, and there are plenty of guides. Then you can just
practice, practice, practice.
Also, real resin kits can be painted and stripped and repainted to your heart's
content. I practically guarantee that a quality resin kit will stand more
repainting than you can.
I got a couple of the brittle resin recast out of curiousity, and have decided
not to bother with them in the future. Incredilbly hard and brittle. They're
no fun to work on. But they may paint up well, assuming one can prep them for
assembly.
--
--- John Hwang "JohnHw...@cs.com.no.com"
\-|-/
| A.K.D. F.E.M.C.
| Horned Blood Cross Terror LED Speed Jagd Destiny
Tuxedo Mike
"John Hwang" <johnhw...@cs.com.no.com> wrote in message
news:20020918155514...@mb-mq.news.cs.com...
> "Gus Jae" gus...@rcn.com wrote:
> Getting back to the original poster, if one wants to practice on resin, I
think
> the best answer is to buy a kit you like, and recast parts yourself. The
stuff
> is widely available, and there are plenty of guides. Then you can just
> practice, practice, practice.
Problem for me is getting hold of decent rubber for the mould. I know of
only one shop in the UK that sells it (thus negating expensive shipping
costs),
> Also, real resin kits can be painted and stripped and repainted to your
heart's
> content. I practically guarantee that a quality resin kit will stand more
> repainting than you can.
Oh quite possibly. Though I'm actually quite pleased with the first resin
kit I ended up making, I'm surprisingly unlikely to strip it and have
another go. It's a 1/8 Zima, from Gundam 0083, in case you wondered, It
turned out very well considering I used Tamiya acrylics and had to
brush-paint large areas..
> I got a couple of the brittle resin recast out of curiousity, and have
decided
> not to bother with them in the future. Incredilbly hard and brittle.
They're
> no fun to work on. But they may paint up well, assuming one can prep them
for
> assembly.
This one's actually fairly well cast, so it's not much of a bother. I plan
on recasting from it to give me a torso, legs, and head for something else
I'm making for a friend anyway. I'd use the original, but I reckon I'd get
a better cast if I used Plaster of Paris as opposed to what it's made of..
Mike
John Hwang
>"John Hwang" <johnhw...@cs.com.no.com> wrote ...
>> Getting back to the original poster, if one wants to practice on resin,
>> I think the best answer is to buy a kit you like, and recast parts
>> yourself. The stuff is widely available, and there are plenty of guides.
>> Then you can just practice, practice, practice.
>
>Problem for me is getting hold of decent rubber for the mould. I know
>of only one shop in the UK that sells it (thus negating expensive
>shipping costs),
Worst case, pure silicone caulk is widely available at most hardware stores.
It may take you a while to build up the mold, but it's not that difficult.
>> Also, real resin kits can be painted and stripped and repainted to your
>>heart's content. I practically guarantee that a quality resin kit will
>>stand more repainting than you can.
>
>Oh quite possibly. Though I'm actually quite pleased with the first resin
>kit I ended up making, I'm surprisingly unlikely to strip it and have
>another go.
Yes, this is the typical resonse to repainting -- the desire to do so wanes
with each successive painting. But nevertheless. :)
>It's a 1/8 Zima, from Gundam 0083, in case you wondered, It
>turned out very well considering I used Tamiya acrylics and had to
>brush-paint large areas..
>
>> I got a couple of the brittle resin recast out of curiousity, and have
>> decided not to bother with them in the future. Incredilbly hard
>> and brittle. They're no fun to work on. But they may paint up well,
>> assuming one can prep them for assembly.
>
>This one's actually fairly well cast, so it's not much of a bother. I plan
>on recasting from it to give me a torso, legs, and head for something else
>I'm making for a friend anyway. I'd use the original, but I reckon I'd get
>a better cast if I used Plaster of Paris as opposed to what it's made of..
I don't think people use plaster of paris any more. I think they use 2-part
liquid epoxy resins, also easily available at your local hardware store.
And don't you have a Michael's or other art supply store that you can buy from?
Tuxedo Mike
> >Problem for me is getting hold of decent rubber for the mould. I know
> >of only one shop in the UK that sells it (thus negating expensive
> >shipping costs),
> Worst case, pure silicone caulk is widely available at most hardware
stores.
