Kits you hate buying over and over

[sjanish]

I hate buying any kit for a single part and REALLY HATE when I need multiples of that part from a pricey kit.

For example, the Bandai/Fuman Panther G for the Jedi remote You need 8 of them and they are not easy to find for less than $50. The Hasegawa Leopold and Morser are good "bang for the buck" kits but you soon find out that you there are certain parts that are used on every studio model and we all have stacks of 10+ of these.

Which kit/part would you consider resin parts preferable to buying the same kit over and over?

I have about 5 pounds of RTV that needs to be used. I am at a point with my own projects (with the kits I currently own) that I am out of parts to mold. I am looking to use it before it expires and need new ideas.

I’ve done several parts sets – AT-ST, Y-wing, Jedi Remote, Probe Droid pods, ROTJ welding droids, and TIE Bomber(in progress). If you are interested in any of those PM to see what I have. I don’t mean for this to turn into a sales thread.

 

[satazius]

The Galactica has 6 Sealab parts on it. 5 of them are the sink. One per kit. So 5 Sealabs for 6 parts! And that sink is also on the Turbo laser and Blockade Runner among other places.

 

[TazMan2000]

Since most of the kits are out of production or have changed, the ones left are outlandishly priced. The only inexpensive/free solution is to have them 3D printed. There are some files out there that you can get for free, but some are of poor quality. I believe there was a group here that were designing a lot of these greeblies in 3D expressly for the reason of kit availability, but I don't recall if they were free. With the free software available on the internet, a lot of these parts can be created by just about anybody. One just needs the measurements from the original parts in order to get proper scale.

Perhaps someone will create a site specifically meant for 3D greeblies, where they can either sell the STLs for a cheap price or have them printed out on a quality resin printer for an additional cost. I certainly would be a patron if that site existed....who knows, maybe it does now. (I'm not talking about Shapeways).

TazMan2000

 

[moffeaton]

That is exactly what I am doing now - designing and printing multiples on my Form 2. Kinder to my hands, as well, compared to most garage kit castings!

 

[sjanish]

The Galactica has 6 Sealab parts on it. 5 of them are the sink. One per kit. So 5 Sealabs for 6 parts! And that sink is also on the Turbo laser and Blockade Runner among other places.

I have a Sealab. Those Sealab parts would be easy to mold. I can't imagine anyone seriously building a Galactica will be held back by those. They will either buy a Sealab and mold them, or say 'What the hell, it is only $3k more to use real parts'.

<snip> 3D printing

<snip> 3D printing

I understand the 3D printing thing, but I am not asking about alternative methods to RTV/resin.

What kit/parts are you 3D printing to avoid buying multiple kits?

 

[TazMan2000]

Parts that are from rare and extremely expensive kits:

1/15 Bandai Hummel
1/15 Bandai Stug
1/24 Bandai Jagdpanther
1/24 Bandai M60
1/48 Bandai Panther G
1/600 Aurora Forrestal
1/72 Aurora Sealab III

Just to name a few.

TazMan2000

 

[DaveG]

Personally I use resin castings almost exclusively (and 3d printed parts more and more). I rarely use an original kit part (regardless of the cost of the kit) unless it's really small, really large, or a PITA to mold and cast.

 

[Tremas]

Nothing from me lately, but I've bought and re-bought that damn USS ENTERPRISE kit a total of 17 TIMES when I was younger! True, kits were much cheaper then, but the frustration of having to constantly buy it, because of those damn nacelles, of course.