[chimera]

If you've tested a resin, post it's qualties here. I'm always searching for new and better resins. If you know where to get the resin that Hobbyfan or the hong kong workshops use, or it's likeness, outside those countries or in the us let everyone know!

I've currently used/tested about 10 resins, I'll try to make a library of them here.

Japanese Wave resin:
This is the absolute tops I've used in resin, it's very soft, very non viscous. It's very fast curing, so detailed or large molds can be a problem. Makes a beautiful figure.
Available oversees from http://www.rainbowten.co.jp/
1012010122151,WAVE,,3480yen,OM151 WAVE RESIN CAST EX. IVORY 2Kg
1012010122152,WAVE,,3480yen,OM152 WAVE RESIN CAST EX. IVORY 2Kg
1012010122153,WAVE,,3980yen,OM153 WAVE RESIN CAST EX. WHITE 2Kg

The problem here is shipping will run twice the cost at least, making a minimum 2kg order over $100, more than triple the price per volume as the most expensive american resin.

Vagabond Resin: http://www.vagabondcorp.com/

This is probably the best overall quality american resin I've found so far, it has good strength, good softness, good cost. 36-XXX, OFF-WHITE, they have a new slower compound that gives a bit longer pot life which is nice for bigger molds. It's a bit harder than wave, and tends to relatively have more bubbles, and pin holes overall. It doesn't have much of a shelf life, and bubbling qualities increase as it ages.

I also tested their low odor resin which is pretty nice. It's pure white and a little harder, but if you're resin sensitive this would be good resin to request I do a figure for you from. It's a lot more free flowing than the other type.

They also have a clear I'm going to test soon.


Smooth-on Resin: http://www.smooth-on.com/
I've used 322 and 310. The cost, ease of use, and variety of selection here are the major advantages. These resins have a huge working time which is great for big molds.

Both these have a good softness, but are unfortunately fairly light and brittle. Also I had one customer complain that paint doesn't adhere as well to the surface as it should, although I've never noticed a problem. . They have other resins that I've yet to test, perhaps someone could add a review on these.

Taps plastics: http://www.tapplastics.com/

Just tested it has pretty good qualites, and I would use this over smooth-on. It has good tensile strength, but pays for it with a higher hardness, although still relatively soft. It has a very fast cure time, again which is a problem for larger detailed molds. It's one of the few resins I've tested to have almost no odor, even on sanding/drilling/filing. If you have a sensitivity to the smell of resin, this is the one you want to use. It's relatively viscous unfortunately, which can cause problems in a detailed mold, and expect to have some bubbles and gaps in the cast that will need to be filled, even if pressure or vacuum degassed.

Envirotex Clear: http://www.eti-usa.com/

This is a great clear resin, it's easily worked and is pratically unbreakable in it's perfectly cured form. Totally non brittle. Also it's relatively non yellowing. It might have a problem holding weight if not mixed exactly as it is very flexible, which might not make it good to do a full figure in, as it may bend under weight over time. I wish I could get a good solid type from this company. The only problem here is that it's hugely viscous, but makes up for that with almost a 24 hour cure time.

Next up is going to be bare metal foil:
http://www.bare-metal.com/casting-resins.html

Polytek easyflo 60: This is very non viscous, one of the least viscous I've used, very close to the Japanese resin. It's very non bubbly. and relatively cheap. The downside is that it's qualities are very similiar to smooth-on smoothcast, fairly brittle, but also fairly hard and light. Not what I was hoping for, but probably about average for an american resin.

[chimera]

You know, writing all these reviews, an idea came to me, what if I tried to mix one or more of these resins together to try to get better properties, like envirotex with vagabond... I might have to try that. My guess is that it just won't cure..but worth a try.

[chimera]

The bare metal foil resin came, and it's color and viscosity looks very good. It looks very similar to wave resin, so hopefully this is the stuff...

I'll probably do a cast of fox by the end of the week, and maybe a Kakyuu.

[chimera]

Just a bit of info, I also wanted to say that the posts are out of order, I'm going to keep modifying the original post with qualities so people don't have to go searching.

I tried the mix test, was an interesting, but a huge failure. I tried vagabond and evirotex. Was kind of strange that the difference parts seemed to cure each other, also the viscosity difference seemed to cause strange mixing, like they're almost a different base. Anyway it turned into a huge bunch of soggy stinking goop. <lol>

[chimera]

I may have found a source for Hei Cast, which is probably one of the best Japanese Resin's. It may take 2-3 months to get, but it should be worth it! Yay!

[chimera]

So my source mailed the Hei Cast to me today, so cool!! I've been searching for years for this stuff and only got the cold shoulder and no's, or no response at all. This is the end of a long quest for me, I'm so happy, it's going to be so great to see my figures in this resin.

They even sent pics!!




hehehe!