Finecast is Dead

[Bigred]

Latest reports coming in from multiple sources:

Lots going on behind the scenes at GW - Look for a public announcement in Q2 of 2014 regarding Finecast:

-GW Proper gets out of Finecast entirely.
-Forgeworld will take control of all remaining Finecast character models.
-These character models will be the only non-plastics in GW's line until they are replaced.
-These character models will be moved over to plastic (and GW control) in time with plastic clampack resculpts.
-There are internal tests taking place to cast some existing Forgeworld resin kits in a new plastic material.

It looks like the resin material is on its way out, and GW is sprinting as fast as it can to replace any Finecast non character kits from their entire range - leaving them as a 100% plastic manufacturer.

If you look at the past few releases, you can see the pattern.

My next question is WHY?

[ElectricPaladin]

And good riddance! Finecast was AWFUL. I, for one, welcome our new plastic overlords.

[DrLove42]

Cos they got fed up of whingy children on the internet complaining about the one in a million air bubble problem

[40kGamer]

Oh how I hope this is true. Finecast is a cringe worthy medium.

[TheyStoleMyName!]

Whether or not Finecast is actually a good material, the idea that it is awful is already dominant in the community at large. I know that GW tends to not listen to the community, but in this case I think a lot of folks spoke with their wallets in terms of not purchasing Finecast stuff, and that is a language they'll listen to.

[Kirsten]

There are internal tests taking place to cast some existing Forgeworld resin kits in a new plastic material.


if true, is this plastic as we know it, or Privateer Press type 'plastic' which is in fact resin I wonder. did somebody actually say 'a new plastic material'? very particular choice of words.

[Grey Mage]

My next question is WHY?

Because finecast is an abomination that boggles the mind?

My next question is: Do they really expect us to pay 30 dollars for a character model?

Follow up: where can I get some of the drugs theyre on?

[Popsical]

Right good news. So all players using finecast special characters or the like will now be using FW kits!
So i for one say they shouldnt be allowed to use em! Lol

Oh and this thread gets a rating of 7.6 octopusses and 1.3 herring.
Hmm. Would they be octopusses, octopu$sies or octopii?

[Christopher Szynkowski]

Latest report coming in:
My next question is WHY?

The most obvious answer is cost. When they produced metal models, they could recycle the defective ones and they can do the same with plastics.

Resin is permanent and while the material is cheap, the manual labor is not, nor are the molds that wear out infinitely quicker then the injection molds they use for plastic. By going full plastic, GW can churn out far more minis then before, streamline their process and have a better product overall.

Finecast has proven to be what it was supposed to be, a stopgap while they got their injection molds tooled.

[Bigred]

if true, is this plastic as we know it, or Privateer Press type 'plastic' which is in fact resin I wonder. did somebody actually say 'a new plastic material'? very particular choice of words.

No idea on the specifics of the Finecast replacement, other than "a new plastic".

[40kGamer]

Cos they got fed up of whingy children on the internet complaining about the one in a million air bubble problem

The multitude of air bubbles were easy to fix compared to the malformed/missing parts, severe warping and mold lines that made a drop pod seem clean...

[crandall87]

I believe GW have been wanting to go 100% plastic for years but only within the last couple of years have they had the technology to reach the levels of detail on plastic miniatures that they feel is acceptable for character models. Finecast is just a stop gap that arrived because the price of metal became too high. This move would have happened regardless of finecast or not I think. I certainly welcome it as I like their plastic clampack character models.

[Defenestratus]

Cos they got fed up of whingy children on the internet complaining about the one in a million air bubble problem

I'm certainly no GW apologist but this is so true.

So many people who were just fine with the multitude of problems with the pewter minis were foaming at the mouth over minor, insignificant problems with finecast models.

[Popsical]

I have to say that nobody i know suffered with any of the oft told problems that plagued the interwebs.
As i have only bought 2 finecast figs and they were both perfect im not so convinced the problems were that bad.

[Aldavaer]

Phasing out finecast for plastic is fine with me, the line about remaining finecast characters being made by FW leads to an interesting question.

