pbhawkin
07-25-2012, 18:26
Hi all.
Firstly, after some discussion with Keith (Oberst Hajj) we felt that I did not need to become a site sponsor as I have such a small turnover (Garage kit maker) but could still 'advertise' my planes in this forum. This allows me to not feel like I am treading on anyone's toes or breaking 'the rules'.
I suppose a little about me is warranted to give you an idea as to where I am coming from.
I became involved in starting making resin planes in 1/144 scale as a member of the Big Gun Combat warships here in Australia (www.ausbg.org) when I could not find a 1/144 scale Arado 196 to put on one of my ships. After making one some of the other club members also wanted various planes for their ships and it grew from there.
I am particularly interested in flyingboats, seaplanes and floatplanes but virtually any 'interesting' plane (such as the Fokker G-1) is attractive to me and a likely contender to be cast more so if it has not been done by anyone else in 1/144.
Over the years I my skills and equipment have improved to where I now have ALL my masters designed by CAD and CnC milled. I vacuum degas the RTV rubber to improve longevity and eliminate pinholes in the mold and pressure cast the resin to (as much as possible) eliminate the dreaded pinholes in the surface and give a consistent smooth surface.
Please note that I do this between working a full-time job as well as a family life with three young boys 10 and under. This means that it may take up to a week or so for me to get a cast done so please keep in contact by email.
So, onto a bit about resin which most of you will know I am sure.
Resin is NOT as scary to work with as a lot of people seem to think!
Sure you can't use regular plastic glue (It's not plastic!!). CA (Superglue) is the glue of choice even for someone like me who has an allegy to it!! A little goes a long way and the use of a toothpick dipped in a small 'pool' of CA on a palette and then placed on the joint of two parts will wick it's way in and secure them well. You can always add more if needed. I find I don't need to use an accelerator at all. Epoxy also works but has a relatively long drying time.
Parts can be brittle, especially smaller bits, and resin doesn't have a great strength for supporting loads (IE landing gear legs on larger planes can buckle). So often adding brass pins between larger parts such as wings and fuselage can add immensly to the strength of the joint.
Resin can warp, especially in direct hot sunlight (just like plastic), BUT any warped part can be fixed with the pouring of boiling water over it and gentle bending between your fingers to the right shape. It will stay in that shape unless reheated again.
It can be filled with regular puttys. This is perhaps one of the biggest issues with resin is that depending on how well it was cast there can be numerous 'pinholes' in/on the surface and even small missing areas especially in corners and thin narrow parts. A fine putty is often needed on large areas of resin kits to fill any 'pinholes'.
Resin also needs to be WELL washed with water and detergent to remove ALL traces of silicon and whatever else was used to help the resin casting out of the mold at time of manufacture. Rubbing alcohol or Iso or IPA will also work fine. If this step is not done then YOU run the risk of paint not adhering to the resin!
It can be sanded and shaped with hobby knives and sandpaper. Any flash can be removed by gentle scrapping or snapping off or cutting with a scalpel and lightly sanding.
Any paint can adhere to it (see above about cleaning first). I use a lot of different brands: Vallejo (model air and color), lifecolor, tamiya, humbrol, JPS, Gunze, polly scale, WEM, model master acryl and enamel!
I plan to show some pictures of how I cast a model and WiP pictures as well as various conversions and models.
Any requests are very welcome.
regards
peter hawkins
Firstly, after some discussion with Keith (Oberst Hajj) we felt that I did not need to become a site sponsor as I have such a small turnover (Garage kit maker) but could still 'advertise' my planes in this forum. This allows me to not feel like I am treading on anyone's toes or breaking 'the rules'.
I suppose a little about me is warranted to give you an idea as to where I am coming from.
I became involved in starting making resin planes in 1/144 scale as a member of the Big Gun Combat warships here in Australia (www.ausbg.org) when I could not find a 1/144 scale Arado 196 to put on one of my ships. After making one some of the other club members also wanted various planes for their ships and it grew from there.
I am particularly interested in flyingboats, seaplanes and floatplanes but virtually any 'interesting' plane (such as the Fokker G-1) is attractive to me and a likely contender to be cast more so if it has not been done by anyone else in 1/144.
Over the years I my skills and equipment have improved to where I now have ALL my masters designed by CAD and CnC milled. I vacuum degas the RTV rubber to improve longevity and eliminate pinholes in the mold and pressure cast the resin to (as much as possible) eliminate the dreaded pinholes in the surface and give a consistent smooth surface.
Please note that I do this between working a full-time job as well as a family life with three young boys 10 and under. This means that it may take up to a week or so for me to get a cast done so please keep in contact by email.
So, onto a bit about resin which most of you will know I am sure.
Resin is NOT as scary to work with as a lot of people seem to think!
Sure you can't use regular plastic glue (It's not plastic!!). CA (Superglue) is the glue of choice even for someone like me who has an allegy to it!! A little goes a long way and the use of a toothpick dipped in a small 'pool' of CA on a palette and then placed on the joint of two parts will wick it's way in and secure them well. You can always add more if needed. I find I don't need to use an accelerator at all. Epoxy also works but has a relatively long drying time.
Parts can be brittle, especially smaller bits, and resin doesn't have a great strength for supporting loads (IE landing gear legs on larger planes can buckle). So often adding brass pins between larger parts such as wings and fuselage can add immensly to the strength of the joint.
Resin can warp, especially in direct hot sunlight (just like plastic), BUT any warped part can be fixed with the pouring of boiling water over it and gentle bending between your fingers to the right shape. It will stay in that shape unless reheated again.
It can be filled with regular puttys. This is perhaps one of the biggest issues with resin is that depending on how well it was cast there can be numerous 'pinholes' in/on the surface and even small missing areas especially in corners and thin narrow parts. A fine putty is often needed on large areas of resin kits to fill any 'pinholes'.
Resin also needs to be WELL washed with water and detergent to remove ALL traces of silicon and whatever else was used to help the resin casting out of the mold at time of manufacture. Rubbing alcohol or Iso or IPA will also work fine. If this step is not done then YOU run the risk of paint not adhering to the resin!
It can be sanded and shaped with hobby knives and sandpaper. Any flash can be removed by gentle scrapping or snapping off or cutting with a scalpel and lightly sanding.
Any paint can adhere to it (see above about cleaning first). I use a lot of different brands: Vallejo (model air and color), lifecolor, tamiya, humbrol, JPS, Gunze, polly scale, WEM, model master acryl and enamel!
I plan to show some pictures of how I cast a model and WiP pictures as well as various conversions and models.
Any requests are very welcome.
regards
peter hawkins