Working With Resin (e.g., Forgeworld)

I finally broke down and bought a Forgeworld Barbed Hierodule. Now, as I test fit the pieces, I realize I haven't really done my research on how to best work with resin, so I posted my questions on how best to work with the material on a couple of forums and here's the synopsis of what I got back.

Notes and Observations

The resin pieces were actually quite different than I expected. I'm more used to clipping parts off plastic sprue. The Forgeworld pieces will come in a bag of fairly large parts. Except for the 6 vents on the back, I didn't have to clip anything off a sprue. However, most of the parts had big tabs (the vent holes I think) that I had to trim off. The tabs were much bigger than you'd ever see with metal figures and will take some time to remove. The resin was also softer than I expected. I expected the pieces to be fairly rigid and hard. I was actually more concerned with pieces shearing. As it turns out, my pieces cut pretty easily with an Xacto knife, though you have to be patient and work on a small piece at time.

Cleaning

Use a toothbrush and some warm soapy water to remove any release agent that might still be on the model. This will give you a nice clean paiting surface. You can also use an old electric toothbrush to help the cleaning process. Check the pieces once dry. If there are any shiny bits left you may have to get a little rougher with the cleaning process.

Clipping and Trimming

Clipping works fine if the temperature is warm enough. One thing that is somewhat counter intuitive, but don't try to remove too much at one go if using clippers. Clipping slower is better in most cases with resin because trying to clip too large of piece is more likely to cause splintering or shearing. Usually you can feel whether the resin is going to cut or is resisting. If it is resisting, you can cut guide scores on the boundries of the cut prior to clipping, and this will help to avoid splintering.

You can also use a razor saw. It will cut through resin quite nicely, though many people recommend against it for safety reasons. Don't saw unless you are in a well ventilated area and are not going to be anywhere near kids. You should be wearing a respirator as resin dust can give you cancer.

Assembly

Most people recommending using superglue for assembly as resin is actually very responsive to superglue. Smaller resin piece will bond so strong that pinning isn't necessary, and if it is dropped, the resin will break before the bond. For a better bond, make sure you score the surfaces prior to gluing. If the joins are flat & clean the super glue will set almost immediately so dry fit everything. You don't get the chance to move bits around like you do on plastic models - mores the pity as fitting some FW parts can be a real pig.

You should pin larger models together due to its weight. It was highly recommended for my Barbed Hierodule because of the odd joints at the knees. For thicker pins, I used some 1/16" brass rod.

10:1 the model will need filling. I use green stuff & have a whole range of dental tools & clay shapers to make the best job of it. These should last me (the dental tools) forever so I don't really see it as an 'expense'.

Priming and Painting

Safety

Just a matter for health concern. If you do ANY serious sanding or sawing, do it in a well ventilated place or pick up a 3M micron filter mask. Resin particles are VERY unhealthy to breathe in.

Other Notes

Remember you have just spent a lot of money - spend a bit more to get the right tools to justify the outlay & so you don't get disenchanted or disappointed with it because you didn't put 100% in to preparing & putting it together right at the start.

Notes

Last updated	4/15/09
Author	Michael Kan
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Related Articles	None