A mix of emotions. Long winded rant...

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Dealing with them at the moment.

I just placed an order for a few resin goodies. I need a single set of wheels for my current project. One stinking set. I need them because I’m an annal ass and can’t stand the looks of the kit part. Wheels are important ya know, very visible part of the kit.[*-)]
So I visit my favorite caster’s website. Shipping is nearly as much as the part so I want to get my money’s worth and make sure I get everything I need to avoid more high shipping later. Here we go again…

So I order two sets because I have another kit in the stash. And I may need Corsair wheels in the future because I plan to build another soon, so I get wheels for that too. Got to justify that shipping ya know. Oh, and the spitfire! I have a MKI in the stash and the exhausts suck. Get those too.

So now I’m looking at $40 for parts and shipping when they could stick them in the mail and save me $6 or so. But no, they have to charge the $9. And if they’d just charge the buck it’d take to get them here I’d not have to pump up my order to feel like the shipping was worth it.
So now, I’m happy I have what I want coming. I’m angry that I had to pay the outrageous shipping. I feel stupid for spending the money when things are so tight. And just two days ago I put a kit back on the shelf because I couldn’t justify spending the money until I get back to work full time. And I need that kit for a GB commitment too.

UGH!

Whatever.
I felt kinda of silly also, because in the last two days I’ve had to vacuum my bench three times to rid my area of some of the mess. Been lots of sanding, cutting, and what not with all the scratch stuff going on. And I had to giggle at myself while I run the little hand vac’s hose over the bench because I’m nearly panicked. I feel panic over all those bits of strip, rod and sheet I’m sucking up because most of them are bigger than the parts I made from them. Seems like such a waste of material!!! I ended up scraping most of the bigger slivers up and putting them in my scrap drawer.
I even had to clear a place to lay parts I was working on because I couldn’t tell them from the scraps.
It’s sick I tell ya. Just sick.

2

Hey Feel you pain.

Just a note as far as shipping.

Boxes, tape, bubble wrap,packing penuts etc are hard to come by for free
sometimes they add a little to the shipping costs to recover some of the material costs

Dr

3

Shooter, I don’t wanna play “Captain Obvious” or anything, but I really wish you could see your way clear to starting to scratchbuild and cast stuff like that… I know you’re “good enough” (hell, everybody is, really…It’s a matter of “Wanna”) to do it…

Corsair tires & wheels… Or any wheel for that matter… Plus figures, stacks, panels, guns, etc…

You need one of each type and a casting kit… Alumalite makes a very good one, complete with resin and liquid latex to make the molds… For what you’re paying for these parts that someone else is making, you can DIY and save about 30.00… The resin and RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanizing Rubber) can be bought separately as well… The kit includes dyes for the resin too, otherwise, it’s straight white or tan when cured…

If you take the kit part and build ONE good wheel out of it, you can cast four for about a 1.00 per wheel, not to mention that you can use the molds over and over…

If you have a Hobby Lobby nearby, print out a 40% coupon and pick up a casting kit… Granted, you’ll initially have a rejection rate that will be high, but eventually, you’ll be able to get about a 90% acceptance rate…

You could also pick up a Shep Paine’s book, “How to Build Dioramas”… It’s chock fulla stuff on scratch-building and even does a step-by-step bit on casting a wheel & tire…

But let me paint you a picture with the casting of Spitfire tire… You take the kit part, drill out the parts that need it, add any tread that’s rquired, add any shim you need to make it wider, or sand off anything that needs to be smaller/thinner, whatever, make a “bulged and flattened” tire… Jjust generally make ONE good wheel & tire… Then take that as your “master” and cast as many as you think you’ll need for the rest of your Spitfire-modeling life, lol… Same with the Corsair, the Spit’s exhaust, etc…

Intial outlay for resin and RTV may look expensive when you think about just one model part, but trust me… Once you start doing it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start years and years ago… And you’ll be turning out parts for a few pennies on the dollar…

4

I can’t argue with your logic, Hans, and it’s something I’ve considered trying.
There are a couple of reasons I havent yet, the first the biggest which is trying to get the level of detail into the master that I see in comercial parts is intimidating. UltraCast wheels are tiny works of art. I don’t know how they do it but their wheels are extremely detailed. That’s the level of detail I’d want or I’d consider the whole project a waste of time and money. I can see wheels sliced into multiple levels, detailed each level to the max then sandwich it all together to make a single unit. Weeks of work on a single piece. Which brings me to the next reason I’ve not tried it.

Building the master would easily take me many hours before I’d ever, if ever be happy with it. Working two jobs sometimes and spending time with my son barely leaves me time to model at all usually. For me to attempt to make masters to the level of detail I want would be a huge gamble and cost all the little modeling time I’d have for a good period of time. Probably an entire winter season and I’d rather build models.

I’m not to concerned about the cost of starting up because in the long run I’d be money ahead for sure if I made my own. The fastest way to get what I want would be to learn to cast using original parts as masters, and that’s something I don’t think is right. I know people who do, good for them. But I don’t really want to go down that road.

If one steps back and considers what actually goes into the parts themselves the price becomes reasonable and something I’m happy to pay for the convenience of their use. I’ve never complained (much) about the price casters ask for their work. It’s usually the shipping that gets my goat. And while the comment about packing material is valid, it don’t require a box, foam peanuts, or bubble wrap to ship a couple of nearly indestructable resin wheels. A .99 padded envelope would suffice.

5

I agree with you. Shipping costs really can add up.

