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Actually, looks like HBMC responded, not Azazel (sorry, Az). Same flag. Bob, I actually wasn't even talking to your post. So it looks like HBMC was reading with presumed sand still in his eyes when he woke up (okay, my time zones might be off, I'm not sure how the Australia-heathens measure time).

Hey look SS is still alive!

I dunno if I flat out prefer the mars attacks material to restic in all ways (haven't done enough of it) but it is a welcome change. Mold lines are easier, but not as easy as my plastic zombies. And the hot water bending thing is only so effective. Edwyn's sword keeps bending back to a position resembling what it was when I got it, I don't think restic does that (haven't done a lot of big bends with hot water though to confirm). And maybe it was just my batch, but I think the MA faces are softer than deadzone, but i haven't done the rebs and they're probably the closest so meh.

So on average it's

HIPS > Actual Resin > Metal > Board Game Plastic > Restic

?

 lord_blackfang wrote:
So on average it's

HIPS > Actual Resin > Metal > Board Game Plastic > Restic

?

I would go with that. Sometimes Resin or metal is preferable over HIPS, but for the masses, that is the correct order of quality and what people want.

nkelsch wrote:

 lord_blackfang wrote:
So on average it's

HIPS > Actual Resin > Metal > Board Game Plastic > Restic

?

I would go with that. Sometimes Resin or metal is preferable over HIPS, but for the masses, that is the correct order of quality and what people want.

I'd personally go with Hard Plastic>Resin>Restic>Metal>Boardgame Plastic. I'd take restic over metal any day, and have never really had any issues with it. It really is no harder to work with than metal in the cleanup stage, and much easier to paint. I've yet to experience Boardgame Plasic, but I don't really like the idea of coloured/one part/not rigid figures.

I think being a bit ham-fisted makes me kind of dangerous to boardgame plastic.

I don't mind Corvus Belli metal, I'd put that above a lot of things, though high quality hard plastic still wins. I don't mind restic once I'm done with it, and doing smaller projects, say nothing larger than a 10 or so model warband/gang/striketeam at a time is ok.

Resin I'm no fan of. I clipped my LE rebs commander off of her large resin blob slot thing, way down on the faux slotta base portion, and it still snapped all the way up and took off the back of her foot. Maybe just a bad experience, but I don't like brittle materials, I tend to drop things and have a toddler. (so yeah metal is probably a problem too, infinity models need to live on the high shelf).

As someone with a few hundred painted zombies and a couple hundred painted Zulus, I can tell you if they had been in restic I would not have those forces.

Plastic/metal for masses of troops is great, resin for special characters is good though metal works as well. Restic for a handful of figures is okay at best (some of what I got from dreadball and the first wave of Deadzone is horrid). Masses of restic troops? Screw that, it would not be worth the effort to deal with the mold lines/clean up.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
So on average it's

HIPS > Actual Resin > Metal > Board Game Plastic > Restic

?

Metal and Board Game Plastic are interchangeable for me, depending on the purpose, but otherwise I agree.

Yeah I like metal personally. The only problem I have with it is heavy for transport and if you drop it you are more likley to scratch the paint off it. However most of my models are metal of some kind and I have no issue with it what soever. Give me a metal model from perry over mantic restic any day of the week.

This all seems a bit off topic, but I like metal quite a bit and don't mind restic. Soft board game plastic is really not something I like for mini-gaming though.

I personally can't stand metal, it's too heavy and I can't seem to paint it properly, it's my least favourite material. All these metal characters are going to give me trouble when I get to them.
While I appreciate the excellent sculpts Infinity has I just can't bring myself to buy more than the 3 I have while they're still in metal.

Hehe. I have quite a bit of metal and it paints fine. Just need to prime it first.

I prime it, the paint still wants to go on like garbage, and I'm terrible enough without the material actively trying to sabotage me. Metal minis really do not work for me.

I don't care how nice the sculpt is, if it's a mini I actually want to use on the table I'll reject metal in favour of something else in restic, resin or hard plastic every time.

NTRabbit wrote:
I prime it, the paint still wants to go on like garbage. Metal minis really do not work for me.

Seriously? Maybe a new primer...? That's just crazy. I have an entire metal army (sisters) and they paint great.

It's a spray on primer from the hardware store which works perfectly with hard plastic, resin, restic and even MDF. I guess if I get enough metal minis one day I might try a special primer just for them?

