My 1st Funaro kit - suggestions

I just got my first Funaro and Carmelengo kit, and SP 50' box car. Looks like a box full of white chocolates.

Any suggestions on how not to put it together based upon experiences? It's my first resin kit. My previous most interesting kits built were a Proto 50' autobox and some Blueprint 40' boxes.

Greg

Reply to
Greg Forestieri
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Resin kits are great for those that enjoy building things. They are a LOT more work to assemble than an injection-molded kit, however.

Resin kits are made in rubber molds, and precise size, shape, and location are nearly impossible to maintain. The parts frequently warp a bit. Edges and corners are rarely straight or square. There is usually a lot of 'flash' on the smaller parts. Some castings, or the mold, may contain air bubbles on the surface ('craters' or 'warts'). You have to deal with all these things.

Needless to say, some kits/maunfacturers are FAR better than others. BUT, most resin kits are the ONLY models available for some obscure prototypes, so you're 'stuck' if you WANT the model. The only alternative is scratchbuilding, which is (usually) even more work.

Before you begin assembly, carefully WASH the kit parts in detergent and warm water. Resin parts usually have a slippery 'mold release' substance on them that will cause problems in painting and gluing.

Early resin kits were made from glass-hard resin, and were glass brittle. Newer kits are usually made from a slightly flexible resin, and are a lot less fragile.

Warped parts can be CAREFULLY straightened after heating them in HOT (not boiling) water. Sometimes a 'heat gun' will also work, but is harder to control.

Plan on spending a lot of time sanding.

Small parts are best 'released' from their backing sheets by sanding most of the backing away with the black 'wet or dry' type sandpaper, used WET. The parts will then be more easily cut out, with far less danger of breaking them.

It is usually best to file and sand ALL mating edges of major parts to assure flat and/or square surfaces and corners. Trial fit until a good joint exists before gluing.

I prefer 5-minute epoxy for all major structural joints, It's far stronger and less brittle than the common ACC 'superglues'. The ACC is fine for detail parts application, and faster. If the parts are thin and brittle, you may wish to reinforce some with sheet or strip styrene or brass. Small blocks or angles glued in hidden corners can make the model stronger, and assist in obtaining square corners.

When you're finished with construction, WASH the model in detergent and warm water AGAIN before painting. This removes any remaining 'mold release' and fingerprints.

Dan Mitchell ==========

Greg Forestieri wrote:

Reply to
Daniel A. Mitchell

I would suggest you _temporally_ put the F&C kit aside. Buy a Westerfield (or Sunshine) kit simple for the detailed instructions and photos. Once you have done one of those you will have a much better idea of how resin goes together and the kits come with very, very good instructions. Then build the F&C kit!

Reply to
Jon Miller

I don't know if this is a flat kit or not. If it is, you might want to put it aside and get a kit that has the "box" cast as a single piece. It should be a lot easier for your first attempt.

JP

Reply to
JP

Reply to
Pat Finley

Yes he did, we all got the message, why are you telling us? Keith Make friends in the hobby. Visit Garratt photos for the big steam lovers.

Reply to
Keith Norgrove

The trend away from pure flat kits should help prevent this.

I use ACC to tack the kits together then mix up a batch of epoxy to use as fillets inside the main box. I don't know if it would prevent shattering but it seems like it might.

Finally, you might want to look into black ACC which adds powdered rubber to the usual glue. It has shear strength considerably higher than regular gel ACC. I haven't tried it on resin kits, but now that I think about it, I will the next time I tackle that stack of unbuilt kits on my shelf.

JP

Reply to
JP

In addition to the regular ACC suppliers like Zap, Jet etc, Loctite also make a wide range of adhesives. There are at least 10 types of ACC designed for particular applications. I think the one you speak of is their 'Rubber Toughened' formula. They also have formulas specifically designed for bonding metals, plastics, etc.

These can be had at most industrial distributors.

Glen

Reply to
Glen Smith

The rubberized one is used to glue the tires onto slot cars. Joe's Hobby Center, in Farmington MI sells it too.

from

Reply to
Frank A. Rosenbaum

Steve,

Ah, the picture gets a little clearer, I think.

From your first post, I envisioned a "catastrophic" failure along the lines of a car dropping to the floor. From your last post it sounds more like a localized failure where the coupler mounts to a very thin floor.

Now, if this is correct, would gluing a piece of flat plastic to the floor and using a longer coupler mounting screw extending into the plastic reinforcement have solved the problem?

The only reason that I am digging into this is to tap into your experience as I too have a stack of older kits waiting to be built.

Thanks for your help!

Reply to
Allen Cain

I also dropped one of the P54's and got just about the same effect. It literally came apart at the seams.

I think so, now that I have gained a few years' experience. That sounds like the easiest, yet most efficient way to "brace" the floor.

Glad to help -- and I'm still learning as I read others' experiences with these sorts of kits.

Fortunately, all was not lost with the three F&C LIRR P54's I had. Though they did "die off" over 20 years of a few moves, some not-so-smooth operation, etc., I did not feel bad about "scrapping" them. I merely replaced them with one-piece shells from Images Replicas. I recycled the trucks (MDC Old Timer four-wheel trucks very closely resembled the flanged roller skates under LIRR P54's...) and the underbody details and step castings I had originally used. And I was even able to salvage five of the six MKD couplers!!

Reply to
Steve Hoskins

Exactly the stuff. It costs a fraction of what Loctite charges for theirs, if you can find it.

JP

Reply to
JP

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