What it says on the tin, Does anyone know of any advantages that fincast has over plastic? or is it all just crap?

Personally, I hate finecast as they are harder to paint (than plastic - not metal!) and also come out really weird and warped.

I like it, Most of my army is fincast. .

No advantages from what i can tell. A pain in the ass to put together though. Admittedly the warpsmith and sorcerer i got were pretty damn detailed, but you have to put them in the pose on the box, zero customisation. And the spindly bits like mechatendrils are really really fragile, you have to be very careful. Theres a reason old metals are fetching a hefty price on ebay

Oh and i also got a whirlwind hyperios from fw and it was made of some weird resin that was all warped and impossible to cut, dont think that was finecast though.

I'd like it if I could guarantee that any box I buy would be flawlessly cast. As is, you often get some defects or will have to do a return or exchange or two before you get a good box.

I love it. Having all aspect warriors meant that 90% of my army is fine cast. And i have had no issues except very limited posing. Sometimes i found myself accidentally nearly snipping bits off that weren't meant to because the sprews are a mess.

Overall I am happy with the 9 boxes i have so far. Very light, very detailed but make sure you have a good way to transport them. Or you will regret it.

I don't mind finecast, but only because it's quite lighter than pewter.

The new sprues that comes in finecast.. can't really complain about them.. it's the ones that's just been recasted... with the same metal mold that tends to be.. mishaped and filled with bubbles so far in my experience.

Oh this thread again (and I have only been on Dakka for less than a year).

Yeah I loved working on/with my Typhus and my big Mek w/ KFF. The material was great to work with.
I put resin/plastic/Finecast all in the same easiness and pleasure to work with.

What on earth is "fincast"? Is GW now making models out of something fish-based?

 Grimtuff wrote:
What on earth is "fincast"? Is GW now making models out of something fish-based?

A new formula. Part of their policy to make the world a worse place.

Dolphin and shark fin mixture cured with whale fats.

Goes for a fortune once molded.

Even if I could get perfect sculpts I live in a tropical climate so it is an entirely sub par material. On a hot day things will sag, they will droop and they will bend and short of storing them in a fridge there isn't really anything that can be done about it.

I strongly disliked working with metal figures.

Finecast has some issues but other than warping it's been fantastic. I've gotten maybe 9 FC models and all have had tiny issues that took all of no time to fix.

I mostly love it but will be happy when/if plastics become the norm.

Also, FINcast is a product of Japan.

No, I don't like it.

I have a real problem with finecast when it comes to gluing models together. It doesn't create the bonds you used to get with plastic glue and this is hell for some of the FC models. I think it comes down to a lack of surface tension that affects crazy glue.

My Nurgle DP gets re-glued after every game. His right arm comes off along with his head. Sometimes his torso falls apart.

My warpsmith model can't keep his servo arms in place.

I have both of these models pinned at this point and still the issues continue.

GW has this public health and safety / liability issue because of lead being toxic, so they had to change the metal models to resin (which, btw, is also sometimes toxic).
Their lawyers/accountants told them not to admit liability, so they spun some B.S. story about the "extra detail" possible in resin "Finecast".

Yes, it's rubbish, obviously.... but they kinda had to do it. They didn't have to be dicks about it though, but honestly, who's surprised?

The detail on resin is nice, but not so much as to make it better than plastic. GW's resin kits have a lot of flash, frequently require a bath before accepting glue/paint, and are susceptible to warping/melting. Better than metal though.

I despise finecast and I'll only use a bit or two made of it once in a blue moon because it's the only way to obtain that bit.

I'm sure as hell never using metal. I hate metal even more. Multi-part plastic kits forever, multi-part plastic kits for everything.

Never used resin before, but I just ordered some Volkite Calivers from FW to use as bolters for my tactical marines, so we'll see how that goes.

I like finecast. Most of the casts I got were flawless and the details are sharper than metal or plastic.

