Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Resin Kit Review: Resin Modeler 1:1400 Sarajevo Class

NOTE:  You can click on most pictures to get a larger view of them.

Rewrites: July 2020

As it turns out, this is going to be my very first review of a resin kit produced by one of the many sellers that I do business with.  Please bear with me if it is a little rough as I have never done this before and am trying to figure out my groove, so to speak.  This review is going to be about Resin Modeller's 1:1400 Sarajevo Class kit.

Resin Modeler's Recommended Paint Scheme

We first get to see this starship in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode called "Storm Front, Part II".


Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Sarajevo (NC-27), also known as UES (United Earth Starfleet) Sarajevo, was a United Earth starship, an Earth Starfleet transport in Starfleet service in the 2150s decade."

If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:

Sarajevo Class Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
UES Sarajevo (NC-27) Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

The Model

You can find information about this kit, and on how to buy it at THIS LINK.

The 1:1400 scale kit is about 10.5 cm in length.  According to Adam, the owner and designer of Resin Modeller kits, the Sarajevo took about a week for him to create the design.  He did this in a 3D modeling program but had to improvise a lot on the details as resource material for this ship was lacking.  This makes a lot of sense since we've only seen it on screen on brief occasions.  Once he had the ship designed on the computer, he had it professionally 3D printed to produce his master for the molding process.  This really shows when you hold the ship in your hand.  You can actually feel the 3D printer texture as they were not lost in the resin molding process.  I personally like this approach as it generates a very crisp and sharp looking kit.

 
 
 
 
DeepSpace Pat's Paint Scheme

NOTE: The eye hook is NOT part of the kit.  I added that because a majority of my models are hung up on fishing line on my bookshelves to conserve space.


Sadly, I built this ship before I started taking WIP (Work In Progress) pictures of my builds.  I've found that these tend to help better illustrate how good or bad a model kit can be.  


Of all of his ships, this one rates up there in simplicity.  It only has two parts.  The parts you get are pretty clean as far as excess resin is concerned.  I typically don't sand my models before painting so as you can see from my pictures, if you do like to sand, there doesn't seem to be a lot of it needed.  

The only area that gave me a slight bit of trouble was in this section of the ship.  


Those nooks and crannies made it it a little more difficult to scrape out a tiny bit of excess resin that was hiding in there.  It really wasn't that bad, but if I'm going to be fair, my beginner modeler readers need to know this.

Conclusion

If you have never done a resin kit before but want to try your hand at it, then this is a really good kit to start with.  


As always, I hope you found this article useful and informative.  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to comment below.

So for now, "Live long and prosper!!!"

Additional Links To Photos Of My Collection:
The Model



Helpful Hint Articles
Washing     Warped Parts     Gluing     Filling The Gaps     Making Stands     Decals



NOTE: If you are new to my reviews, then please read on.  This section talks about the garage kit maker that made this kit as well as a little about why I'm writing this review.  If you are one of my regular readers, then feel free to skip the rest of this article as it is a word for word repeat of stuff from previous articles.

Kit Maker Information

Adam who owns and operates Resin Modeller does most of his business through his website.  He will also occasionally sell his kits through eBay, however, it is always recommended to go to his website for orders.  Although he does not maintain a FaceBook page for his business, he does post his work in progress stuff over at the All Scale Trek forums.

R.M.'s Website: CLICK HERE
R.M.'s eBay Seller Profile: CLICK HERE

A majority of all of Adam's kits are produced via 3D design software and then professionally 3D printed.  He then uses these as his masters in the mold making process.  In my opinion, this produces a very crisp model.

In my dealings with Adam, I find him to be a very nice guy to chat with.  He will usually answer inquiries within a day or two of being emailed.  Like most garage kit makers, he has a regular day job, and the kit building business is his way of funding his love of building models.  He has shared that he has found a lack of 1:1400 scale ships and since that is his preferred size to build in, he just makes the ships he wants for his collection.  

DISCLAIMER SECTION

I consider myself an intermediate model maker.  I'm pretty good with assembling kits these days  and OK on the painting side of things.  I ultimately end up with ships that look good enough to me to display in my collection.  I've found that there are all sorts of neat ships out there that no one has made a pre-built or pre-painted model of, so, in an effort to expand my ship collection I've turned to building them myself, either by kitbashing or purchasing ready made resin model kits.

There are several smaller garage kit makers out there that produce some very good kits.  I've actually developed a good relationship with a couple of them and volunteered some of my time to write up reviews about the kits I've purchased from them.  I have already warned them that I intend to be pretty objective, not pull any punches, and these reviews are going to be written from the point of view of an intermediate model builder.  If this means that I warn away a first time builder from a particular kit, then they will need to be OK with that approach.

Lastly, due to the nature of resin casting, not every kit is going to be the same.  Excess resin and air pockets are a part of the game when you get into this sort of model building.  The kit that I got and built may be slightly different than your kit as far as minor quality issues.  I will still point out flaws with my kit as those flaws could lead into a lesson of some sort for either you the reader or the kit maker themselves.

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