My issue with metal is how easily it chips/has paint rub off, which requires a varnish coat if you plan to actually use the model at all. It's also harder to convert.

I manage with Infinity stuff just as the sculpts are so good, but for anything else I'd rather have resin. Hell, I even think the move to Finecast was a good thing!

 Paradigm wrote:
My issue with metal is how easily it chips/has paint rub off, which requires a varnish coat if you plan to actually use the model at all.

Why would you not varnish/clear coat ALL your painted figures, regardless of the material?

 CptJake wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
My issue with metal is how easily it chips/has paint rub off, which requires a varnish coat if you plan to actually use the model at all.

Why would you not varnish/clear coat ALL your painted figures, regardless of the material?

Because I find plastic/restic/resin really don't need it? I handle my minis with care, and have plastic minis painted years ago and used in game extensively with no chips or damage to speak of.

 CptJake wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
My issue with metal is how easily it chips/has paint rub off, which requires a varnish coat if you plan to actually use the model at all.

Why would you not varnish/clear coat ALL your painted figures, regardless of the material?

Thats what I do.

I think the Love/hate for metal simply comes with experience. For us who grew up where for 20 years there was literally *NOTHING* but metal available, we became used to the material and the simple processes like pinning, priming, sealing and so on are already part of our model prep.

For people who started when there was half a dozen materials out there, as they became used to other stuff, metal does stand alone from all the other materials in regards to tools, and how to handle it.

I will take a one-piece metal model over just about anything out there if given an option.

I dip all of my models, even if they don't really need it, I've still been dipping them. Gives them a clear coat that's tough as nails and then there's a matte varnish over the top too.

 GrimDork wrote:
I dip all of my models, even if they don't really need it, I've still been dipping them. Gives them a clear coat that's tough as nails and then there's a matte varnish over the top too.

I honestly cannot imagine spending time to paint up a figure and NOT protecting it, regardless of the material. Heck, even foam storage cases will eventually abrade a non protected paint job.

Has anyone found that mantic have actually undercharged you during the wave 3 survey?

I seem to have been undercharged by $20...

Not that I'm complaining or anything, but with a mate piggy backing off of my pledge, it's made things slightly confusing.

You sure they had everything listed?

Everything looks like it's listed in the Confirmation Email.



Adds up to $332, minus $15 for the Zombie discount. So that should be a charged total of $317

Final total was: $297


Was there some sort of discount for buying 2 faction starters maybe?

Having kids that are just as clumsy as me, everything gets a coating of some sort. No exceptions.

I usually just dull coat my stuff, since when I use inks they tend to come out super glossy.

Does a dip or varnish offer more protection than that? I've been debating about picking some up to try, especially on pieces like Deadzone figures which have a propensity so far to fall from great heights on the tabletop... sometimes even accidentally!

Yeah during the first and second survey weren't 2x faction starters 50 bucks? Maybe they mistakenly honored that pricing? Or maybe they forgot to mention it. They forgot something at some point, but that would be my best guess.


On dipping, I dunno. I'm pretty sure my dudes have a ridiculously strong outer shell from the polyurethane in the minwax polyshades (I may be typing the wrong poly-whatsit, its one of those things...) but I *could* be overestimating it's effects. I know I had a magnetized model and I dipped him and when I went to reposition an arm later on it was easier to accidentally break the superglue bond from a conversion than it was to unset the hardened dip, whoops!.

Yeah, it's probably the starter discounts.

 highlord tamburlaine wrote:
Having kids that are just as clumsy as me, everything gets a coating of some sort. No exceptions.

I usually just dull coat my stuff, since when I use inks they tend to come out super glossy.

Does a dip or varnish offer more protection than that? I've been debating about picking some up to try, especially on pieces like Deadzone figures which have a propensity so far to fall from great heights on the tabletop... sometimes even accidentally!

The glossy varnish is where you get your main protection. The talc in the dull varnish makes for a weaker coat. I tend to not discriminate about the initial coat. Just buy glossy spray poly at HD or Lowes and then hit it with Dullcote afterwards. Need a knife to chip it after that. I've had a lot of uncoated plastics rub off over time on thin edges, so I just hit everything with a quick spray of gloss followed by dullcote.

Yup, someone else mentioned that they got charged 25 apiece for two starters. So 2x starter discounts were in effect.