Though really anything that is finecast should be hybrid plastic/finecast kits.

 Grimtuff wrote:
Is GW now making models out of something fish-based?

That joke isn't funny....

I like plastic more, but it certainly is better than metal.

karlosovic wrote:
GW has this public health and safety / liability issue because of lead being toxic, so they had to change the metal models to resin (which, btw, is also sometimes toxic).
Their lawyers/accountants told them not to admit liability, so they spun some B.S. story about the "extra detail" possible in resin "Finecast".

Yes, it's rubbish, obviously.... but they kinda had to do it. They didn't have to be dicks about it though, but honestly, who's surprised?

There hadn't been anything resembling lead in a GW miniature for approaching 20 years before the switch. Additionally, resin used in miniatures is non-toxic once cured (there are potential issues with inhaling fine particulates, toxic or no, such as resin dust when sanding or filing, but the quantities your average hobbyist comes into contact with render this an outside chance at best.)

The switch to Finecast was motivated purely by one of cost, metal (specifically tin) was expensive, price was volatile (and only headed one way) and transport costs were higher. The "extra detail" spin was to try and make it look like they were being selfless and putting the hobbyist first.

I have no problem with the material other than the shoddy execution of its production and poor quality control, but I don't mind working in metal, plastic or "proper" resin either.

I've enjoyed finecast so far - it is extremely easy to work with (cuts like butter).

I haven't had any serious miscasts either and generally the mold lines have been much more forgiving then with plastic.

My only gripe is that it is a bit more flexible then I would like - this prevents breakage, but I would prefer a more solid product like the forgeworld resin.

Except for one, all finecast models I own or friends of me own have some kind of minor or major flaw, from small bubbles to being bent so bad that it is impossible to assemble. Nowadays I try to get the old metal models instead from ebay instead. Not raging or anything, but I'm just no longer willing to take the risk of single $20 models being in a bad shape.

Nope. I picked up a FC model once, and it was practically weightless. I guess it's good for transport, but I prefer my minis to have a bit of substance to them. Metal has a nice heft to it, but it's a pain to assemble and paint.

I prefer it to assembling metal+plastic models - or painting metal models in general.

I prefer painting finecast. Doesn't really need to be primed if painting with washes.

Thankfully the only problem i've had is a slightly bent sword, other than that is far so good. Worst was when i accidently snapped Vargard Obyron's warscythe when i was taking him off the sprue with a friend.

 cvtuttle wrote:
I prefer it to assembling metal+plastic models - or painting metal models in general.

Same I like it more for assembling and painting than metal for sure. I like the detail more than plastic but I like assembling plastic more.

The models themselves look good in my opinion, casting was well done. I simply hate working with it. It's a real pain in the arse as a fair number of models for my chosen armies (Chaos in 40k, Ogre Kingdoms in Fantasy) are finecast - all the characters in Ogres are finecast! - instead of plastic. I love working with plastic and the detail is great without needless add-ons and clutter.

I hate finecast with a passion- every finecast model I've ever bought was riddled with bubbles and badly warped, they break if you look at them funny and all that detail is rather meaningless when you have to destroy half of it in a desperate attempt to clean off all those godawful casting leftovers.

After buying the new Tessaract Vault plastic kit I've also concluded that that whole "greater detail" bull is nothing more than a great big lie- the kind of detail you could see on the Transcendent C'tan was at least as fine as anything I've ever seen on a finecast model and unlike failcast the plastic bits fit together perfectly.

I have never had a problem with a Finecast model that was not due to my own negligence or mistake (like having the wrong-sized bit on the dremel...).

