resin kits
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Getting Startedwith
Resin Kits
hat is a Garage kit? Do you fondly remember all the monsters in your favorite ScienceFiction and Horror movies? Have you ever longed to build a model of the evil aliens from
Invasion of the Saucermen or the creature creations of master animator Ray Harryhausen?
Well, thanks to modern molding and casting materials and a group of industrious individuals
from all corners of the world, there are kits available of more aliens, monsters and creatures
than you may have ever imagined!
Garage Kits were essentially resin castings of sculptures created and molded in the garages orbasements of talented fans of Science Fiction and Horror films. However, in recent years
Garage Kits have gone from being an interesting modeling phenomenon to a full-fledged
industry with companies like Horizon, Screamin' and Geometric producing an astounding
array of subjects in resin and vinyl. Today, the term Garage Kit encompasses everything from
high-quality kits from large manufacturers to the individually produced, very limited edition
resin kits from the guy down the street. Often it will be the individual producer that provides
the more obscure and interesting characters.
I'll be covering the pitfalls and pleasures of those kits produced by amateurs because of their
interest in their subjects, rather than for the money they can make. Although the accuracy or
quality of these kits may be slightly lacking, the challenge and anticipation of crafting that
creature that haunted your childhood dreams can go a long way in overcoming thesedistractions. Of course, this will be a "worst case scenario" with many different problems
cropping up in one kit. Most kits are not quite this challenging, but it's best to know
everything you might face and be prepared to correct it.
Kit Preparation
While the large manufacturers of vinyl and resin kits have become experts in quality control,
the small, home based kit producers can offer product that varies widely in quality from
creator to creator and even from kit to kit. It pays to inspect any kit you plan on buying very
carefully, since the quality of the casting will not only affect your final piece, but how much
time you will spend in correcting flaws and details. However, inspection isn't always an
option since many kits are only available by mail. Many garage kits don't come in nice boxes
with interesting art either, they have been known to come in a plastic bag with no instruction
sheet and it's up to you to figure out how all the parts go together. So, a bit of knowledge
about your subject and some modeling knowledge will come in handy.
Cleaning up
The best way to start your project is with a bath. Using a mild soap and warm water, carefully
wash off all parts to eliminate any mold release agent (and there could be quite a bit). Handle
thin, fragile looking parts with extreme care since the resin can be brittle and break easily.Because of the manual nature of casting garage kits, there can be excessive amounts of flash,
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but be careful in removing it. Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between what is
flash and what is intended to be detail. This is where knowledge of your subject will serve
you well.
1A. Right out of the box. These are
all the parts for the resin Ymir as they
came. Note the flash on several of
the parts. Depending upon the quality
of the resin used for casting, it can
be brittle, so handle it with care.
1B. Many flaws show up as bubbles
and pinholes which are caused by
air bubbles trapped n the resin
during the curing process. Someflaws can also be caused by a casting
made from a mold that is deterioration.
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2A. Gap-filling super glue is applied to
larger holes using a needle eye applicator.
2B. An alternative method of hole filling,
using Squadron putty, thinned 50% with lacquerthinner and applied with a brush. This covers
larger areas of small flaws and doesn't obscure
the detail.
2C. Often, large areas can be lost during
casting due to air pockets in the mold.
2D. Milliput is very useful in restoring
lost areas and rebuilding details.
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2E. Smaller details, such as claws and
teeth can be lost in casting as well.
2F. Claws are replaced with Milliput.
2G. Missing teeth have been replaced
with the tips of straight pins.
Air trapped in a resin casting can cause other problems that don't become visible until you
begin to sand rough areas. Bubbles that were below the surface of the resin as it hardened
cause a honeycomb effect beneath the skin of your model. Sanding can often reveal these
flaws which are easily repaired with thinned putty. Many times you can spot these problem
areas before sanding by holding parts up in front of a bright light and looking for thin spots.If the depth of the flaw is too great, you can clean out the honeycomb with a motor tool and
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fill the resulting hole with Milliput A+B epoxy putty. Using Milliput will also give you a
chance to resculpt any surface detail that was lost.
Reference materials play an important part in this pre-assembly stage as well. Although most
garage kits build up into good representations of their subjects, there are often some details
missing. If complete or at least near complete accuracy is important to you, then back issuesof Science Fiction and Monster movie magazines will become an important part of your
modeling reference library.