What do they have planned for the elder? who despite the recent new codex have all their non-vehicle fast attack, elites and heavy support still in finecast.

Does this lend weight to the speculation that further craftworld supplements are planned with new plastic aspects?

[Erik Setzer]

Cos they got fed up of whingy children on the internet complaining about the one in a million air bubble problem

I'm not a child and I don't whinge, and I've bought two Finecast models so far and they've both had issues with air bubbles that have led to bits of the model not being usable.

Finecast was an emergency rush to get away from pewter to save money. It wasn't something that was well-planned or even a very good long-term strategy, especially as filing resin can be quite unpleasant for the lungs.

[Mr Mystery]

I'm certainly no GW apologist but this is so true.

So many people who were just fine with the multitude of problems with the pewter minis were foaming at the mouth over minor, insignificant problems with finecast models.


Yep. On Dakka they kept going on about how it melted in the heat. I set about testing this by bunging a Liche Priest in my oven. Yes it softened. But it didn't melt (200 degrees c for 15 minutes, fact fans). And the hate mob, despite my photographic evidence, and their lack thereof decided I must be lying.....

[Popsical]

You were lying. It was 14 spiders.

[Tyrendian]

the main reason I think is that they seem to think they can charge us way more for plastic characters than finecast ones...
(and no I'm not entirely serious, but looking at their practises in the last years does kinda force that thought into my mind)

[Art Steventon]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=526745294076175&set=gm.465695910210652&type=1&theater

As reported by sources 26/10....

[Mr.Pickelz]

I do wonder if GW's new plastic is similar to PP's plastic/resin mix stuff.

[Al Shut]

All I know is my venomthropes are bending left and right like a bunch of drunkards while being exposed to (shock) room temperature.

The sooner they get rid of it the better I say.

[This Dave]

Cos they got fed up of whingy children on the internet complaining about the one in a million air bubble problem

I must be super lucky then. I've bought 5 Finecast models and every one of them looked like it had leprosy. Would be good if I was playing Nurgle, but since I'm not it's bad.

[simiusmagnus]

I bought three finecast models over the years. Two required a decent bit of air bubble filling, and one, Boss Zagstruk, was just a mess. Rough spots, a warped leg (the model balances on the leg, so I had to spend a lot of time treating it with heat to keep him from leaning over). One of the wings for his rokkit pack was hollow, and the smaller rokkits attached to the wings looked like floppy little *****s. After that, I was done. No more finecast for me. I always thought that the increased detail wasn't really worth the hassle you had to go through prepping the model before you could paint it, and I won't be sad to see it go.

[Mr Mystery]

If anyone would like to read about my oven related shenanigans,.......

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/379194.page

[olberon]

FINALLY!! time to open that champagne i had for this news!!!!

My lastest finecast swapping till i had a correct one took a little over 30(!) replacement models hell i made a plastercast from 1 just for kicks which was better!!! My finecasts will be replaced as soon as theycome out

[DarkLink]

The multitude of air bubbles were easy to fix compared to the malformed/missing parts, severe warping and mold lines that made a drop pod seem clean...

All of the finecast models I own or have ever seen were all fine. Not that I don't still prefer plastic, generally, but people still whine too much about finecast.

[DocSavage]

I've only bought one finecast so far but it looked fine (no pun intended). As I'm still building my first army and want to get more characters, I guess I'll roll the dice a couple more times instead of waiting for the next generation to come out.

[Stoobert]

They are replacing it with a new plastic material called WhineCast.

ATTTTTTTTTTTTTACK!

[Stoobert]

They're replacing it with a new plastic material called WhineCast! ZING!!!!!!!1

Attack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111one

[yossariansmith]

Octopodes, actually.

[Morgrim]

My one experience with Finecast was having more vents and mold lines than any other model I've encountered, but at the same time having these clean up a LOT easier than a metal model ever would. And given the lighter material it was actually possible to assemble it without breaking out the two part glue. Model in question was a Shadowseer Harlequin and I know from prior experience that trying to pin the thin, shallow socket joints GW likes to use to connect elf and eldar wrists to hands carrying bulky weapons is frustratingly difficult in metal. I'd take Finecast over pewter any day just for that.

