Cure for sticky resin?

[robwill84]

I recently acquired a Magnuson Models Victoria Falls Hotel building and I find myself in a sticky situation, literally. Three of the walls are fine, but the short front wall is a bit glossier than the rest, and has a tacky surface. I've tried soap and warm water, but that only made it stickier. When it cooled down it was just as tacky as before. Can anything be done with it? The resin itself is not soft, it just has this film on it. Hopefully its not just deteriorated, but it could be, as this kit is at least thirty years old, probably more.

[Baronjutter]

Wow that looks like my first attempts at pouring resin.  When the resin isn't mixed correctly it will dry like that, or more to the point, it WON'T dry.  I simply threw out pieces that were like that.  Are you sure it's a legit kit and not a bootleg?  I made copies of a lot of Lunde Studios stuff my self and they turned out just like that, tons of flashing and sticky spots from where I didn't mix the resin enough.

Short of figuring out which part of the 2-part mix is "missing" from that section and maybe giving it a slight coating (not even sure if that would work to cure it) I think just painting over it would work.  I had some casts come out really nice but had a tiny bit of stickyness and I didn't want to throw them away so after a coat of primer they seemed ok.

This is a really nice building, I've always wanted one my self as they are so rare now.

[engineshop]

I might be wrong but it seems they made a mistake with the amount of the two-part resin mix. It never cured right and unfortunately it never will. Since it is an old kit, it seems to be not a problem or it would have fallen apart a long time ago.

[LV LOU]

A good coat of spray primer may mask most of the problem..

[robwill84]

Well, good news, a light scrub with Comet cleanser took away 100% of the tackiness, and whatever shiny film was on it. I'm thinking it was stored in a hot environment like a garage for a long time. It still gets tacky under warm water, but cools completely solid. It is an official kit, I have the box, instructions, wood strips to make the window partitions (all sixty plus of them) and even sidewalks.

[VonRyan]

I have a Magnuson Models kits as well, and every wall seems to have that problem. I think it has to do with the resin they used and now it also has to do with the age of the kits.
I probably should sell my unbuilt kit off as it is surplus to my needs.

[peteski]

What stinks (literally) about these kits is the mothball-like stench coming from the resin. It never goes away.  It is forever degassing (just like me). I wish they used some other odorless resin.  Other manufacturers also use this type of resin (Chooch, Fine N Scale, and some others I can't think of now). 

I was glad to notice that Bob Lunde is now using non-stinky resin in his kits.

[Baronjutter]

Yeah,  I've been following his kits for years and he's really improved his casting.  The amount of flashing and flaws is way down and the resin is much more stable.

[robwill84]

Still not sure if it was unset resin, mold release, or just a weird reaction to being stored in a plastic bag for thiry plus years, but they sure cleaned up nice. All of the flash around the windows in the first picture was taken care of by thoroughly sanding the backs of the castings, and a little trimming with an xacto knife. Now I just have to figure out how to add window mullions to all 86 windows...

[Baronjutter]

Did the kit not come with any window frames??

[robwill84]

Did the kit not come with any window frames??

The kit comes with 1/64" x 1/64" strip wood pieces. The instructions say to cut all the mullions from this strip, and glue them in place with "white glue". No way I want to try and install 86 individual tiny pieces, so my plan is to cut a groove through the middle of each window, and use one continuous strip across each floor. Just have to figure out the best way to make a groove.

[up1950s]

Geez the back side looks like there is a convexness arc on all sides of all windows . That is everything but helpful .

[DKS]

The kit comes with 1/64" x 1/64" strip wood pieces. The instructions say to cut all the mullions from this strip, and glue them in place with "white glue". No way I want to try and install 86 individual tiny pieces, so my plan is to cut a groove through the middle of each window, and use one continuous strip across each floor. Just have to figure out the best way to make a groove.

I built this kit a couple decades ago, and IIRC there is a Grant Line or Titchy window that's almost a perfect drop-in.

Geez the back side looks like there is a convexness arc on all sides of all windows . That is everything but helpful .

This is a consequence of making copies of copies. I suspect those castings are at least 3-4 generations removed from the masters.

[Baronjutter]

If you give me the exact dims of the window openings I could easily make you a couple sheets of fine laser-cut windows that will be easy to install.

[robwill84]

I built this kit a couple decades ago, and IIRC there is a Grant Line or Titchy window that's almost a perfect drop-in.

That would be ideal, but I don't really want to spend any more on this project. I still need fire escapes for it. Man, city modelling is expensive!

This is a consequence of making copies of copies. I suspect those castings are at least 3-4 generations removed from the masters.

It might be, this is one of those kits that it seems like they made a ton of them, and everybody bought one, and said "yeah, I'm gonna build this some day!" Flash forward thirty years and there is one or two listed for auction every month, new in box. However, one of the reasons I purchased this one is because it was in the white box, which I'm pretty sure was one of the earlier kits. There is also a version in a brown box with a label, the same as used for the Victoria Falls Bank kit, which regularly sells at auction for fifty dollars plus. On this one, the included flyer for other kits only shows a handful of other kits, and shows the Mercury Shoe kit in N scale but no Victoria Falls bank.

Overall, I think the good qualities outweigh the bad on this kit.