Its fine. No idea why folks are on about it being hard to paint, if its cleaned right and primed there is no problem. As for a previous post about it offering zero customization lol for real... you can cut it, you can mold it, you can convert the high hell out of it

Finecast is literal garbage. The quality control is virtually nonexistent (bubbles everywhere, especially in the middle of fine detail), and even if you miraculously get a cast that can be salvaged without too much work the material is still awful. It's way too weak and crumbly so it breaks too easily, and it's soft enough to bend under its own weight. Every single finecast or FW "we swear it's not finecast even though it's exactly like finecast" model I've had the misfortune of encountering has ended up in the trash. I've learned my lesson now and just won't buy anything in finecast, which is a shame because some of those models are theoretically very nice.

And of course none of this applies to proper resin, which is the ideal material for miniatures when it is done right.

 Peregrine wrote:
Finecast is literal garbage. The quality control is virtually nonexistent (bubbles everywhere, especially in the middle of fine detail), and even if you miraculously get a cast that can be salvaged without too much work the material is still awful. It's way too weak and crumbly so it breaks too easily, and it's soft enough to bend under its own weight. Every single finecast or FW "we swear it's not finecast even though it's exactly like finecast" model I've had the misfortune of encountering has ended up in the trash. I've learned my lesson now and just won't buy anything in finecast, which is a shame because some of those models are theoretically very nice.

And of course none of this applies to proper resin, which is the ideal material for miniatures when it is done right.

Maybe you should buy better kits... for the only problem i have seen in NZ is that they break easily...

Wait Peregrine:Why did you throw them in the trash?You do know that they give you a new one if its got a problem right?And unless FW switched to finecast or sometimes its like finecast your signature kinda doesn't look like won't buy finecast.

From here in australia atleast, FC has dramatically increased in quality. The past 30 kits haven't had a single bubble or defect and only one has one piece of flash on it's helmet.

Da krimson barun wrote:
Wait Peregrine:Why did you throw them in the trash?You do know that they give you a new one if its got a problem right?

Because after getting replacements that are just as bad as the original and then replacements for the replacements that are still just as bad it isn't worth dealing with it anymore. Even if I finally get enough pieces to make a complete model it's still a terrible material, so why spend weeks/months trying to salvage a bad kit when I can move on to something more enjoyable and consider it a lesson learned?

And unless FW switched to finecast or sometimes its like finecast your signature kinda doesn't look like won't buy finecast.

FW used "we swear it's not finecast" for a few kits, apparently as a test. There are certain kits that I've blacklisted until I see evidence of better casting (for example, the Vendetta conversion parts), but most FW stuff is cast in proper resin and doesn't suffer from the same problems as finecast.

Plus, my signature is about rules, not model kits.

That explains it.I was talking about the superheavies bit in your signature.Not the first part.

I personally don't have a problem with any of the Finecast kits I've bought. I much prefer it for Tyranids. The Tyranid metals all suffer from various issues in metal - Zoanthropes are far, far, far too top heavy, and will fall over on a flat surface with a slight nudge. Venomthropes need to be pinned, but the arms are small enough to make that a hassle. Hive Guard need to be pinned, but the arms need to be perfectly placed to line up properly at the wrist. Lictors have the same problems as Venomthropes.

Short of them going plastic, I'll take them in Finecast in a heartbeat over metal. I actually want to hunt down one more Finecast Hive Guard, to complete the brood of 3 before the new plastic are released. And another Zoanthrope, but there's no rush there.

Well, I for one HATE (with extra RAGE) metal miniatures. In my experience they are prone to misscasts, fit horribly, are impossible or very hard to customize and especially the larger ones (Bloodthirster, I'm looking at you, and I see you hiding behind him, SAG-Bigmek) just don't hold together when glueing them without lots of trouble.

I don't think GW made any useful IG models in finecast other then coteaz , I did have problems with him the first 4 I opened were all warped the same way in the same place . The next shipment that came had the same problem , so in the end I got the metal one . he may fall down because of the eagle , but at least his face and armor look ok . Besides that I never bought finecast .

Da krimson barun wrote:
That explains it.I was talking about the superheavies bit in your signature.Not the first part.