[Deadlift]

Cos they got fed up of whingy children on the internet complaining about the one in a million air bubble problem

For me it wasn't the bubbles, I just absolutely loath painting the stuff. I point blank hate it. It's got a weird cardboardie feel to it when and you get in close you can see the surfaces just aren't smooth. I always thought that GW having to show us in WD how to fix their faulty product was a bit off but I didn't rant and rave about it. Most models you can easily make plastic alternatives that whilst aren't as good as a GW model served purpose. But the Eldar range have so many models which are finecast it's not funny, hench my plan to "wraith" spiders etc. if finecast is indeed on its way out, good riddance.

[Brass Scorpion]

Finecast is overall terrible stuff. While it works okay for some of the chunkier models anything with fragile detail has too many problems. Tiny parts like pointing fingers break off easily. It's so flexible that top-heavy models with fine attachment points at the base actually sag under their own weight (e.g., Jump Pack Chaos Lord). Fine detail on tabards of formerly metal models (e.g., Howling Banshees) often come out of the mold only partially formed and defective. It's also inconsistent as some models come out really flexible while others are brittle and easily broken even while removing them from their sprue. It is of course lighter and easier to work with than metal and I have some decent Finecast models, but the aforementioned problems are regular and persistent such that I mostly avoid buying any Finecast models. It also has an unwanted texture to it that can make getting truly smooth looking paint jobs nearly impossible. All of these experiences I described are personal and I'm still astounded that there are any customers that actually like Finecast. GW's terrific premium products are in polystyrene plastic and if they want to charge their current sometimes outrageous prices then all of their models should be in that premium material. Finecast kits have too many problems, have too few if any optional and extra parts and cost way too much money for their often problematic quality.

[mathhammer]

1. Finecast had the same detail as the metal miniatures they replaced. were basically same molds.

2. Finecast had bad issues with bubbles, warping, and the clam shells opening during casting. The failure rate appears to be high.

3. Companies dump something cause of money, and my guess is they are running into the regulations from the EPA on particle dust and selling. So to rid themselves of the issue they can just move to plastic.

[Maelstorm]

And good riddance! Finecast was AWFUL. I, for one, welcome our new plastic overlords.

This times 100....

To build my armies up I've purchased 40+ Finecast models - 1 in 3 had to be filled, heated and reshaped to be presentable. 1 in 5 or 6 required a call to GW to replace it. EVERY SINGLE Finecast Necron staff weapon has snapped multiple times and are constantly requiring reshaping as they bend in a crescent shape as they stand still in Battlefoam trays in my office.

Was it a coincidence that Liquid Greenstuff was introduced at the same time as Finecast was dumped on the market (and prices jumped)?

Good riddance to Finecrap

[Power Klawz]

Finecast is not my favorite.

All plastic is basically the future as foretold by the prophets of ancient days. Like the 90s or something.

[40kGamer]

All of the finecast models I own or have ever seen were all fine. Not that I don't still prefer plastic, generally, but people still whine too much about finecast.

People do seem to hate on it really hard. To be fair I have a couple dozen finecast kits and they fall into 2 distinct categories.

Those designed specifically for finecast... good.
Kits transitioned from metal... awful. :p

[silashand]

And good riddance! Finecast was AWFUL.

This +1. I have had nothing but horrible experiences with the Finecrap/Failcast models I have purchased. Worst material they could possibly have chosen for their otherwise nice sculpts.


Cos they got fed up of whingy children on the internet complaining about the one in a million air bubble problem

Hardly. The material was absolute garbage. I purchased a Valkia the Bloody figure and the spear was bent/molded incorrectly. I have followed standard methods of straightening resin figures using hot water over half a dozen times to no avail. The spear will straighten out temporarily, but 24-48 hours later it's back where it was before. The same with the few other Finecast models I have bought. The material is absolute crap no matter how you look at it. Plus it is just brittle and when it does break it tends to crumble so repair is virtually impossible. The best thing they could do is burn all remaining Finecrap resin in a pit.

