Working with resin can seem daunting, but there’s no need to shy away from this medium as long as you’re prepared! The first thing you should know before preparing, assembling and painting your miniatures is exactly what tools and equipment you should have at hand.
Here are our suggestions of the must-have equipment and quality-of-life-improving tools when working with resin miniatures.
Equipment
Ventilation/Location
When using items like glues, paints or solvents, it is recommended to ensure you are in a well-ventilated room due to the harmful fumes produced. This room should not be where you prepare and eat food or spend a long time, such as a bedroom you sleep, in due to similar inhalation issues.
It’s best to keep resin miniatures out of direct sunlight and away from direct heat sources, such as radiators, as this will warm up the resin and can lead to warping or bending.
Dust Masks
Even though the resin we use poses no inherent health risk, we recommend wearing a dust mask when working with resin. Dust masks are essential if you are filing your miniatures, as resin dust can be an irritant - one you do not want in your lungs.
Tools
Most of the following tools are available from any good modelling store. Tools can be dangerous if improperly handled, so please make sure to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines and use them with care.
Craft Knife
The most useful and versatile of all the tools, it is necessary for cleaning up castings prior to assembly. Make sure you change your blade regularly to keep your knife sharp. Blunt blades can lead to unnecessary force needing to be applied, increasing the risk of injury.
Ensure you cut away from yourself and use a proper cutting mat or board to avoid damaging the surface you’re working on.
Clippers
Clippers are helpful for removing pieces of resin that are too large to remove with a knife safely and for snipping components off their feeds, wells or frames.
If you wish to use clippers on smaller components, then watch out and aim the piece downwards to avoid it pinging across the room once clipped off.
Files
A set of files is another extremely useful part of your tool kit, used to clean and smooth pieces to fit more snugly, where needed. As mentioned above, be aware of the resin dust this creates.
Super Glue
We recommend a good quality super glue to assemble kits such as our Warcradle Studios resin miniatures. Please note that ‘plastic glue’ will melt our resin, so if you are attaching plastics to resin it is recommended to use super glue.
Modelling Putty
These are used for filling small gaps on miniatures, where either two pieces of a miniature leave a small gap when assembled or you wish to fill a void. These usually come in two parts that must be thoroughly mixed before working on/into your miniature with your fingers or modelling tools.
Hairdryer, Heat Gun, or Boiling Water
Sometimes, resin can bend slightly as a result of removing it from the mould or due to exposure to direct heat. Luckily, resin has memory, which means that by heating it a little yourself, it should bend back into its shape with little encouragement.
However, if it doesn’t return to its correct form, some more heat will soften the resin enough to make it easier to manipulate it back into shape.
With these tools, you’re all set to start working with resin miniatures, building your projects and painting your armies in no time. You can find more information on working with resin here. For tips on preparing, assembling and priming your models, keep your eyes out for part 2 of the Working With Resin series.