In the General modeling section I was asking about the Italian AB41 by Warrior, I haven't had any responses but on another site it has been suggested that it may be too advanced for a beginner, I've never built a resin kit. So before I spend the money to ruin a kit, I thought I'd ask for suggestions for a good starter kit. I prefer 1/35 1930 ish to WW2 and something not easily found in plastic kits, however my interests are not limited to that period and would be perfectly happy with an armor kit from any period if it is a better choice to get my feet wet.

Aaron,

First off, before you tackle a complete resin kit, ahve you any experience with resin aftermarket goodies?

The reason I say this is that this area is the best place to get the experience of resin and skills. So before a start ramblin here, tell me (or all of us) your past aftermarket use and I can go from there.

Dave

Excellent point for CDave.... let me add jmy thougts...

First, Resin kits require special tools... it is much more difficult to work with than just soft styrene plastic. You may need some speialized tools, such as :

- a razor saw,
- rotory tool,
- small scribing tool
- good filler putty
- good selections of sanding pads.
- breathing mask (hey - the dust is superfine, and breathing it into your lungs is BAD news!)

Of course, you also need CA glue and other materials common to all model kits. Resin kits are not impossible, but are less forgiving than the typical plastic model. They are also expensive, as you no doubt know.

I do a lot of work with resin kits and pieces... there is a nice variety out there, but I might suggest you start first with some of the nice resin Figures that are on the market from Verlinden, Custom Dioramics, Jaguar, Warriors, etc. They will give you a good idea of what working with the material is all about before you dump $75 or more on an armor resin kit.

Aaronv,
if you are interested in the AB41 go for the Crielmodel's one that's quite easy to build. If you want something stunning in terms of ease of building and quality too go for a L6/40 from Model Victoria.
If you wish you can also have a full interior set. This model goes toghether like a Tamiya's plastic one...
Ciao

my vote would be for the AA 17pndr...nice simple start and a great result

Slap Head

Thanks for the suggestions, the Criel and model victoia stuff looks really good, I'm currently building the old Revell / Italeri M13/40 and Semovente, some of the figures and the add on kits look tempting but might be a bit much right now, I'm familiar with the British pound but how does a Euro compare with the US $, roughly equal or vastly differant?

Cdave and KFmagee
The only experience I have with resin is I've got some 15mm resin / metal mini's from Battlefront, those pretty much just require gluing the metal to the resin, but very little prep work required. So any advice would be welcome, and you may assume I am a complete amateur.
I knew resin required more prep work than plastic kits and uses differant glue but I didn't realize resin required so much additional equipment, I've got most of those tools around for one reason or another so thats not really a problem, but figuring out when to use them might be. Any suggestions for reading up on the subject?

Thanks

Aaron:

There might be a happy medium for you here. Roo Resin has an aftermarket kit available that fits perfectly to Tamiya's deuce and half truck. It's a resin Command body that replaces the truck bed of the Tamiya kit.

You have the best of both worlds here with this scenario. This kit fits your preferred timeline, is based on Tamiya's deuce kit which is easily available and a good kit, and the Roo Resin aftermarket pieces are well poured, require a minimum of cleanup/assembly, and when completed, offer a vehicle that's a little more unique than the average softskins you see around. This is an excellent kit to wet your feet on for a beginning resin experience.

If you are interested, pm me, and I can send you review. Good luck on whatever you decide.
Steve

Hi..I agree with Scoccia on the Criel..I just finished my first full resin kit by them and was very happy with how it went together. It is the Trattore TL 37 (Africa) # RO58..Its going in my "Under the Sun" dio (group build).

1 Euro is roughly 1.1 USD.
Ciao

My advice would be to spend time doing aftermarket stuff like replacing /adding interior detail on kits. Make sure you are comfortable doing this before even beginning a resin kit. I just built my first all resin kit and was real glad I had the prior experience. Opening that box up is real scary and intimidating

hi again AaronW...

Did not mean to discourage you, more warn you over on tanknet...

anyhow, the main problem with resin kits is:

1. Using superglue...it is trickier to deal with. also, you will need accelorator for the SG as it only instantly sets when you do not want it to! Also, you need to cut off/sand off overpour blocks and any belmishes. This will require more heavy duty equipment, as resin is a fair bit harder than plastic...this means saws, files, and sandpaper...

2. Resin kits can be warped...this means you have to know how to heat them up (dryer/boiling water) taking care not to burn yourself, and then how to apply pressure to "correct" the kit. This is not hard, but requires patience, practice, and bravery!

3. Resin kits can be missing obvious parts...and this leads to No.4, resin's biggest failure...

4. Resin kits are notorious for having very simple instructions. You will need good references around to help you build. While some companies are better than others, none so far as i know have a set of instructions to equal Tamiya, Italeri, or DML.

But if you feel that you are fairly comfortable building plastic kits, you should be ready for a resin kit. Fair warning, it will probably NOT come out as nice as you would like, but the experience will prepare you for the next kit.

...and for reference, my first conversion was a Kirin T-90 kit...ugh! I have rebuilt it 3 times to get it correct. Just so you know.

Jacques, you didn't discourage me, I'm a little worried about repeating one of these Calvan and Hobbes strips from this thread https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/19054&page=1

I want to learn to build resin since it seems to be the only way to get some vehicles. Its kind of interesting how few Italian vehicles are out in plastic, yet the Japanese have a fair showing despite being about as ineffective as the Italian armor, I guess the number of Japanese companies helps, (maybe Italeri needs to get a bit more patriotic ).

Since most of you suggest starting with accessary kits I may grab some figures and the kit that goes with the Zavezda M13/40 along with another M13/40 to put it on.

I have to learn how to build resin because I ran across the Accurate Armor Tortose

http://www.accurate-armour.com/ShowProduct.cfm?CFID=243587&CFTOKEN=62961873&manufacturer=0&category=3&product=48

and I now I really need to get one someday

Thanks for the suggestions

If you want a real good experience for a first resin kit, you can't go wrong with Formations M4A1 Sherman or their newer M4A2.

These kits are awesome -- more complete and easy to build than many styrene kits. And the instructions are a dream -- big, detailed drawings on 8 1/2 x 11 inch bond paper -- several pages, including an inventory list. When you get the kit, do an inventory and check parts for bubbles. If anything is wrong, call or e-mail Formations and a replacement is sent immediately.

Here's the website: http://www.formationsmodels.com/

You will need a donor kit for the lower hull tub and some of the suspension components -- most Italeri Sherman variants (except the M7 Priest and Kangaroo) are suggested. A small PE set for the headlight guards is also needed. MV lenses are included in the kit, as well as wire and styrene rod for a few of the details -- you'll have plenty of extra parts left over afterward to seed your parts box.

I have no affiliation with this company other than satisfied customer.