[Lexington]

Good riddance, really. A nice enough material...for things it was specifically designed to work with...when it was cast properly. Obviously, this wasn't the case for most of the product. F'rex, the three replacement boxes of Striking Scorpions GW sent me this past summer. Combined, they still couldn't form a squad of six without a few malformed bodies and weaponry warped beyond repair. That's ridiculous.


Yep. On Dakka they kept going on about how it melted in the heat. I set about testing this by bunging a Liche Priest in my oven. Yes it softened. But it didn't melt (200 degrees c for 15 minutes, fact fans). And the hate mob, despite my photographic evidence, and their lack thereof decided I must be lying.....


All I know is my venomthropes are bending left and right like a bunch of drunkards while being exposed to (shock) room temperature.
Another issue with FC. Mixed well, it's perfectly able to stand up to heat. Mixed poorly, and your expensive new miniature will droop under its own weight. How do you tell the two apart? Buy the mini and find out.

[kjolnir]

About time.

[YorkNecromancer]

I think the problem was twofold. Firstly, Finecast was sold as, basically, the second coming of our Lord and Saviour. The hyperbole that GW released regarding it was ****ing ridiculous. When it turned out to be 'nice consistency, good to work with/paint, glues well, BUT WHY SUCH POOR PRODUCT CONTROL?!' that was a big strike against it; considering GW sells via word-of-mouth, having poor word of mouth is not good. The red rings of death didn't kill the 360, but that's only because people WILL take back a faulty, super-expensive computer. With a moderately expensive model, they're more likely to absorb the cost, then not buy again.

Secondly, the price of Finecast was just stupid. The Marine Apothecary illustrated this perfectly: I can buy a rubbish old apothecary, or buy a beautiful, brand new, preheresy Forge World one FOR LESS. Madness.

For my part, I have a few Finecast models; I quite like it as a material, but I've experienced a failure rate of about 25% - for every three great models, there is one that needs real, serious work to correct. (Don't even get me started on Haemonculus fingers...) That's just too high a rate for the mark-up GW asks, so I spend my money elsewhere and convert the characters I need (because conversions are what the hobby is all about to me).

[pohanew]

I agree that fine cast is a nightmare quality wise the swap is probably because plastic is the easiest material (that games workshop produce) to work with

[Darren Richardson]

I guess I'm really lucky then...

I visited A GW Store shortly after they introduced the stuff, I was looking at this new stuff while the staff was talking all the hyperbole about it, but while looking at the figure I noticed the sword was bent!...

I decided their and then not to bother with ANY finecrap models, Instead I just spend what little money I can spare on plastic figures or old metal ones of eBay....

[CymrilBlade]

And good riddance! Finecast was AWFUL. I, for one, welcome our new plastic overlords.

Thumbs up!!!!!


I really despise finecast with a passion....

Bring back the old metal stuff! ))

Actually I want more of the new plastic style they did for the Dark Vengeance set..

[deinol]

I really hope this means I get plastic Harlequins soon.

[Wolfshade]

Right good news. So all players using finecast special characters or the like will now be using FW kits!
So i for one say they shouldnt be allowed to use em! Lol

Oh and this thread gets a rating of 7.6 octopusses and 1.3 herring.
Hmm. Would they be octopusses, octopu$sies or octopii?


Octopodes, actually.

+1 yossariansmith.

If it is true it is a long time coming, and refelcts more of GW moving to a much improved plastic technology. Finecast seemed to be trying to replicate metals with plastic. If they do move over to injection then it would be a shift change, also a reflection of amount of stuff GW can no push into a little sprue.

[Learn2Eel]

I never minded Finecast, rarely had any issues at all with it. Hell, my Lord of Change being Finecast actually saved me a lot of woe when a metal Slaan mage fell on top of it....
In saying that, I do prefer plastic. And if this is the stance they take with Tyranids - who cost so darn much with all the Finecast Elites - then I am all for it!

