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Why I started modelling in resin / white metal
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Many years ago I saw a collection of Le Mans winners in 1:43 scale in a magazine and thought how good they looked and how interesting the different cars and how they had developed over the years were.
After a while I started collecting these models (mainly in die cast) to build a full collection of winners.
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However I quickly became frustrated by firstly the fact that many of the models were not available, secondly that some of the models were of poor quality or inaccurate and thirdly that many of the suppliers of these models were unprofessional in their approach.
I had also discovered that mainly all of the pre war models were unavailable and also many of the post war models unavailable too.
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I then happened upon a supplier of built "Starter" resin kits at one of my local toy fairs. I saw that the quality compared to die cast was very good and also discovered that all of the Le Mans winners were available. Unfortunately the price of these built models were high (around £55 compared with £20 for die cast). This meant I could complete my collection but would due to the cost take much longer than I had hoped.
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One day soon after however I happened to be trawling the Internet when I discovered that resin models in kit form are around the same price as a built die cast model.
I had built plastic kits in the past but this resin business worried me because it was new to me. I decided initially that I wouldn't be good enough a modeller to follow the resin route and produce models that were good enough to display.
I then came upon a stall, again at one of the local toy fairs, selling resin kits and was shown what the kits looked like and what was involved in producing a decent model. I saw that the kits were no more difficult than the plastic kits I was used to and most importantly that if you made a mistake you could simply rectify it by re building or stripping and re painting the kit. I knew then that I should give the kits a try and promptly ordered some.
Initially I built the Alfas from the 1930's which in hind sight weren't ideal to begin with due to the more intricate nature of the post war style of car but never the less I quickly got the hang of these kits and caught the bug for resin modelling. I also found Peter Radcliffe to be helpful and knowledgeable on my chosen subject.
I now feel quite proud of some of the models I have produced and am pleased with the reactions of family and friends when they see them. Especially when they prefer them to the die cast or even the few built resin models I have. I now have the complete set of Le Mans winners consisting of resin, white metal and some die casts (which are slowly being replaced by my own resin and white metal models) but I still continue to model non winners because I very much enjoy producing these little masterpieces.
I will warn anyone thinking of modelling in 1:43 resin that the hobby is very addictive and I find that one of the hardest problems is choosing which cars not to buy.
I have included a few images of the cars I have built to give some idea of the quality a virtual beginner like myself can achieve.
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