Oh, yeah. The models I'm interested in are all old ones from before the finecast disaster.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Kosake wrote:
Well, I for one HATE (with extra RAGE) metal miniatures. In my experience they are prone to misscasts, fit horribly, are impossible or very hard to customize and especially the larger ones (Bloodthirster, I'm looking at you, and I see you hiding behind him, SAG-Bigmek) just don't hold together when glueing them without lots of trouble.

Sure. Metal is awful, and there's no real reason to use it anymore. But that doesn't make finecast acceptable, it just means that companies should cast their models in real resin instead of metal or finecast.

karlosovic wrote:
GW has this public health and safety / liability issue because of lead being toxic, so they had to change the metal models to resin (which, btw, is also sometimes toxic).

You do know that GW stopped using lead well over a decade ago?

Much much lighter.

Have a big tray full of medium sized tyranids in metal - it was very heavy and since replacing most of them with finecast can now put into a foam tray that can be carried with one hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoSAWgBYQ4

A lot of Finecast complaints are bs.

What is finecast resin even made of?

I like finecast, but only for specific instances:

Organic models only. Lumps and bubbles are easy enough to fill in on flesh, but that stuff stands out too much on smooth mechanical areas.

Big stuff that used to be metal. Greater daemons especially. The apparent frailty of finecast is less of a concern with thicker models, where the lightness of the material makes it even more sturdy. Also it's not metal and won't fall apart if you look at it wrong.

Over plastic? Little to none. Over the old pewter, the finecast models are easier to convert than the pewter ones. That's all I've found, if I'm going to use the full model as is I would rather find the old pewter one or use bits to make an as close as possible counts as.

I used to like it, but I never got a really messed up one.

I liked it at first because I only had gotten models that were originally made for metal, so they had large join areas and thick pegs that were great and went together well with a small amount of superglue.

Then I got a Valkia model for the heck of it. Needed to use a layer of Liquid Green Stuff to get the pieces to actually stay together, apart from the base and the head, which likely stayed on with gravity's assistance. The joins are tiny, like, only a millimeter or two across.

 Tyberos the Red Wake wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoSAWgBYQ4

A lot of Finecast complaints are bs.

they should have tried it with harlequins or that tyranid flying brain thing , Or DE wychs , my friend left them out to dry and Poland has no where near the temperatures shown then and after school 3 of them were face down .

I can't see the difference in painting FC and plastic it seems the same to me. It is more detailed but the old scholar in me prefers the feel of metal!

 Peregrine wrote:
Every single finecast or FW "we swear it's not finecast even though it's exactly like finecast" model I've had the misfortune of encountering has ended up in the trash.

sigh.. time to break out the meme:

I've only had 3 finecast models so far, but aside from a case of bent horns, they've been fine. I must admit I do prefer my old metal models though simply due to their weight

 thepowerfulwill wrote:
What it says on the tin, Does anyone know of any advantages that fincast has over plastic? or is it all just crap?

Easier to assemble than metal, less shrinkage too so parts actually fit together properly and little to no pinning required.

Personally I've only used Finecast when converting a Celestine model (she stole Sanguinor's wings) and had no issues. I've got a Warpsmith I've yet to build for my Dark Mechanicus project so that'll officially be the fiddliest model I've built but I don't forsee any real issues worse than the set of Krieg Lasguns ran into that were bent so bad they formed hoops (and that was regular resin, not Finecast)

Honestly I'd loved to see more Finecast when it comes to the Sisters stuff as Penitent Engines and Exorcists would assemble together a lot better than they do in their materials (metal and metal/plastic hybrid kits respectfully).

pax_imperialis wrote:
No advantages from what i can tell. A pain in the ass to put together though. Admittedly the warpsmith and sorcerer i got were pretty damn detailed, but you have to put them in the pose on the box, zero customisation. And the spindly bits like mechatendrils are really really fragile, you have to be very careful. Theres a reason old metals are fetching a hefty price on ebay

Metal models and the mono-pose plastic character kits have the same issue when it comes to posing them.

pax_imperialis wrote:
Oh and i also got a whirlwind hyperios from fw and it was made of some weird resin that was all warped and impossible to cut, dont think that was finecast though.

