Saturday 3 April 2010

Resin Models


I bought this little (3.5 inches long) resin model recently for £4 plus P&P. The detail is good BUT have a look at the 'flash' on the tail. Those fins are thin and great care will be needed, and a little luck, to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, without damaging the model. Resin is notoriously brittle.

I am not picking on this manufacturer. The flash on Forge World models is appalling and I have paid over £100 for a Forge World model to find parts warped beyond any hope of recovery.

I contrast this with Jez's models at Old Crow. His kits come with all the flash removed and components sanded smooth, so that the bits fit straight out of the box. Warped or 'bubbled' parts are detected and dumped at the quality control process. Contrast this with the holes in the wings on the model above.

As I said, I am not picking on this manufacturer, which is why I have not named them. This level of quality is endemic across the hobby and I don't think that it is good enough.

4 comments:

  1. I bought a tank from Old Crow some years back expecting to have have to give it the same treatment as a Forgeworld mini (clean flash, wash, wash again & fix warping), but was rather shocked to find it already sanded & ready for assembly with no prep required!

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  2. Dear Cheef
    Old Crow are a refreshing change. I once asked Jez if cleaning his models before sail was a big job. "Not for me, I have a workshop," he replied. Jez remarked that he regarded warped or flashed components as a manufacturing defect - to be fixed or replaced before it reached the customer.

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  3. If only FW thought the same way, I don't think I've ever had a straight barrel from them.

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