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Author Topic: Questions about assembling resin building pieces...  (Read 1079 times)

Offline PhilB

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Questions about assembling resin building pieces...
« on: April 21, 2018, 04:19:32 PM »
A few months back I got a big box of resin building kits from a Tabletop Basement kickstarter, and finally got round to opening one of the packs to see what was inside.

My main question is: what is the best adhesive to use on resin parts, especially for resin-to-resin bonds?

A few more details about working with resin kits:
The "good" side holds very detailed stone or timber-framed surfaces, and is entirely satisfactory. The "off" side leaves me wondering what to do. At the edges and around the door and window spaces, the surface of the resin rises up in a sort of puckered lip all around the edges, it's doubtless an artifact of the pouring and drying process. Now, if I were just assembling the buildings for their exterior appearance, that wouldn't be much of a problem, except for the assembly phase. But I'm planning on doing interiors, so...

Subsidiary questions:
1) Should I try to trim the puckered edges flat prior to assembly (adjoining walls, etc) or should I plan on filling in the cavities during assembly?

2) Should I use an Xacto knife to trim the puckered edges around the doors and windows, or will I have better results with a dremel wheel? Is resin dust going to be a problem?

Any other pointers on using resin models, especially in assembling building models, will be much appreciated. Pictures soon.
« Last Edit: April 21, 2018, 04:23:38 PM by PhilB »

Offline Westfalia Chris

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Re: Questions about assembling resin building pieces...
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2018, 04:58:30 PM »
A few months back I got a big box of resin building kits from a Tabletop Basement kickstarter, and finally got round to opening one of the packs to see what was inside.

My main question is: what is the best adhesive to use on resin parts, especially for resin-to-resin bonds?

I have had good results for a variety of resins using both CA glue (superglue) and 2-part epoxy glues. The latter may be preferable if you require a degree of positioning while glueing, and are more often less irritating with regard to fumes.

Quote
A few more details about working with resin kits:
The "good" side holds very detailed stone or timber-framed surfaces, and is entirely satisfactory. The "off" side leaves me wondering what to do. At the edges and around the door and window spaces, the surface of the resin rises up in a sort of puckered lip all around the edges, it's doubtless an artifact of the pouring and drying process. Now, if I were just assembling the buildings for their exterior appearance, that wouldn't be much of a problem, except for the assembly phase. But I'm planning on doing interiors, so...

Subsidiary questions:
1) Should I try to trim the puckered edges flat prior to assembly (adjoining walls, etc) or should I plan on filling in the cavities during assembly?

2) Should I use an Xacto knife to trim the puckered edges around the doors and windows, or will I have better results with a dremel wheel? Is resin dust going to be a problem?

It sounds like the pieces were cast in an open mould. In this case, is the "off side" devoid of all detail, i.e. a flat surface, or is there detail on there? If the side is "flat", then I would suggest wet-sanding the whole area, i.e. get various degrees of sanding paper (450 to 600 would probably suffice) which are suitable for the process, then dip the side to be sanded into water and sand on the paper laid flat on a suitable surface (work table, for example).

The water binds the resulting dust somewhat, although you will have to re-moisten the sanded side occasionally. I would still suggest a fine particle mask (FFP3 level should suffice) just to be on the safe side, and maybe some googles to avoid getting the stuff in the eyes.

Once you have a flat plane, any cavities could be filled using CA glue and baking soda or other more liquid fillers.

Offline PhilB

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Re: Questions about assembling resin building pieces...
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2018, 04:44:00 PM »
It sounds like the pieces were cast in an open mould. In this case, is the "off side" devoid of all detail, i.e. a flat surface, or is there detail on there?

Yes, the "off" side is devoid of detail, with frequent bubbles visible, and raised puckered edges along all the sides and the door and window voids.

I'm going to try your sanding suggestion, then try superglue for assembly. In order to do playable interiors, I think I'll try like on my previous project to print floors and wall textures on paper (on the printer) then paste them to the "off" side of the resin pieces before assembly. Not sure what adhesive to use to get the paper to bond with the post-sanding resin walls, but trial and error ought to do the trick.

My attempt at painting the interior after assembly was less than optimal (on the laketown house) if only because after assembly it's so hard to reach everything.

Some of the resin pieces are slightly warped, so hopefully the assembly process will help flatten them. In some cases I may have to add heavy cardstock (old bank calendars) to reinforce them. I'll try to post pictures of all stages of development here, if only to get additional suggestions about how to proceed.

Thanks for the detailed advice, Chris! All told, I'm fairly happy with my bulk order from Tabletop Basement, and forsee some serious kitbashing, repurposing some of the walls and other bits to create a more varied townscape.

Offline Mako

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Re: Questions about assembling resin building pieces...
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2018, 07:09:34 AM »
Theoretically, if you use very warm to hot water (not quite boiling, though that would probably work too), you can soften the resin a bit, bend/flatten to shape, and then set with cool/cold water.

Resin dust is dangerous, so either use a very good quality dust mask (not the 10 cent ones that are made of paper, and don't fit properly), or use the wet sanding method.  The latter is much safer.

For gluing resin pieces together, make sure to rough sand the parts to be glued, with a coarse sandpaper (60 grit - 200/250 grit), depending upon the size and toughness of the resin.  The coarse grooves will give the glue something to hold on to.  I recommend epoxy glues.  Superglues can be too brittle for larger pieces, but will probably work okay for smaller ones.

As for the repair work/smoothing needed, probably a mix of filing, and sanding, as well as judicious use of strong putties, epoxy glue, and/or styrene to fix things, and/or to cover them up.

Good luck!

Offline digid

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Re: Questions about assembling resin building pieces...
« Reply #4 on: April 26, 2018, 04:59:21 AM »
Sounds like they just need the backs sanded smooth before assembly. As for glue superglue works well, but is fragile, epoxy holds better long term. If my resin building models are on a base then I use superglue, if they are free standing without a floor then I use epoxy. I also use green stuff to fill any seams.

For gluing the paper on if you prime them first then you can use standard thinned white glue.

I also scrub all my resin with comet and a tooth brush before painting. It is slightly abrasive and I have not had a problem with paint sticking once I started using it to clean it with. It does not remove detail, but does get all the mold release off. Hot soapy water not so much. Use a good primer on them. I like Tamyia or an automotive primer.

Dale