They use a different kind of resin. Or rather different kinds as they've been known to experiment with different kinds of resins over the years.

quote=karlosovic 570596 6384779 null]GW has this public health and safety / liability issue because of lead being toxic, so they had to change the metal models to resin (which, btw, is also sometimes toxic).
Their lawyers/accountants told them not to admit liability, so they spun some B.S. story about the "extra detail" possible in resin "Finecast".

Yes, it's rubbish, obviously.... but they kinda had to do it. They didn't have to be dicks about it though, but honestly, who's surprised?

 -Loki- wrote:
I personally don't have a problem with any of the Finecast kits I've bought. I much prefer it for Tyranids. The Tyranid metals all suffer from various issues in metal - Zoanthropes are far, far, far too top heavy, and will fall over on a flat surface with a slight nudge. Venomthropes need to be pinned, but the arms are small enough to make that a hassle. Hive Guard need to be pinned, but the arms need to be perfectly placed to line up properly at the wrist. Lictors have the same problems as Venomthropes.

Short of them going plastic, I'll take them in Finecast in a heartbeat over metal. I actually want to hunt down one more Finecast Hive Guard, to complete the brood of 3 before the new plastic are released. And another Zoanthrope, but there's no rush there.

We've had finecast 'Nids since their first release - a couple have been slightly sub-par, a Broodloard with rough texture, some bubbling on a zoanthrope vent, and a couple of minor bubbles on two out of six Hive Guard. the only really annoying issue was a zoanthrope bending after being left on the car back shelf. For the really small LOTR models, the metal is better, but for the most part, a lot of the complaints are standard internet hysteria, especially when you can get replacements so easily .

Given the choice of metal vs. Finecast, I'd pick Finecast every day. Why? Because in my experience, metal models tend to have pieces break off if you so much as look at them wrong, simply because the metal is too heavy relative to the superglue. I've basically given up trying to use my Terminator Njal (yeah, okay, aside from the fact that he's kind of mediocre as a unit) because every other time I take him out, his staff falls off. I've never had any sort of problems like that with Finecast.

Honestly, my only minor gripe with Finecast is that it's a bit flimsy with models that have a lot of spindly bits, but other than that, I'd rather have something that will actually stay together when I glue it.

 sing your life wrote:

 Peregrine wrote:
Every single finecast or FW "we swear it's not finecast even though it's exactly like finecast" model I've had the misfortune of encountering has ended up in the trash.

sigh.. time to break out the meme:

Do a search. There are multiple threads on Finecrap, all with accompanying horror pictures. Don't expect us to do all the legwork to fuel your skepticism.

I got a pack of Warp spiders and a Spiritseer in finecast. At first I noticed some defects and filled them in and filed off flash until they were good to prime. Then I primed them and noticed more holes that were hard to find on the bare model. So I filled holes and sanded them down and reprimed the model.

Everything was fine not that much work added really, time to paint. Oh. More holes. Yay.

I'm not really sure how much is my fault on that. A bare finecast model just didn't really show all the flaws when I looked at in average light areas. It wasn't until I started working in a brighter area trying to prime and paint that I started noticing all the flaws. Three Warpspiders were perfect, one has several bubbles including a very large hole in his gun that had to be filled. The Spiritseer was mostly fine, the only bubbles being in the jems located over every square micron on the model.

Honestly as much as I wanted to defend it and say it wasn't that bad, it was in no way worth the price I paid.

Any actual issues (A slightly bent Crowe sword, a couple of slightly bent Ranger rifles, a Ranger head with a weird shape on the head) were easily solved. I have a considerable amount of the models and they have been pretty fine.