[Popsical]

+1 yossariansmith.

If it is true it is a long time coming, and refelcts more of GW moving to a much improved plastic technology. Finecast seemed to be trying to replicate metals with plastic. If they do move over to injection then it would be a shift change, also a reflection of amount of stuff GW can no push into a little sprue.

Im glad thats cleared up.
I still stand by my 1.3 herring tho.

[Herald of Malal]

Man, threads like this really make me realize how quickly we all forget things. It was stated when GW made the move to Finecast that it was only intended to be temporary in the first place. Guess nobody remembers that.

[SON OF ROMULOUS]

finally!! I'm very excited for this. Sorry but had my issues with that crap and never again i can do simple conversions. head swap weapon swaps... but i cannot fix when my models have gigantic holes in them are missing fingers have deformed faces sorry i pay for a product if you cant give me a quality prodect then F off and give me my money back. if your plastic sprues are miscast we ask for a new sprue we don't go and rebuild the sprue from scratch...

[Sainhann]

Because finecast is an abomination that boggles the mind?

My next question is: Do they really expect us to pay 30 dollars for a character model?

Follow up: where can I get some of the drugs theyre on?

Yes and in the future they will expect you to pay even more for that one plastic miniature.

[Pauly Addams]

And good riddance! Finecast was AWFUL. I, for one, welcome our new plastic overlords.

So much yes! xD ~Does the dance of joy~

[darthslowe]

if true, is this plastic as we know it, or Privateer Press type 'plastic' which is in fact resin I wonder. did somebody actually say 'a new plastic material'? very particular choice of words.

Finecast is dead, long live Finecast.

[GrauGeist]

Cos they got fed up of whingy children on the internet complaining about the one in a million air bubble problem

One in a million? Riight.

[Grey Mage]

Man, threads like this really make me realize how quickly we all forget things. It was stated when GW made the move to Finecast that it was only intended to be temporary in the first place. Guess nobody remembers that.

I remember, I just didnt believe.

Ironically, its really the leftovers of the pewter release agent that causes the most finecast problems- fresh made finecast molds had very few issues. Itd have been a far better long-term product than short term bandaid.


Yes and in the future they will expect you to pay even more for that one plastic miniature.

And in the future Ill continue to shake my head and try to be content with the 20k in 40k that I already have.

[Ezaviel]

I'm certainly glad to see it go.

I have been fairly luck with my finecast purchases until recently (especially as mentioned, models designed to be Finecast seem to fail less often), with most un-usably bad model's being replaced. But the number of warped models and significant miscasts seems to have been going up in recent months.

I bought a bunch of Crimson Fists shoulder pads, and almost all of them are at least bubbled, at worst miscast, and the Thunderfire Cannon I bought at the same time is warped to the point of almost being useless.

I spent a lot of time defending the material, but it really is not very good.

[Wolfshade]

I do have to admit that of my finecast experience I had one miniature with a bubble that was visible, that was on a painboy'z head mirror, so it looked quite in keeping really.
I know my experiance isn't the same as others but ho-hum.

[Jay Court]

Does this mean their prices will go down when all the finecast stuff goes to plastic?

[ElectricPaladin]

Since Finecase is getting debated here, I'd like to chime in with my own personal Finecast tales. I own... 12 pieces of Finecast. Of the following, this is the story of how they turned out (in no particular order):

1 - 5) Chameleon Skinks, no problems at all. Remarkably good models, in fact, with minimal mold lines and such good sprue placement that I can't even remember where they used to be linked.
6) Space Marine Chaplain: The bolt pistol had a series of bubbles that destroyed the detail on the top, which I solved by chopping off the arm and replacing it with a plastic one. There were also bubbles along the top of the shoulder pad which I was able to greenstuff over. A much larger bubble was hidden behind the armpit - it was hard enough to see that I never bothered with it, and the model looks fine.
7) Astorath the Grim: One knee pad was completely destroyed by bubbles. Sadly, this was the awesome skull-shaped knee pad, which i lacked the skills to recreate, so I had to just cover it over with greenstuff and move on. Doesn't look too bad. The bigger problem is that the ax handle - extremely slender - e has fallen off many times and I despair of making it stick.
8) Space Marine Terminator Librarian: Perfect.
9 - 12) Tau Sniper Drone Team: No bubbles, but many of the models were extensively twisted, which required boiling and twisting to right, and some of them still look a little funny.

