Citadel Finecast


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Dark Archive

Anyone seen any of these in person yet?

From what I can see they are using the pewter moulds with a new resin formula. So the models aren't new, but they look amazing.

I can't tell if they are cheaper than the equivalent metal, since they raised all the prices at the same time as the Finecast release. They don't look cheaper than the equivalent metal mini though. Apart from less hernias, what are the benefits?

Are GW just making more profit per model with these?


I've seen some of the new Finecast models. They are cast from a different mold, and the resin formula is completely different from what they use over at Forge World. The resin acts alot more like a plastic. It has alot of give, and detail is alot crisper. I don't have fear in dropping these models. They seem to have alot of the same benefits as working with the current plastic models.

Overall the 28mm models went up in price. While the 40mm and up either dropped dramatically like the Ushabti, or had a minor price change. From what I can tell prices are in line with using the new medium.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

I would suggest going to Warhammer forums and reading discussions of the line there. Here's the (lengthy) discussion at DakkaDakka. Generally pros seems to be that they are a crisper cast, cons are that there are a lot of bubbles and mold lines. The price increase is just GW's annual price increase.

Take the following with a HUGE grain of salt, that this is a "friend of a friend of a friend told me" kind of story:

A friend's friend (see) bought a Commissar figure that was utterly pitted with holes from bubbling in the resin. Not just a few bubbles here and there, the thing looked like Swiss cheese. He called GW customer service to see if he could exchange it, and he was told firmly, as in "end of discussion," "Just fill it in with Green Stuff."

In other words, GW's reputation for its stellar customer service may come into play when trying to deal with bum casts.

I imagine the line will improve with time as they perfect filling the molds with the right amount of resin, etc. So unless you've got something you urgently need to buy right now, you might hold off till fewer imperfections are reported. If you do get any, let us know how they turn out!

Sovereign Court

Summary from Dakka since I've been reading it this weekend:

1) There is a lot of flash. But flash and mold lines come off easily - the material cuts like butter with a hobby knife. Avoid filing or sanding as you can easily lose detail.

2) They don't need to be washed - no mold release agent.

3) They bond extremely well with superglue and don't need pins or a dot of greenstuff to stay together.

4) Bare grey resin photographs better than plain metal. There aren't any (from what I've seen over the weekend) primed / light washed comparison photos up yet.

5) There are quality control issues currently. Not all models are affected. It could be a very minor amount. Problems range from bubbles / pitting, bits of silicon mold stuck to the mini, mold misalignments leaving lines down detail areas, minor miscasts and very serious miscasts.

6) If you buy some, make sure you open the pack at the counter and inspect it carefully for miscasts - especially if it is a closed boxed set. The new clear backed clamshell packaging should let you spot most of the obvious flaws. Small bubbles or pits can be fixed easily with a drop of superglue. Some people report having to go through multiple boxes to find a perfect set, others say they got a good one right off the bat. In unit boxes count arms and legs and make sure you have the right amount of rights and lefts.

Dark Archive

DeathQuaker wrote:
The price increase is just GW's annual price increase.

Sorry, what I meant was, if you take two metal models of the same old price, one which is still metal, and one which is now finecast, do they still cost the same? Or are the finecast better/worse value in that respect.

Personally, everything I've read about them, I like. Will have to save some spendy buttons to try some.

Sovereign Court

I don't know what the price difference for GW is.

We do know some stuff about metal and resin though. Tin currently costs about ten times what polyurethane resin does. Tin prices are volatile and the main supplier, Indonesia, tries to keep the price up. I don't know much about tin supplies, however, when I worked for a large plumbing supply company, changes in the price, quality and quantity of copper available did cause huge problems for us and customers, and the company had to engage in hedging in order to guarantee price and supply.

That being said there were probably some development costs figuring out this new blend of resin / plastic.

We don't know how expensive the molds are and how often they need to be replaced. Metal miniatures are spin cast using vulcanized rubber. I believe the resin minis are being in silicon rubber molds. They were able to use the same masters that the metal molds were made from.

Miscast white metal minis can be melted down and run through again. I believe GW is able to grind miscast resin minis and recycle them as well.

I would hazard a guess that the switch to resin will save GW a lot of money. We will be able to find out in a quarter or two, as a public company they have to release a lot of financial data.

One other company has said they are switching some of their metal minis over to plastic resin - Mantic.

Quote:


26 May 2011 20:04
http://www.manticgames.com/News/Article/260511-New-Undead-Wraiths-available -for-pre-order.html

Continuing on from yesterday’s new Soul Reaver knights, we’re proud to introduce our new Plastic Resin Undead Wraiths. Plastic Resin is a superior material to metal in that it holds detail like Resin, but with all the benefits of plastic. That’s not the best bit however, oh no. We’ve managed to double the number of figures into the box at the same price as the previous metal set.

As we all know, the price of metal is getting expensive and so by switching the popular Wraiths to this more affordable material, we’ve passed on the cost savings to you guys! How’s that for value for money?

(emphasis added)

We don't know if this is the same plastic resin that GW is using, etc.. as they are still pre-orders. But they were able to halve the price of their models by switching.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

Thanks for all the useful info, Robert Hawkshaw. :)

Nevynxxx, you will have to do the price comparison yourself for the minis in which you are interested, but if I understand it correctly, most 28 mm finecast minis cost slightly more than the equivalent metal mini, but the difference in that cost is the percentage that represents GW's annual price increase, not a increase in materials costs. So yes, they are more expensive, but they would have been more expensive even if they had remained metallic. I think some of the larger minis stayed the same or even went down in price.

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