Regards, Rick

6

Hans, I know you gave a pretty good rundown in this thread on casting, but could I trouble you to spell out exactly what I should purchase? I have a Hobby Lobby nearby and I may want to give this a try. I noticed they have a few casting sets and want to make sure I get the recommended one. I have a number of cockpit interior sets I want to reproduce and like the opportunity to save some money. thanks.

7

If you think about it though, you’ve rewarded the behavior that you are angry about by buying all those extra items. For $2 shipping, you would have bought one item. For $9 shipping you bought a bunch of items. Not picking on you, I’ve done the same thing many times when I really wanted that one thing.

I agree that shipping materials cost money, but the seller can be more efficient too. I see many vendors give a small item shipping option where they use a small padded envelope that is cheaper to ship instead of a big box full of mostly air and packing materials.

8

What you say is true for certain.

Shipping charges like that remind me of an extreme example that caused me to never shop a company again. A number of years ago I was building an FAL and my kit had a severely buggered screw on the rear sight. No problem, I knew who had them. Looked the company up, clicked a couple of times and had my order ready. Until I saw the shipping charge. Mandatory $8.95 shipping no matter what the item. It was a single .50 cent screw. One. Uno.
There was absolutely no way on the face of this planet I was A) paying that shipping for one screw, or B) adding a bunch more crap to the order to justify the shipping charges. I never shopped that company again.

The Ultracast example is not nearly the extreme of the above but not way off. In the case of the screw I knew of many other avenues available to get one so that’s what I did, in fact I got one for the price of a postage stamp.
In the case of the resin, I know of nobody else who offers such a superior product as UC does so if I want that quality that’s the route I choose.

As I was digging through boxes last night checking for other parts I could add to the order I stumbled across resin I forgot I had in the F7F box. Amoung other things there was a set of very fine Cutting Edge resin wheels looking back at me. Boy how I wish that company was still around as they had some very fine work as well.

9

Exactly. Gun parts are a great example of that. One of the reasons I do business with Brownells is that they will mail you a small screw or spring in an envelope for less than $2. I don’t understand why other companies can’t do that?

10

Alumalite Casting kits are available at HL… Here’s their website… Check the videos.

http://www.alumilite.com/

I use “Amazing” resin and the Alumalite “Quick Set” RTV for most applications, like figures and wheel-sets… For items with deep undercuts, I use the High-Strength 3 RTV… This stuff is more rugged than the Quick-set RTV and won’t tear as easily when you’re removing a part. Just follow the label instructions and you should do ok…

You WILL have a few castings that don’t make the cut until you figure a few things out, mostly making sure to get as much air out of the resin as you can… Unless you go all-out and cast with a pressure-pot, that is… I haven’t gone that far yet though…

Keep in mind that the mold box is the most important. If you cut corners with it, you’ll have problems. I use Legos to make the mold boxes.

For a casting like a wheel, it’s pretty straightforward… First, coat the master with a release agent of some kind (I use silicone lubricant that I get from an amusement company, the type used for lubing foosball rods, but you can use cooking oil too) use a paper-clip glued into the master to suspend it in the mold-box. Pour the RTV in, halfway up the side of the master. Make sure to shake it a bit, to get rid of any trapped air under the part.

Once the first half is set, cut keys into the rubber, then pour the second half, making sure you lube the top of the first half of the mold, or the RTV will stick to itself… Once it’s set, pull the mold out of the mold box, then separte the halves, removing the master. Cut vent holes and a pouring hole into the rubber. The pouring hole has to be fairly big, and it will also be your sprue.

Re-lube the mold-halves, put them together and clamp them. Tightly enough to prevent leaks, not so tight as to deform the mold. I sinwich them between some basswood strips and secure with rubber bands.

Mix the resin per the instructions and pour it into the mold, making sure that the air escapes… Work fast, but don’t get sloppy either… It’ll pour about like white glue… Once set, break open the mold-halves and your part should be complete…

Small air-bubbles will likely happen to you at first, but most can be filled with putty or CA and sanded smooth…

One-sided parts are even easier than two-sided ones… I just press the side I want reproduced into some clay or plaster and pour the resin into the depression… Any flash can be sanded off after it’s set…

11

Excellent tutorial…very much appreciated. I will wait for the next 40% coupon and will trek there to give this a go. I have some BF-109 interiors I want to replicate for a number of kits and this sure sounds like an economical way to go.

Again, thanks

12

OK, stupid question time. Before I ask it, I have seen those casting kits at HL and have been kicking around the idea of grabbing one. It’s probably time to go ahead and pull the trigger.

Here my question: Am I correct in assuming that you need an original before you cast anything? Like do you open a kit, grab say, the tires for instance and just make however many copies, put them in a baggie and lable them?

It’s always seemed a little like witchcraft to me Hans since I remember you saying on multiple occasions that you have cast something for someone. I mean, how do you go about it when someone PM’s you and says their canopy is in 5 pieces cuz they stepped on it and you make them one?

I am genuinely curious since I am in this for the long haul and if I can make my own tires and such (I hate, hate tire seams) for a fraction of the cost that is a big plus.

It just seems like people are making stuff out of thin air. I know that isn’t the case. Enlighten me Sarge. If you have already answered this in detail and don’t want to type it all out again, a link would be fine.

Regards,

Jeff

13

And don’t forget to mention that if he gets good enough, he could start selling little bits to us poor folk who don’t have any skill whatsoever with resin. lol And that would probably pay for his kit habit. :slight_smile:

Rich