Fixing loose joints on resin kits...

[salsaking]

Hi all, I'm currently working on a recast ihp vf-11 kit bought ages ago here. Getting pretty far along in the build, but some pre-cast holes in the kit where some articulations meet are too wide, causing the required articulation to be waaay too loose for its own good. any tips too stiffen those up? Thanks

[EXO]

As I've told people before in this forum, the biggest problem with resin kits are the joints and any articulation that it may have. That's why they are usually big blocks of non-articulated slabs of resin. Depending on the area you have to work with, I'd probably suggest drilling an even bigger hole and put a piece of styrene rod in there. Make sure the rod has a pre-existing hole or drill it to size yourself for it to recieve the peg on the other piece that connects. Resin is really viscuous stuff, that's why they sell plastic joints made by wave, yellow sub and kitobukiya for scratchbuilding.

[Maiden Japan]

Let me show you my small technique here. I use this Regult missile parts as an example.

Apply a small dot of Zap a Gap(it's a type of super glue)around the shaft of the parts. Then spray Zip Kicker(accelerator).

This will create a small bumps on the shaft, therefore it will make an extra friction to stiffen up the joints.

But do not stiffen too tight otherwise it will cause a breakage.

[shdwfx2000]

They make this rubber coating/paint for covering the handles to tools, which if applied lightly will give joints extra grip. You can get it at most hardware stores.