Seems like hit and miss. I have seen a rather horrid Lictor of my friend's, admittedly, that lacked a head! But it seems the issues decreased over time.

karlosovic wrote:
GW has this public health and safety / liability issue because of lead being toxic, so they had to change the metal models to resin (which, btw, is also sometimes toxic).
Their lawyers/accountants told them not to admit liability, so they spun some B.S. story about the "extra detail" possible in resin "Finecast".

Yes, it's rubbish, obviously.... but they kinda had to do it. They didn't have to be dicks about it though, but honestly, who's surprised?

I remember painting my first miniature (mid 90's) and being told by my mate "Don't forget to wash your hands after painting" for this reason. I prefer assembling Finecast over metals, because I have put together some shocking metal miniatures before that had parts that were way too heavy. I can pin with the best of them, but certain miniatures are ridiculous. Prep-wise, both metal and Finecast are a pain. I have frequently, carefully, removed a mould line only to have the resin flake away and remove larger areas of detail. The detail they can achieve in Finecast, which IMO is only really an issue when it comes to faces, is often ruined by miscasts. The quality of every Finecast mini I have purchased has been below my expectations and no amount of liquid greenstuff makes that ok. I have never had an issue with plastics; they are easy to construct, convert and paint. They are capable of conserving high quality detail and will only get better.

In short: Finecast does not have an advantage. It could have an advantage if its quality was assured, but it isn't, so it doesn't

Cheers!

I remember being really unimpressed with the first few finecast models I got, due to how fragile it is, the messy flash and how staves, swords and such were bent. The Heavy Destroyer upgrade kit ($9 for a terrible flimsy heavy gauss cannon) would have to take the cake for the worst finecast kit I've used, due to the issues mentioned.

Some models are much, much better than others. I had no issues with Typhus, for example, and the extra detail finecast apparently permits is a plus.

Comparing it to pewter models, I think in general its an improvement, due to the lesser weight and ease of wanted modifications, although pewter is much more durable.

 marv335 wrote:

karlosovic wrote:
GW has this public health and safety / liability issue because of lead being toxic, so they had to change the metal models to resin (which, btw, is also sometimes toxic).

You do know that GW stopped using lead well over a decade ago?

I was actually wearing a 'red shirt' when 'White Metal' was launched so yes I know about that, but I'd heard reports over the years that claimed White Metal still had a certain amount of lead in it. I can't find any actual evidence now to support this though, so looks like maybe it was false reporting.

Everyone is happy with the detail level in plastic. It's the lightest, easiest to work with, forms the strongest bonds to itself, comes in the most customisable setup and is generally regarded as the modellers first preference.
The only reason not to use it on everything is that apparently it's expensive to create the moulds. So they use something like metal or resin for low production models.... I.E GW reducing costs

So we're still left with a B.S reason for the change to Finecast (better detail), and in a way the other explanation is worse.
GW switches to a cheaper, less durable material, and not only do they NOT pass on the savings... they actually increase the price!




Automatically Appended Next Post:
oh and when I said resin "is also sometimes toxic", I was of course referring to the dust created by sanding down mould lines etc

There is another reason plastic hasn't taken over everything: undercuts. Or more specifically how plastic molds can't have any. They're finding ways around this now thanks to computer programs and some experimentation but it kept GW from making the switch in the past to all plastic before.

Time moves on and with it processes change though so it's inevitable that we'll see their products go full plastic eventually.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also a possible explination for the increased cost of Fine cast (which occurred right before a yearly price hike and they were except from it at the time, meaning the initial price hike was them doing the yearly one early) is that the material, while cheaper is harder to consistently work with and the increased cost (instead of freezing the price for instance) reflects the QA issues of working with the material. We don't even know how many models, especially in the earlier days if Fine cast, never made it out of the production area because of casting issues. That cost, as well as all those free kits they send out, even if only a single model from a full kit is miscast, is very likely all bundled into the price you're paying. You're paying not only for the one you have, but it's very possible replacement and the shipping that goes with that.