Now, as a product, this isn't bad. All of them usable, only three of them deviant in a way that continues to be visible. However, there are two things to keep in mind:

1) I have seen a similar number of miscasts with GW plastics - I've got a Skink warrior who clearly dropped his tail to escape some kind of giant Lustrian wants-to-kill-you, for example - despite owning exponentially more plastic than finecast.
2) Finecast was billed to us as a better material, and we were charged accordingly.

Was Finecast an abomination from the pits of sheol? No. But it wasn't that good either, and it rankled that we were charged more for an inferior product. For myself, I stopped buying Finecast after the twisted-up sniper drone team and started trolling eBay for metals. I've been much more satisfied with my models since then.

[eldargal]

GW would usually send you a replacement if you showed you had a faulty kit.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

I have never had a single bad Finecast model.

[ElectricPaladin]

GW would usually send you a replacement if you showed you had a faulty kit.

Which is great for them, but I do think that faulty kits appeared with a frustrating frequency. If I'd wanted to wait four to six weeks to have my toy, I'd have ordered it from the Internet in the first place. The hobby isn't always about instant gratification - says the Vampire Coutns army currently en route to me from Canada - but sometimes it is - says the Wight King who is about half painted and has no one to command. I've had to ask Privateer Press for a couple of replacement bits as well, but with Finecast it happened too often.

[DarkLink]

I will add that, while finecast might break if its too thin, it was still much easier to repair than the metal that it replaced. Anyways, I don't think fine cast was ever anything more than a stopgap measure.

[Blond Daemon]

Well this is what you get when don't have priests chanting the hymn of pure casting, the litany of bubble purgation and observing the ritual of righteous quality control without the catechism of gremlin banishment.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Well this is what you get when don't have priests chanting the hymn of pure casting, the litany of bubble purgation and observing the ritual of righteous quality control without the catechism of gremlin banishment.

This guy gets it.

The Omnissiah deemed me worthy of perfect Finecast sculpts.

[Arkhan Land]

Does this mean their prices will go down when all the finecast stuff goes to plastic?

I think they'll stay close to the same the way they did with the Chaos SM leadership plastic kits that are out now.


One thing though the article did mention a WHY and I want to throw in my own two cents on that issue. Is it possible GW is aiming to be a more safer and therefore more wildly available/marketable product?

[Green_Lumux]

I ended up with a few finecast minis... (not by choice... aside from the one) and I was never impressed with the quality.

Finecast got the last laugh however... I scooped the games day Marco Colombo off ebay... and he has a bubble right on the tip of his nose (where his nose SHOULD be at least.)

*shakes fist*

[Eldar_Atog]

It all depends on which armies you play.

If you play an army like space marines or chaos space marines, you might have ok luck with finecast. The models are usually bulky enough that a small bubble can maybe be dealt with.

On the other hand, an eldar/dark eldar or necron player is more likely to end up with an unusable finecast model. My necron friend is almost on a first name basis with the GW returns people. I've lost count of the number of necron models he has had to send back because of air bubbles in the staves and legs.

[luckyman16]

Personally, I didn't necessarily dislike finecast, I was just always too afraid to buy it, as this hobby is quite expensive and we cant afford to spend tons of money on one guy who has the possibility of being severally warped and disfigured.

[Wolf]

What annoys me the most about imperfections on Finecast models is that when you attempt to correct them by lightly filing away the blemish(es) you quite frequently end up with a hole created by the bubble just below the surface which is invisible to the naked eye until you try to clean the blemish. This has happened to me on numerous occasions, making me almost unwilling to use any form of hobby knife/file/emery board on the surface of a Finecast model for fear of making it actually worse than its first state by trying to make it free of mould lines.

