So I have been working on a Lightning for quite a few months due to having to step away from the project a few times off and on. Earlier in the project I worked on an Ares cockpit set for the plane including trimming all of the extra resin off of the cockpit tub pieces and getting the fit correct. Afterwards I put the kit down for 3 months or so due to business at work.
This past week I got back to it and finished painting the ares kit but now have a problem. The main part of the resin kit represents the bottom and back wall of the cockpit tub. The piece warped over the past few months as it was sitting unused. I am assuming that there was some internal stress on the part that caused it to warp once I removed all of the excess resin. The end result is that the floor of the cockpit tub bends downward towards the front.
Are these resin parts open to mild reshaping via judicious application of heat? I was thinking of warming it with a heat gun or maybe using something like the tea candle I use when stretching sprue. I dont need a huge change, maybe just a movement of 1/8" over the length of the part.
Thoughts?
John
I don’t know for sure because I’ve never tried to heat and reshape resin but I’d take it really easy on the heat. I think I’d steer clear of the candle idea. That could heat it up too quickly I think.
Maybe you could use boiling water…or at least very hot water. Start with lower heat and if it doesn’t work slowly add some heat. A rolling boil might be too much.
Do you have a spare resin part you could practice with?
Didn’t Chuckw use a hair dryier on his resin Ju 388 to straighten some parts? If anyone here remembers the build? Try and clamp it straight and aim a hair dryer at it. When you un-clamp it it should be straight.
A few months ago, I bought a bust with a ful musket that was warped. I clamped it straight and used a hair dryer on its hot setting. After heating it, I dipped it in cd water (or ran cold water over it) to lock the shape. I did this until it was completely straight. After five months, it’s still straight.
The methods I have heard of for heating resin to remove warps are boiling (or very hot) water, the heat gun/blower, or microwaving. I have only used the heat gun myself. It was a little gun, called a stamping iron used for scrapbooking (bought at Michaels craft store) to straighten wings. Clamp part to something that will remove the warp while heating.
NEVER use open flame! It’s way too unpredictable in terms of the intensity and escalation of the eat being applied… I always use hot, boiled water, or a hair dryer.