Resin bodies?

[ewetwo]

I was at a flea market this past weekend and there a bunch of models. 70 or so kits. I noticed that some kits had 2 or 3 pale yellow bodies in them and they were resins. Like a 1958 Chevy Impala kit had a light yellow resin sedan delivery body in it. Did certain resin manufacturers tint their resin to distinguish their bodies from other manufacturers?

[peter31a]

The resin kits that were available in the 90's and early 2000's were nearly all yellow coloured. I don't know if it was a result of the resin available at the the time or if it was tinted but I remember being amazed when white resin that looked like plastic kit pieces first started coming out because I'd never seen anything like that before.

[Mark]

Looking at the bigger aftermarket resin body casters, Modelhaus for example: earliest bodies were light brown/caramel color, after a few years they began using an off-white/light tan resin.  The lighter color resin can take on a yellowish cast if left exposed to light (especially fluorescent light) for a while.

[ewetwo]

I went back and bought the kits with the resin bodies. I'll post a photo of them later.

[oldcarfan]

For a short time in the late 90s I worked for a company producing resin bodies. We used various brands of resin depending on availability. Some were white and some were tan or yellowish when cured. Over time they all tend to discolor a bit.

I still have a few parts left over from that time and even the formerly white ones are now a yellow color due to age.

[bobss396]

I have some old resin bodies and parts, I keep the bodies in the boxes they come in. Most are tan-ish in color. Still, after 20+ years they reek of fuel oil when I sand them. IIRC, we have lost a resin caster or more due to resin processing toxicity and one was very sick for a while. 

The guys that use the thin-cast white resin seem to be doing a lot better health-wise.

[ewetwo]

1 hour ago, bobss396 said:

I have some old resin bodies and parts, I keep the bodies in the boxes they come in. Most are tan-ish in color. Still, after 20+ years they reek of fuel oil when I sand them. IIRC, we have lost a resin caster or more due to resin processing toxicity and one was very sick for a while. 

The guys that use the thin-cast white resin seem to be doing a lot better health-wise.

Wow! Maybe I'll just past them on. I'm not much of a scratch builder anyway. 

[ewetwo]

Here are photos of the resins with the donor kits they were in. Though some are missing tires and wheels. 

[espo]

While my experience with resin bodies is limited, what I have noticed in the last couple of years is that the better and smoother castings seem to be made with some sort of white colored resin. The last one I did was a '67 Chevelle two door post and the bodies finish as purchased would rival most plastic kits of today. 

[Brian Austin]

In the late 1980s or 1990s Scale Auto Enthusiast did a full issue roundup of resin kits available at the time.  You'd be surprised at the variety of colors they were cast in.  Some resins even contained metal particles.

[bobss396]

18 hours ago, espo said:

While my experience with resin bodies is limited, what I have noticed in the last couple of years is that the better and smoother castings seem to be made with some sort of white colored resin. The last one I did was a '67 Chevelle two door post and the bodies finish as purchased would rival most plastic kits of today. 

Like an idiot, I bought a resin '64 Fairlane stock car body at a show... a weak moment. I would have been much better off using the kit body I had around. Man did that require a ton of sanding on the inside to make it workable. The new thinner white resins are the way to go. Mold design is also a key part to making them thin.

[ewetwo]

Seems like the builder has done some work on them. 2 chassis he has set to go. I haven't a clue on building resins. I'll just sell them.

[peteski]

4 hours ago, ewetwo said:

Seems like the builder has done some work on them. 2 chassis he has set to go. I haven't a clue on building resins. I'll just sell them.

Plastic (Polystyrene, ABS) *IS* resin.  So if you have been building model kits from companies like Revell or AMT, you have do have a clue how to build resin.

What I'm trying to say is that if either of those bodies is something you're interested in building, I would say keep them and give them a try.  Just don't try using any of the standard solvent-based plastic cements.  That is the biggest difference between the polystyrene resin and urethane resin.

[ewetwo]

23 minutes ago, peteski said:

Plastic (Polystyrene, ABS) *IS* resin.  So if you have been building model kits from companies like Revell or AMT, you have do have a clue how to build resin.

What I'm trying to say is that if either of those bodies is something you're interested in building, I would say keep them and give them a try.  Just don't try using any of the standard solvent-based plastic cements.  That is the biggest difference between the polystyrene resin and urethane resin.

They are out of my league LOL. Most likely let them go. 

[Dave Ambrose]

On 3/1/2024 at 12:46 PM, peteski said:

Plastic (Polystyrene, ABS) *IS* resin.  So if you have been building model kits from companies like Revell or AMT, you have do have a clue how to build resin.

Polystyrene, the typical kit plastic, is not resin. It's polymerized by a different process, then mixed with other chemicals to give it flexibility (aka plasticizers). The molder gets it in little pellets, and they heat them to inject them into the molds. Resin sets via a catalyst, which is why it's two part. Resins aren't generally vulnerable to solvents like plastics. You have to use super-glue or epoxy to bond it.

[peteski]

8 hours ago, Dave Ambrose said:

Polystyrene, the typical kit plastic, is not resin. It's polymerized by a different process, then mixed with other chemicals to give it flexibility (aka plasticizers). The molder gets it in little pellets, and they heat them to inject them into the molds. Resin sets via a catalyst, which is why it's two part. Resins aren't generally vulnerable to solvents like plastics. You have to use super-glue or epoxy to bond it.

I understand what you are saying about the differences but  . . . plastics (thermoplastics) and Polyurethane resins  are both types of polymers .  Assembling models made from either polystyrene or urethane is similar, other than the type of adhesives used on each (which I did mention in my previous post).  Actually while solvent-type cements cannot be used on urethane resin, any cement that works with urethane can be used on polystyrene.    My earlier post was basically to try getting David to jump in and try something new.

[ewetwo]

I did some searching and they seem to be Jimmy Flintstone resins?