Good morning everyone. A trip to the LHS in Green Bay had me buying an HO Sylvan Reo stake truck model. Having never purchased a Sylvan vechicle kit before, I wasn't sure what to expect. The castings are made of white polyurethane resin and were so full of flash, that it took me almost an hours to clean up the parts. Here is the result.
I'm looking for suggestions on paints that will adhere to the parts. I plan of priming the parts but not sure what primer to use? Hoping that someone might have put one of these together before.
Scott Sonntag
I don't know if it still applies to Sylvan's kits nowadays, but the older kit instructions always advised modellers to use either their proprietory treatment for removing the mould-release stuff from the parts before beginning the assembly process, but they also suggested that Floquil's Diosol or ordinary lacquer thinner could be used, too.I built one of their caboose kits, and while the lacquer thinner worked just fine on the larger pieces, I found that some of the finer parts, such as window frames, would be deformed if left in the solvent too long - a quick dip and then a rinse with water worked better for such items.
Lots of the earlier Sylvan kits did have a lot of flash, but the more recent ones I've done have been better in that regard.
Once the mould release agent has been dealt with, pretty-well any paint should work.
While my favourite primer was the grey stuff from Floquil, I've found that Tamiya's primer, in a spray can, yields results comparable to airbrush application. Another good choice, if you're using an airbrush, is Alclad II Lacquer - Grey Primer and Microfiller. It comes in a 4oz. plastic bottle, ready-to-use (pre-thinned). The bottle contains small metal balls, much like many rattlecans, to ensure that the paint is thoroughly mixed. It's become my go-to, as airbrush-applied paints allow the user to return any un-used product to its original container - no waste of expensive materials. It's also available in white and black.
Wayne
Thanks for the suggestions Wayne. Yes, they still recommend their own mold release product but I wasn't planning on that.
I was wondering about the flash because the casting for the driver figure is so badly done that it is nothing more than a block of plastic with a head on it.
I have been using a high quality rattle can grey primer and after your recommendation, I should be able to use it.
We'll see how it turns out.
Scott
I recently completed two of the Sylvan fire truck models. I used Goo Gone as a mold release agent and rinsed with soap lukewarm water. I used super glue to glue parts together, used sparingly. The flash is excessive but I simply took my time. The ladders for the fire truck were warped so bad i just swapped them out for one in my parts box.
I primed with Polyscale water based undercoat, brushed on. I finished them with a simple Apple Barrel type craft paint brushed on and was happy with the result. I will finish it with a gloss coat. I got away from air brushing the smaller and lighter models.
I found some of the smaller parts break easily so go careful and as advised to me, if you find yourself getting agravated with it just walk away. They are too nice of a model to mess up.