While I sell (literally) a ton of the hydrocal kits I make I noticed on another thread that some modelers just do not like plaster kits. Because I’m always looking to improve our products and keep them more user friendly I’d like to ask why it is that you either like or dislike plaster/hydrocal kits.
I use hydrocal (a hard casting plaster) for my kits because I can make the molds cheaply (which means I can offer a larger variety), the plaster is less expensive than resin, hold great detail, the main structure of most buildings can be glued together & ready to paint in about 15 minutes, the plaster takes paint very nicely and if you have to modify a part it cuts/shapes easily. I guess I’m missing the downside, please enlighten me. Thanks guys.
Plaster breaks easily in shipment…every plaster building I’ve ever ordered was broken when I got it (to some degree)—some to the point of being unrepairable…
Speaking only for my company, Dioramas Plus, I do not have a problem with kits arriving broken. The plaster parts are wrapped in bubble wrap, then shrink wrapped to two sheets of thick cardboard, then wrapped in newsprint & finally secured in a thick cardboard box. The parts do not shake, rattle or roll. I once sent a kit to Italy, it came back (address problem) the post office sent it back to Italy, it was returned a second time & when I opened it the kit was still 100% intact…
We have a standard offer as well. If you somehow end up with a broken part, for any reason, at any time, I’ll send you the replacement parts at no charge, no questions asked.
I looked at a couple items for sale at a vendor table. The main thing that kept me from buying was the fact that the plaster was broken. Even if it is repairable, the concept of buying something broken does not appeal to me.
I’m sorry Randy, but no I do not recall. I didnot pay too much attention there, I just remember that they were some Atlantic Wall bunkers that were perfect for a diorama idea I have.
OK, thanks. I’ll say this. I’ve sold over 1000+ items at the “auction site” & have a 100% rating. No broken parts. Not to say of the thousands of kits I have shipped worldwide it has never happened, but 99.9 % of the time they get to where they’re going in one piece.
No problem…I’ll tell you what, send me one of your kits and I’ll post a “review” in here…if it arrives unbroken, I’ll be sold on your packing method. PM me for my addy…
i’ve only made 1 plaster building from Verlinden and thought it was great. The weight in it seems to add the feel and look of a solid wall without it being too fragile. The kit i got had a couple of broken bits in it, but it didnt worry me, as after i glued it and painted it, you couldn’t see the breaks. (until i dropped it!) And it’s easier to add damage like bullet holes and stiff, and taked paint and weathering easier.
I havent tried the plastic buildings yet, but i do want to do more plaster ones. Will have to order a couple of yours Randy!
I have always wanted to buy one of your kits they look great. and I like plaster kits because they paint easily with acrylics and the weather nice. The only problem is they break when shipped. have you made any new buildings yet?
I’ll be doing a review as well very soon. Randy has been kind enough to send me one of his kits and I will be incorpirating it into one of my dio projects…