Another of my pet hates is the almost transparent state of some of the resin, even in parts which you would have expected to be at least a decent thickness. Add this to bubbles and other tiny holes which unfortunately seemed to proliferate on my purchases and I can see why Liquid Green Stuff was issued into the community at roughly the same time as Finecast was.

The "Bent Stave/Sword/Whatever" event was not quite so frequent in my own experience from models purchased, but when they were bent they were pretty damned bent!

As a whole I tend to avoid Finecast. Whereas I will openly admit that I personally think the detail of the models - or at least those which retain all their fingers and toes! - is certainly very sharp, I would prefer not to have to spend time fixing the shape of a model or trying to rebuild various parts of it which are still attached to the Finecast sprue even though extreme care was taken when removing said model from said sprue. I have the Dark Vengeance Chaos Chosen models from a set I shared with a friend, and the detailing on those models is superlative and sharp. To hear that GW is (hopefully) planning on going all-plastics is a good thing and I look forward to see what they produce.

Whether I will buy it or not will depend on the price level and the availability of funds, of course!

W.

[steelmage99]

Finecast have slowly gotten better, but boy did they start out awful!

[shabbadoo]

Finecast always has been just a stop-gap. GW's intent has been to go all plastic for a great while now. All of the rumor sites are late to the party (and people in general just seem to be purposely ignoring what is right there in front of them). You see, GW has realized the dream of selling single plastic minis to people for exorbitant prices (a very, very long running goal), which is as close as it comes to GW being able to print its own money. They love this, and what company wouldn't. Could that possibly be a good enough answer as to WHY?

So, no real news here at all, just a sign that the cudgel of enlightenment has perhaps finally penetrated the iron helm of ignorance? One can hope.

[dirkspair]

well, i am glad i stayed firm and did not buy a single finecast model. i now hope they will make some nice modular characters in the future, but the SM libby they put out and others make me wonder if that will happen.

[odinsgrandson]

If this is true... well, I have to admit that I didn't believe the rumors that GW was going to Finecast anyway. Man, I was wrong that time.

I expect that this is entirely driven by sales. I wonder to what extent they are competing against themselves in this- how many gamers buy the finecast Space Marine Captain that may or may not have the weaponry they want, and how many just bodge one together from all of the extra plastics they have lying around.


if true, is this plastic as we know it, or Privateer Press type 'plastic' which is in fact resin I wonder. did somebody actually say 'a new plastic material'? very particular choice of words.

Privateer Press Plastic is plastic and not resin. All of the talk of 'resin plastic' or 'restic' is just PR. PP plastic is plastic.

It isn't the same plastic as GW uses- and you can see the difference in the way it casts- it casts much more like metal than plastic (fewer pieces, more details allowed next to mold lines- which leads to people's complaints about cleaning them).

[RGilbert26]

Does plastic glue work on it it do you have to use superglue?

[Mr Mystery]

And if they're claiming the material is something it's not, surely that's false advertising and a wee bit illegal?

Unless it's the community getting the wrong end of that stick and making the erroneous claims.

[Deadlift]

Does plastic glue work on it it do you have to use superglue?

Use superglue mate

[Psychosplodge]

Then it's probably not plastic?

[deinol]

Then it's probably not plastic?

Plastic is a consumer term for a ton of different, but similar materials. I mean, the bottle plastics glue comes from is a type of plastic, but not the polystyrene that "plastics" glue melts.

[RGilbert26]

As long as polystyrene cement glue works on the 'new' plastic then I'm happy. If they are using new stuff.

[Psychosplodge]

true enough.
But considering most self build hobby models use a plastic you can use poly cement with unless they're resin or metal...
*shrugs*

[Chemiker]

Good! Does this mean we may soon see a plastic Orikan?? Then I can finally buy that cool looking model.

I'd also like to see an "upgrade kit" for each type of cryptek harbinger.

[Lord-Boofhead]

Good! Does this mean we may soon see a plastic Orikan?? Then I can finally buy that cool looking model.

