Jump to content

GT Resin Seamless Intakes


nmertes

Recommended Posts

I ordered a couple of GT Resin seamless intakes for Academy & ZM F-4's from Sprue Brothers.  I know the Hasagawa version requires some surgery on the fuselage.  Would like to hear pros & cons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first question to you is: what did the instructions for these sets say or imply? Do they say "drop fit replacement" to the kit parts? If not, then surgery is at least implied, if not required.

Second, ALL resin castings shrink to some degree, the only difference being how much. So, even if your parts are supposed to be a drop fit, I suggest you double check the fit as some minor adjustments may be needed.

Between my friends who've used GT items and what I've read on the internet, it's a real toss up. Some of them fit remarkably well, while I know of people who've sworn off ever purchasing from GT again. Best of luck!

 

GIL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply, Gil.  The Hasagawa version indicates that surgery on the intakes is necessary because of the fuselage design.  The versions for Academy & ZM are supposed to be almost but not quite drop in replacements.  I think the main advantages to me is that they're cast in white resin which means I won't have to paint them and won't have to try to hide seams.  Time will tell.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've gotta weigh in on this subject.  I purchased some of the GT Resin seamless exhausts for my Mud Hen, and with that money wasted, I think using the two piece kit exhausts is going to look acceptable.  The GT Resin ones are horrible quality.  Full of all kinds of pits and bubbles, and sections that just didn't seem to conform well to the mold they were poured into.  Generally, they look like something I could have made myself on a first attempt...certainly not worth the "professional product" pricetag.  Hopefully your experience will be better than mine.  I didn't even get around to working to make them fit since the overall quality and appearance is so awful, I didn't think it would be worth my time.  You can count me as one of the people who will never buy from them again.  Severely disappointing after working with the excellent products of Brassin and Aires.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John:

Have you tried contacting them and letting them know? If you are not even giving them a chance to make it right, your statement is not really valid. My GT resin parts are perfect and I have them for the A-10, F-4 and F-105- all with no casting issues. 

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only thing I can add to my first reply is that when he's vended at our show, and I've looked at his castings, I've seen no evidence of poor or shoddy quality. I cannot speak to their accuracy nor to their fit, as I don't buy a lot of resin stuff in general. But, everything I saw on his tables for sale looked very comparable to other resin aftermarket parts I've seen.

Many resin casters go through an evolution with their products (Lone Star Models comes to mind)....their first offerings aren't always top notch and their quality control may be a bit lax in trying to get as much return for their efforts as possible to get themselves up and running. However, over time they MUST improve if they want to compete with the rest of the market. They have to improve their techniques and upgrade their casting equipment (vacuum/spin casting is a MUST these days!) or be totally outclassed by their competitors.

John: You didn't say how long ago you got and used those parts, but I'm hoping it was (perhaps) at the beginning of GT's business. I too think you should follow DM's advice and contact GT to let him know how bad your experience was. Return those parts you didn't use so he can see for himself where the problems are. I'm betting he'll send you new ones. If not, you're no worse off and will have truly confirmed your suspicions.

 

GIL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was about 2 years ago that I got the kit, and it was probably several months after getting it that I even opened the box.  That part is on me, I get that.  That being said, I could certainly forgive a defect here and there, but every part in that kit was like that.  That doesn't give me a good impression when such a large quality control escape happens like that.  .  I ended up buying resin burner cans for the Mud Hen from Two Mikes that I absolutely love (unfortunately he doesn't make exhaust tubes).  I bought those last summer, and Mike actually delayed production of my set because of the high temperatures in his area.  I don't know...I just really liked the extra effort he went through to get it right the first time.  Anyway, Nicholas asked for pros and cons, so I was just sharing my personal experience with their product that I bought.  Others have had better experience with them.  As Gil said, its a toss-up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
On 8/18/2018 at 6:31 PM, nmertes said:

Thanks for the reply, Gil.  The Hasagawa version indicates that surgery on the intakes is necessary because of the fuselage design.  The versions for Academy & ZM are supposed to be almost but not quite drop in replacements.  I think the main advantages to me is that they're cast in white resin which means I won't have to paint them and won't have to try to hide seams.  Time will tell.