Assembly
More than with most standard kits, dry fitting parts on a garage kit is essential. You will often
find that surfaces that are supposed to mate, don't exactly match. You will have to sand and
shape mating surfaces to match each other. This is a result of the "non-professional" nature of
the casting process in garage kits. Most casters do their absolute best to deliver an accurate
kit, but every part doesn't always match up. Test fitting and shaping are the best way to assureproper fit.
3A. Draw an "X" on the mating surface
part to be joined to determine the
center of the surface. Drill locating
hole for pin at the center of the "X".
3B. Holding the part in place, use the overlapping
of the "X" to mark corresponding points on the second
part. Use these points to make a duplicate "X" on
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the second part.
3C. Super glue the pin, in this case
a section of a paper clip, into the
hole in the center of the "X".
3D. Locate the pin in the hold drilled in the mating part.
3E. Even after sanding and shaping, gaps can
remain between assembled parts.
Since most mating surfaces are smooth and without male/female locators, pinning parts
together for strength is another important part of assembly. The trick to pinning accurately is
finding the center of both parts in order to locate the pins. After you have shaped both matingsurfaces so they match up to your satisfaction, draw an "X" on the mating surface of one of
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the parts. Be sure that the "X" overlaps the mating surface so you can see its outer legs when
the parts are placed together. When you place the two parts together, mark the location of the
legs on the second part. Now you have reference markings to make a second "X" on the
mating surface of the that part. When you drill holes at the center of the two "Xs", the holes
should line up with each other. Using super glue, affix a small piece of wire (a piece of paper
clip works well here) into one hole. After it is dry and secure, test fit again before finallygluing the part in place.
Of course, super glue is an absolute necessity for assembling any resin kit, but 5 minute
epoxy can come in handy for attaching parts that still have gaps even after all the sanding and
shaping is done. The epoxy helps to fill the gaps from within and provides a strong joint. Any
remaining gaps can be handled with gap filling super glue or model putty. However if the
surface you're filling needs detailing to match surrounding areas, Milliput Epoxy Putty
becomes indispensable. As the two-part putty sets up, you can detail it and blend the edges
into a seamless surface. It also comes in handy for replacing details that have been lost in
casting or filling the larger holes caused by large bubbles in the resin. Milliput is very user
friendly, it is easily worked and smoothed with water and it holds detail well.
4A,4B. Front and back views of assembled Ymir show areas
where Milliput was used to fill gaps and replace lost detail.
Naturally, all these problems won't appear in every kit and as casting materials and
techniques improve, so will the quality of these small-run kits. Once you've assembled your
garage kit, you're ready to move on to the most rewarding part of the process, the painting.
Painting
Resin kits accept nearly any kind of paint you'd use on a styrene kit; enamels, acrylics,
lacquers or oils, or any combination. On the other hand, vinyl kits can be very picky about
paint and it's best to stick with the water-based acrylics since enamels and oils won't fully dry
on a vinyl surface. Once your figure is primed, you can test nearly every painting technique
you know. A monster's surface practically cries out for washes, dry brushing, blending and
shading or any other tricks you can think of. It's all up to you.
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4C. The finished, painted creature standing with
reference material xeroxed from books and magazines.
Reference material is important to restoring lost
details and assuring the accuracy of the final piece.
Bases and Dioramas
Although there is a new trend toward including "Aurora" style bases in recent garage kits,
many kits come as "stand alone" figures. Depending upon how much space you have to
display your creations, you may want to create your own base or create a diorama to show off
your creature. Bases can range from a simple stained wooden plaque to a landscaped, themed
base that reflects your creation's environment. Of course, dioramas for these creatures will let
your imagination run wild.
5A. The elements of a simple diorama.
Styrofoam blocks, shaped into columns
with sand paper will be covered with
plaster to duplicate a stone surface.
Airfix multi-pose soldiers used in the
scene help provide scale to the creature
and add detail to the base.
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5B. The final piece based on a scene from the
movie 20,000,000 Miles To Earth where the Ymir
smashes the pillars in the Temple of Saturn in
Rome during a confrontation with soldiers.
If you're ready to take the plunge into the world of garage kits, you are now prepared to take
your Science Fiction and Horror dreams and nightmares and build them into a reality.