I'd also like to see an "upgrade kit" for each type of cryptek harbinger.

Or a plastic multipart box of 10?

Also cutting of your nose to spite your face? if you like the mini buy it not all the finecast stuff is bad...

[Lord-Boofhead]

As long as polystyrene cement glue works on the 'new' plastic then I'm happy. If they are using new stuff.

Erk, hate the stuff and given the horrid second hand minis I've bought that have been ruined by the bad use of it I wish less people would use it...

Super glue does the job just as well...

[Psychosplodge]

Poly cement done right is far more reliable.

[Lord-Boofhead]

Poly cement done right is far more reliable.

Sadly few people know how to do it right...

[odinsgrandson]

And if they're claiming the material is something it's not, surely that's false advertising and a wee bit illegal?

Unless it's the community getting the wrong end of that stick and making the erroneous claims.

Yeah... I haven't yet found something from Privateer Press labeling one of their plastic kits as resin. In No Quarter, I've always found where it says that the kits are plastic. But I run into it over and over again from people online.

They do make resin kits as well- it is simlar to the Forge World resin. Generally, they cast large pieces in resin and smaller pieces in metal.


As for glue- I pretty much use the same super glue on all of my minis, be they metal, resin or any one of the many plastics currently available. So I haven't tried GW's 'plastic glue' on Privateer Press' plastic minis.

I know that some kinds of glue don't work well with some plastics, so I don't know for sure if the old glue works with them.

[Psychosplodge]

Does anyone actually pay gw prices for glue?

[DarkLink]

A good rule of thumb is to never buy anything from GW, unless you have to. And for that matter, never buy basing materials from pretty much anybody unless you have to. I don't know how many times I've seen discussions on which company produces the best basing sand, when you could just go to freakin' Home Depot and buy a lifetime supply of sand for you and your entire FLGS for pocket change.

[Mr Mystery]

Best basing sand I've found is Budgie Sand, from the petshop. Whacking great bag of it for very little cost. Suitably coarse as well!

But I buy most of my hobby supplies from GW, if not all. Simply because it's convenient, being only 5 minutes up the road. No other hobby shop in town, or local area really.

[DarkLink]

Just as an example, it's maybe 10 or 15 dollars for a little thing of green stuff. I just went on Amazon and bought 5 pounds of magic sculpt, which is fairly similar, for $30 plus shipping.

[Kyban]

Since we're on the subject, I use this stuff for glue:
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/4/2/sg_bottle_pro/overview/Loctite-Super-Glue-Liquid-Professional.htm
works really well but I'm looking for something with a very precise applicator for smaller stuff, anyone know any good ones?

[Psychosplodge]

yeah that, or similar is my superglue of choice. Think theres a more expensive version with a trendy bottle that supposedly gives more control isnt there?

[DarkLink]

Some are more gel, some more liquid. They all seem to work pretty well. I've found that the best brands are the ones that don't leak and glue themselves shut, really.

[Popsical]

I find super glue is a far better hobby tool than plastic cement. I can quite easily and accurately snap apart models that are super glued if i find i wish to repose or rearm them. Plastic glues tend to be far less change friendly and liable to breaking poorly when trying to redo them.

[Katharon]

@Popsical: Gorilla Super Glue. Best d*mned thing you will get for anything that isn't plastic (and it even works well on plastic too).

Finecast is dead? Good riddance.

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/c5/c595586b491836bb2135fb603c2f4e5997ce0e2f8e41c30a81 af650f568eaff8.jpg

[odinsgrandson]

Just as an example, it's maybe 10 or 15 dollars for a little thing of green stuff. I just
went on Amazon and bought 5 pounds of magic sculpt, which is fairly similar, for $30 plus shipping.

You can get Green Stuff much cheaper if you look outside of GW's re-packaging. Litko's version is the best that I've found (fairly large tubes for not a whole lot of money).

Look for it under Kneadatite as well. It is the same stuff, but that's it's original name.

I also like to use Apoxie Sculpt as an add in. That works quite well.