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So, whenever I see forgeworld minis, they saw they are made of resin, what exactly is it?
and how hard are they to put together?

Resin is a modeling material that holds detail very well, although is a bit fiddly to work with. It's as hard to put together as plastic, except that resin dust is not something you want to be breathing in, so if you sand or file a resin piece, make sure you're wearing a dust mask.

It's a form of plastic. Like Bookwrack said, it can be dusty when you file or sand it. Also, the plastic glue doesn't work with it. Its different chemically then Polystyrene, which is what GW kits are made out of. You'll have to use superglue.

alright thanks, just wondering if forgeworld was harder to put together, but now my question is answered

Another comment that might need to be said. Before you assemble and paint the model make sure you clean it with warm soappy water. Resin usually has a "release" on it to help the model release from the mold. However if it is not removed it makes it difficult for the paint, even primer, to hold to the model.

how long should I wash it for?

It's not a matter of how long, but how throroughly.

A soft toothbrush and warm (not hot) soapy water and a gentle scrubbing is generally required.

As to how hard they are to put together:

The resin can be harder than plastic (and the use of a saw, NOT clippers, is advised for separating the pieces from any 'sprue') and is definitely more brittle.

It is less forgiving than plastic. Only certain glues work on it (superglue and epoxies like araldite).

It can hold detail equally as well as metal - and is lighter.

It's a very different material to plastic and metal, and not for the inexperianced but you shouldn't be afraid either. There's a lot more modelling involved with resin kits, unless they are of particularly high quality, it is the norm with most manufacturers to expect a degree of work cutting, filling and correcting minor distortions. Resin kits vary in quality, even Forgeworld kits are a mixed bag with some delivered with bad castings. My suggestion is not to make an expensive Forgeworld model as your first resin, but to look around the web and find a cheap resin kit, just to get a feel for the material, what cutting and sanding it down is like and assembling the kit and of course painting.

Oh, just be aware that it is toxic which is why you should be cautious about doing things that creat dust - sawing, using sandpaper etc. For this it's a good idea to wet the sandpaper and wet the model too as that keeps most of it under contol.

And don't drop it! I don't have experiance with forge world stuff but resin can sometimes break easily if dropped on a hard surface.

Resin parts become soft easily in hot water which lets them be returned to straight if they were delivered in bent condition.

How often can one be exposed to resin dust for it to be toxic enough?
I may have forgotten to wear masks when working with FW resin :(

Unless you work in the Forgeworld plant, you will be fine.

mindfield wrote:How often can one be exposed to resin dust for it to be toxic enough?
I may have forgotten to wear masks when working with FW resin :(

It's better not to expose yourself at all. It's unlikely you're going to die in the near future (at least not from resin dust) but I would reccomend wearing a mask in the future.

Darth Bob wrote:

mindfield wrote:How often can one be exposed to resin dust for it to be toxic enough?
I may have forgotten to wear masks when working with FW resin :(

It's better not to expose yourself at all. It's unlikely you're going to die in the near future (at least not from resin dust) but I would reccomend wearing a mask in the future.

This. Precautions never killed anybody... somehow I sense irony in that statement...

ok thanks. It's just that I would expect to be in this hobby for a long time, so I appreciate little help like these from pro's. Thanks for the advices.

after 15 years of hobby modelling and 10 years of it involving GW, i got my first FW resin model a few months ago. the detail on it is incredible (even better than plastic or metal IMO). what suprised me is how soft it is (my model's sword is easily bent by the foam in my carrying case instead of it pushing down on the foam) and how light it is (even lighter than plastic). warming thin parts like a sword in warm water to straighten it out makes it as soft and bendable as chewed bubblegum so be careful if you try that.

The only resin kit I have is the ork biker boss, which is cool, but annoying as hell to put together. That was mostly due to crappy forgeworld "directions," or lack thereof.

LeperMessiah wrote:The only resin kit I have is the ork biker boss, which is cool, but annoying as hell to put together. That was mostly due to crappy forgeworld "directions," or lack thereof.

really? I was considering getting him to use a wazdakka model