This page deals with articles and references in building with resin. We hope you will find it useful in pursuit of our great hobby.

Resin: The Greener, Environmentally Friendlier Building Format for Model Making.

Have you been building in plastic for years and years? Sure it is a great format; the injection moulding, increasing intricate attention to details, the alignement pins to make a perfect match on body or fuselage halves, the ease of gluing and painting with the regular off-the-shelf stuff, the convenience of decal placement and adhesion, and finding the most popular models in this most user-friendly format.

But wait! Did you know that plastics are oil-based products? Of course we want our kits to last forever, or at least during our life-time and perhaps that of our offspring. Chances are they won't though. And plastic takes forever to breakdown, if ever, and return to a natural state. This coupled with the carbon producing way in which it is manufactured makes plastic a less environmentally friendly format and definitely not green.

Resin, on the other hand, is green, many are based on the chemicals found in tree sap and thus do not require the long, pollution producing methods needed to make plastic. And, if and when it is exposed to the natural elements, it will break down and return to a natural format centuries before plastic would.

Now resin, while improving in detail and becoming similar in feel and quality to plastic, is not plastic. It will take a bit more patience and diligence to produce a quality kit, however, you will also have much more satisfaction when your kit is completed.

One new aspect of resin, for those who dislike the vacuform canopies, is the new, clear resin being used for representing glass and other clear surfaces. This too is from the same process as the basic resin.

To add to the greeness of resin, there are a whole variety of water-based acrylic paints to choose from. There are even new, environmentally friendly, super-glues coming out.

And the decals are more green now too. Thanks to the new dry-inks and some rub-on tranfers these can be printed on a one-time run instead of several layers. This cuts down on electricty and the amount of ink and colors used.

So, if for no other reason, consider switching to resin for the environment. This helps you and those around you - all who share this big-blue and green ball we call Earth!

by Zane R Nobbs, 2009

Next month: Working Safely With Resin: Precautions, Safety Equipment You Can Use and a Patient Approach.

Model by Zane R Nobbs

Here is the Blohm und Voss BV.P.215 in 1/72. Originally this kit was made by Airmodel Products in all resin and is now put out by specialhobby in plastic with resin details. Both kits are clean for the parts but require experience.

The BV.P.215 was designed as a three-man night fighter with pilot, co-pilot and a rear-gunner manning a remotely controlled turrent with two MG 151 cannons. The aircraft was chosen for further development in March 1945 with component parts started. The conclusion of hostilities ended development.

Model by Zane R Nobbs

Above is the Focke-Wulf Ta-283 in 1/72. Powered by two Pabst ram-jets and a Walters HWK rocket for take off, the Ta-283 would have proven a worthy adversary for any Allied aircraft. Due to the deterioration of the war situation, plans did not advance beyond component parts design.

This kit was made by Toad Resins in a resin, white-metal, plastic format and is now available from Huma Modell in plastic.

Model by Zane R Nobbs 

This is the Sikorsky S-XVI by OMEGA Models in 1/72 all resin format. It was a rotary-engined scout of the Imperial Russian Air Force used in the First World War, Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War.

Photographs by Antonella C Codrignani