> It may take you a while to build up the mold, but it's not that difficult.
Not here it's not. :( Trust me, I've looked. I would have bought some in
HK, but it's too heavy. I was already 5 kilos over, but I managed to fudge
some extra weight for my luggage thanks to my aunt's flatmate.
> >> Also, real resin kits can be painted and stripped and repainted to your
> >>heart's content. I practically guarantee that a quality resin kit will
> >>stand more repainting than you can.
> >Oh quite possibly. Though I'm actually quite pleased with the first
resin
> >kit I ended up making, I'm surprisingly unlikely to strip it and have
> >another go.
> Yes, this is the typical resonse to repainting -- the desire to do so
wanes
> with each successive painting. But nevertheless. :)
*L* It's still something I'll look at, I /know/ I could do the face
better..
> >This one's actually fairly well cast, so it's not much of a bother. I
plan
> >on recasting from it to give me a torso, legs, and head for something
else
> >I'm making for a friend anyway. I'd use the original, but I reckon I'd
get
> >a better cast if I used Plaster of Paris as opposed to what it's made
of..
> I don't think people use plaster of paris any more. I think they use
2-part
> liquid epoxy resins, also easily available at your local hardware store.
I was being carcastic and detrimental of the quality of the recast resin. ;)
> And don't you have a Michael's or other art supply store that you can buy
from?
The only shop here that has that sort of materials is called "Tiranti's" as
far as I can tell, and I can't find the blessed place, despite it being less
than 200M from a shop I go to regularly. My Art&Design teachers tell me
that they can't find it anywhere else. Resin on the other hand can be
picked up at my local art shop, where I have a rather handy 10% discount,
and .
Mike
Wayne C. Morris
"Tuxedo Mike" <mo...@animedisciples.com> wrote:
> Problem for me is getting hold of decent rubber for the mould. I
> know of only one shop in the UK that sells it (thus negating
> expensive shipping costs),
When you say "shop", do you mean just retailers? There might be a
wholesaler or distributor selling it to companies who use it. If you
check the yellow pages, maybe you can find a local wholesaler who'd be
willing to sell you a few small cans/jars of the stuff. I'm not sure
what categories to look under; perhaps "Casting", "Rubber", "Plastics",
etc.
Or if you can find the names of companies who manufacture it, you could
try wriiting the manufacturers and asking for the names of their UK
distributors.
Or try to find a local company that uses RTV silicone or urethane rubber
to make molds for casting their own products, and ask if they'll sell
you a small quanitity of it. Years ago, a friend told me about a local
door & window manufacturer where we could get the stuff. All we had to
do was drop by with a couple of empty glass jars and tell them we wanted
some RTV silicone rubber; they filled the jars, and we paid them in
cash. (If they were busy, we might have to wait a while or come back
another day, but it was still a lot better than having it shipped by a
retailer.)
Tuxedo Mike
"Wayne C. Morris" <wayne....@this.is.invalid> wrote in message
news:wayne.morris-ED21...@news.pp.shawcable.net...
> In article <amap3j$aie$1...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk>,
> > Problem for me is getting hold of decent rubber for the mould. I
> > know of only one shop in the UK that sells it (thus negating
> > expensive shipping costs),
> When you say "shop", do you mean just retailers? There might be a
> wholesaler or distributor selling it to companies who use it. If you
> check the yellow pages, maybe you can find a local wholesaler who'd be
> willing to sell you a few small cans/jars of the stuff. I'm not sure
> what categories to look under; perhaps "Casting", "Rubber", "Plastics",
> etc.
To memory, I did this about 4 years ago, no luck.
> Or if you can find the names of companies who manufacture it, you could
> try wriiting the manufacturers and asking for the names of their UK
> distributors.
Possibly.
> Or try to find a local company that uses RTV silicone or urethane rubber
> to make molds for casting their own products, and ask if they'll sell
> you a small quanitity of it. Years ago, a friend told me about a local
> door & window manufacturer where we could get the stuff. All we had to
> do was drop by with a couple of empty glass jars and tell them we wanted
> some RTV silicone rubber; they filled the jars, and we paid them in
> cash. (If they were busy, we might have to wait a while or come back
> another day, but it was still a lot better than having it shipped by a
> retailer.)
Sounds cool but I doubt I'll get that lucky. :(
Mike