How to unwarp a resin hull in 1/700 scale?

[Sylvain Auger]

Like the title says I would like to know how to remove the banana shape out of two resin models I recently aquired.

I heard something about hot water to "soften" the resin but I can't remember if the water needed to be very hot and how much time I had to let the model soak before trying to clamp it down. I would also like to know if the clamps can actually damage or distort the model once it is clamped? i will use the turret barbettes as a clamping point on the model and i will try to buy clamps with soft pads.

Thanks for any advice you might give.

[Karsten]

I have had a couple early Modelkrak hulls that needed some straigthening. I sanded the flashing edge of the bottom so it would be flat even with the curve.

Layed a piece of Aluminum Foil in a frying pan on low heat and set the hull on the Aluminum foil. Let it warm slowly pushing down on either the bow and stern or the center depending on the warp. Once flat remove from heat and keep the downward pressure on as the Resin cools.

Karsten

[Sylvain Auger]

Hi Karsten,

The idea of putting my model ship in the oven is somehow unatural to me I would prefer the hot water trick because I'm too afraid of the model melting down in the oven!

Cheers

[Karsten]

I don't use the oven I heat the pan on top of the stove on a very low heat.

Electric stove ans not gas.

Karsten

[Steve Jones]

I use a large flat square pan and cover the model with boiling water. Leave for a few minutes and remove (carefully!) and lay the model on a flat surface. Be very careful where you place any clamps etc as some resin (WSW, WEM) can be very soft and will bend out of shape if you clamp bits of the superstructure etc. The model should then be permanently fixed to a base to stop it warping in the future. The only manufacturer I have never had any warpage problems with is Combrig - they seem to use a more brittle resin than most makers. Hope this helps.....

[Sylvain Auger]

Thanks a lot Steve! I used the technique you described but I haven't fixed the hull right now. I mostly wanted to know if I could do it so if the warp reappears by the time I'm ready to build the ship, I will give it a bath

I have clamped the model on the barbettes to keep from breaking any delicate or visible parts. It's been some weeks since I did this operation and the warp has not reappeared. I had to soften the resin two time before it kept it's shape without too much pressure from the clamps. I then left it to cool down for 24 hours before removing the clamps.

Do you think Epoxy glue would help to keep the hull from warping once more? That's what I use to fix waterline models to their bases but I don't know if epoxy glue is as strong as screws for this type of job.

Cheers