Hi,

I would be happy to answer any questions you have about the products I make.   We have a Forum on ARC.com to answer question,  I have a website, two emails and I post under my real name ...not some used screen name.   The ZM and Academy intakes are basically drop-in parts.  The intakes come with the casting block removed and are a great improvement over the kit parts.   Yes , the Hasegawa intake do require some work on the plastic, but no on the resin parts.   The instructions clearly show how these are to be installed and there is much information available on line for installation in Hasegawa Phantoms. 

IF you have any questions, please get hold of me and I will do what I can to help.

 

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/22/2018 at 10:35 PM, Eaglecash867 said:

I've gotta weigh in on this subject.  I purchased some of the GT Resin seamless exhausts for my Mud Hen, and with that money wasted, I think using the two piece kit exhausts is going to look acceptable.  The GT Resin ones are horrible quality.  Full of all kinds of pits and bubbles, and sections that just didn't seem to conform well to the mold they were poured into.  Generally, they look like something I could have made myself on a first attempt...certainly not worth the "professional product" pricetag.  Hopefully your experience will be better than mine.  I didn't even get around to working to make them fit since the overall quality and appearance is so awful, I didn't think it would be worth my time.  You can count me as one of the people who will never buy from them again.  Severely disappointing after working with the excellent products of Brassin and Aires.

Hi,  you seem to be quite the expert here but I have no record of you ever being a customer.  With all respect, I am throwing up the False Flag claim here and challenge you to produce the product to me. I will pay for the return, conduct a fullest of  tests and send you a new set or refund provided you have a receipt.

I am confronting you because  If you had a legitimate issue you would have contacted me.   I am very easy to get in touch with.  From your post you seem to have an act grind with me for some personal reason rather than a legitimate product issue.   While it is possible to get a resin part with air bubbles, having 20+ parts that the exhaust set contains are made at different times,  all with air bubbles as you claim is just not possible.  If what you describe is true, you have either another companies product,  a bootlegged copy of mine, or your set has been subjected to excessive heat.   Yes,  cured resin subject to heat above 150 deg F, which can happen if left in vehicle on a hot Sumer day, can produce bubbles regardless of who made.  The reality is that this would still not happening to all of the set parts. Further more, you state:

" sections that just didn't seem to conform well to the mold they were poured into."

You were never in my shop and clearly demonstrate with this statement that you have no idea how resin parts are made.  Resin is a liquid, and takes the shape of the mold.  It is then put under pressure or vacuum to emanate air bubbles.  We use 80 PSI of pressure in pressure pots.  Pits as you describe improperly made mold, not from casting.  The only way the part would differ is if if it were removed form mold when still not fully cured, or melted by excessive exposure to heat after the fact.  Therefore, th only conclusion that can be made is that your statement here is contrived.

 

 

As for the others here, thanks fo ret kind support.  Have I ever made abad part and not caught it, sure I have...no different than can happen with parts from any other company.   We stand behind our products and even replace them for free if the buyer damages them during the build.   Customers in that case are asked to cover postage only.

As many know I am a modeler first.  I started the resin out of requests form other modelers to get what I was using on my models.  In 6 years we have sold thousands of sets comprising tens of thousands of individual parts.  I don't do this for profit but as a service to modelers to offer products that before GT Resin no one else saw fit to make... and make right.  I have made many new friends and work with a half dozen plastic companies on product development which is ver rewarding,  Unfortunately I run into these types of modelers....if we call them that that all they do is bad mouth and hate for whatever reason.   I design, make and package every product under the GT Resin label.  We have a1000sq ft climate controlled shop and use the latest in computer modeling combined with old school pattern making to produce items for modelers.

Enough said.

Have a great day,

 

Gary

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm quite happy with the Intake set for the Academy F-4B, which I recently purchased. Although I've only dry for the set. It's resin and it's going to take careful work to get them set. That's the nature of the beast. For me I generally like the challenge. I'd rather shoehorn in resin seamless intakes than try to sand out the seams in a tiny tube of plastic.

I've been building plastic models since the early 1970s, and started adding after market resin details in the mid 1980s. Some of that early resin stuff was downright awful, and some of it was useless. I once purchased a set of reactive armor for an Israeli M60. They were junk - air bubbles galore with so many chips that they looked like rocks.I

To each his own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...