resin vs styrene

[e_jacob77]

Hi all,

What is the differences with these two plastics???? Any info would be great, am lookin for details, details, details.....

[cobywan]

Sytene: Apples

Resin: Oranges

Comparison is useless.

[Skull Leader]

Resin is a little easier to work with, in my opinion. It's a bit more sturdy and you can modify it a little easier than you can styrene material.

However, styrene is the cure-all for scratch-building parts. You can buy sheet styrene at virtually any hobby store for pennies on the dollar.

Both have their benefits, both are worth working in, but both are very different mediums.

[THOR]

I found this on the web:

"The basic makeup of many polymers is carbon and hydrogen (polystyrene), but other elements can also be involved. Oxygen, chorine, fluorine, nitrogen, silicon, phosphorous and sulfur are other elements that are found in the molecular makeup of polymers. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) contains chlorine. Nylon contains nitrogen. Teflon contains fluorine. Polyester and polycarbonates contain oxygen. Urethanes have oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. There are also some polymers that, instead of having a carbon backbone, have a silicon or phosphorous backbone. These are considered inorganic polymers. One of the most famous silicon-based polymers is Silly Putty."

Plastics are made from crude oil and natural gas.

There are 2 types of plastics.

Thermoset: once heated they are changed forever and will char once reheated.

Thermoplastic: can be reheated and reformed many times

Casting resins are usually urethanes and are "thermosets"

Injection molded kits are typically polystyrene and are "thermoplastic"

You could actually grind up an old injection molded polystyrene kit into plastic dust and throw it into the hopper of an injection molding machine and use it to make a new kit.

Yes, I'm a geek.

[David Hingtgen]

Last time this came up, it practically became a styrene-bashing thread. So I'll be the first to say I like styrene a lot better.

One of the big issues is that there's so many types/qualities of resin, versus few types of styrene. For styrene, there's pretty much opaque versus clear. Anything else is manufacturer-specific, and doesn't vary much really. But resin--any color, soft to hard, flexible to brittle, from full of airbubbles and uneven to better than Hasegawa.

Edited August 20, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[Less than Super Ostrich]

Resin is a little easier to work with, in my opinion. It's a bit more sturdy and you can modify it a little easier than you can styrene material.

wow... that is the first time I've ever heard that resin is easier to work with the polystyrene. Personally, I think with all the pinning, sanding, and filling that resin is harder to work with. I still love it, though... masochistic.

[cobywan]

You don't have to fill seams on styrene? Resin kits are easier in the sense that there are far fewer parts to deal with. But you can't get around masking though. A lot of injection molded kits are parted out at color changes.

[Valkyrie]

The best thing about resin REALLY is that even a schmuck like me can use it to make model kits

Making injection models is extremely cost prohibative for any but large companies. It costs thousands of dollars to have the steel molds made that are necessary for making injection kits.

Resin kits, on the other hand, are made with silicone molds, and can be made infinitely cheaper, and by hobbyists (though the quality of them can vary greatly). Also, silicone molds can produce parts that simply can't be made with injection molding, such as solid parts, and parts with fairly deep undercuts. It's really versatile stuff.

[Stamen0083]

I've always liked my being able to use my Gunze glue to form a welded bond between plastic and plastic.

No such luck with resin.