Managed to get some early work done on Queek Headtaker and Deathmaster Snikch, as well as some assembly on Scar-Skath.
I hadn't worked with any Citadel Finecast before this, so I was very interested to see how this new material would be to work with.
- Would it live up to GW's claims about crisp detail?
- How would the moulding be?
- What kind of preparation would be necessary?
Well, first impressions upon opening Deathmaster Snikch and Queek were a mix of the good and the bad.
First, the good:
-Detail is quite good.
-Easy to glue.
-Easy to file.
That's about it.
Next, the bad:
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| Bubbles... |
-Bubbles. Some significant detail lost from the casting process meant lots of time working with Green Stuff to fill in unsightly gaps. Maybe I was just unlucky, but these missing chunks seemed to be in particularly obvious places - not something I have ever noticed on metal or other plastics.
Sure, I have seen plenty of gaps between parts before, but these were whole areas missing on limbs etc.
-Fiddly to remove from the sprue. (Lots of bits that take a bit of time to work out whether they are part of the model or not.
-Thinner areas of the material felt very prone to breakage. (I didn't do anything extreme to see if they were!) A case in point being the Deathmaster's cape.
-Detail didn't seem that much better than metal or regular plastic to me. In fact, some fine detail was broken or miscast.
Hmmm, not so good to my eyes, but what do you think? Let's take a look at the Deathmaster first...
(Sorry that these are a bit difficult to see. I don't have time today to edit the photos with arrows and pointers etc.)
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| Notice the hole in the leg, above the knee. |
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| Missing material in the center of the cape. |
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| Rats head on the bottom facing us (just above base) is deformed and missing |
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| Front legs of the rat on the base - at right - miscast/ partly missing. |
No.
In fact, some might argue they are all part of the hobbyist's life.
That is fine, but as GW charges (I seem to remember) significantly more for these than their metal equivalents, I can't think that the quality being worse would be acceptable to most people. Personally, I want to paint and display/ wargame, not patch and fix.
BTW, although many people say that metal has less detail, it doesn't seem to be a huge difference to me.
...but maybe I am just disappointed at the time of writing from having to get busy with the Green Stuff...
(It was still sticky at the time of the photo, so I will file it a bit tomorrow.)
Anyway, I also started to work with Scar-Skath, from the Banebeasts range, who I am planning to use as a "counts as Vermin Lord". If you remember, this was the model where I didn't receive a base with the kit when I received it from Maelstrom Games (but I did receive the run-around before everything worked out just fine.)
Note the replacement Micro-Art base that in the end Maelstrom kindly sent me.
What have your experiences been with Finescast and resin models in general?
Cheers,
*Squeek*
Wow, Snikch is more bubbles than anything else - seriously you should return him.
ReplyDeletemmm to me metal has exactly the same detail as finecast... and less bubbles and stuff..and less xpensive too.... had to xperiences wirj finecast , in fact were also queek and sintch ( luckily i had a metal queek too... so the finecast version went to the scrap box)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd return the Deathmaster too. That is far too much work to get him right for what is supposed to be a better product than metal.
ReplyDeleteMy own Finecast experience is limited to one figure to date, which was 100% good, but I hear too many horror stories to trust it.
That's an awful casting.
ReplyDeleteI was expecting quality to improve by now but that doesn't seem to be happening. On thefieldsofblood.com I've had problems with saber tusks recently and was pretty much told by local GW manager to give them a miss.
Pete
I think you've been lucky to be honest. The two sides (left and right) of Queek's torso must be where the mould joins as mine didn't line up by a few (very noticable) mm's. Ended up returning it and ebaying a metal one.
ReplyDeleteHad no problems with finecast 40k models though.
Seems to be a mixed bag. All finecast I have had has been perfectly fine. The odd joint gap, but nothing O.T.T..
ReplyDeleteBut then some people report a fair few serious issues.
Its not good that these issues make it through quality control, but I think it has been blown out of proportion because you only hear about the bad casts. How many good casts has there been though?
Thanks for all the comments everyone.
ReplyDeleteAs it seems as many people haven't had problems as HAVE had problems these things seem to depend on luck. I guess I was just unlucky! It COULD be that quality has improved over time and perhaps I got old stock? Don't know...
I'l be sure to have a closer look at any future Finecast models I lay my hands on and will report further.
Can't do much painting this week because of work and other things, but hopefully will get undercoat and base coats down over the weekend.
I have a fair few Finecast models by now. First set I got (Blood knights) had a couple of really bad (and big) bubbles, took them back to GW and 5 mins later they gave me new parts. Ogre Kingdoms Yheetees had some too, but not bad. Most of the time there will be few very small bubbles, but often under feet where they are not visible. The Cockatrice model I got was perfect, hardly any moldlines and no models, this has got to be my favourite sculp in a long time.
ReplyDeleteGenerally I would say I prefer Finecast, much easier to work with and the models are much more durable, no more painted arms falling off.
Back in the metal days bubbles were unkown, but level of details was a lot lower and I had models with moldlines straight through the face of a character that was a nightmare.
I would recommend Finecast any day, but yes, open the box in the shop (if you have far to go) and take a look before you go home.
I wouldnt accept that. no way.
ReplyDeleteWas it designed to be like that? no, so its faulty.
take it back. seriously guys, stop letting GW get away with having no Quality control. the longer you accept this stuff the longer it will stay bad.
Very sound
ReplyDeleteB gUne Da Lot Of U!!!!
ReplyDeletei will stay if i want!
ReplyDelete