At least that's my guess.

I prefer just good ol' plastic. That said, Finecast has it's advantages. I used to utterly loathe it but I've come around to seeing some of the upsides.

1) It's significantly better than plastic when it comes to making your own conversions by hacking up the arms and legs to repose them with a little bit of greenstuff. Thinner material, easier to cut through, means your knifework comes out smoother and straighter.

2) It's great to paint on. I like painting it better than plastic. Maybe it's just me but I find paint applies on it very smooth and oils from my own fingers don't seem to affect it as much as it can on plastic.

3) It's significantly lighter, so larger models in finecast are simply better than they'd be as a heavier material. I have the old metal Sammael and I wish to god I had the Finecast one instead because that dude is heavy and tends to fall over, which leads to his sword breaking all the time. I'd take a droopy sword on a model that is way easier to transport and attach to a base than one that weighs literally a pound and a half. I imagine the larger Tau commander suits are much the same way.

 Grimtuff wrote:

 sing your life wrote:

 Peregrine wrote:
Every single finecast or FW "we swear it's not finecast even though it's exactly like finecast" model I've had the misfortune of encountering has ended up in the trash.

sigh.. time to break out the meme:

Do a search. There are multiple threads on Finecrap, all with accompanying horror pictures. Don't expect us to do all the legwork to fuel your skepticism.

I was asking for peregrine's pictures of her models, not just random failcasts that are much less common than good casts.

I recommend to you that after writing your post, you have a good look over it to make sure it satisfies anyone other than yourself. Inject some QC into your work.

I didn't really understand the problem with Finecast until I got my hands on the Dark Apostle model.

I had enough of those bits randomly snap on me just while cutting it off the sprue to make me curse the name of Finecast.

Haven't tried painting it yet, so that may change my mind. Will get around to trying Green Stuff with it once I stop being mad at it for existing.

I barely believe all the stories about how somebody's metal model has a weapon/arm that "constantly falls off all the time because of the weight to glue ratio".

I can't even remember the last time I had a model with that issue, especially with pinning, which I only do about 50% of the time. The worst I have had is weapons break off after trips to the floor, and that is rare. Certainly never had anything break off more than once, through handling and gaming, and I've been with 40K for nearly 20 years.

But Finecast? I would be afraid of breaking them just taking them off the sprue. Unless of course they are broken already just from being in the package. Never bought Finecast, never will. It actually significantly hindered what I used to spend with GW.

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Hell no.

Explanation: The seem far too fragile to me. Not enough substance and too bendy, I guess.

 sing your life wrote:
I was asking for peregrine's pictures of her models, not just random failcasts that are much less common than good casts.

Why would I take pictures of garbage? The models are gone, and I didn't bother keeping pictures of them just in case some white knight demanded proof that yes, finecast has problems. If you want to believe that I'm making it up out of sheer irrational hatred for GW, that's fine.

karlosovic wrote:
oh and when I said resin "is also sometimes toxic", I was of course referring to the dust created by sanding down mould lines etc

This is not true. Resin is not toxic at all. The problem with resin dust is that it's fine particles, which aren't good for you no matter what they're made of. You'll have the same problems with sawdust, plastic dust, etc. It's only a slightly bigger concern with resin models because they often require more sanding work, while most people just clip plastic kits off the sprue, assemble them as quickly as possible, and start painting/playing.

No.

I had a Dwarf Gyrocopter "magically come to life and fly across the room." When the stupid thing wouldn't line up properly. also the steam gun was missing from the blister. Second time I had missing pieces, my Grudge Thrower also was missing an entire sprue.

 CommanderRyalis wrote:
Grudge Thrower also was missing an entire sprue.

Hah! One of my friends bought a finecast grudge thrower and we laughed for ages about how horribly twisted it was. Then it took him a long time of dipping in hot then cold water to bend and set it until it was at least reasonable.

I've only bought 2 things in finecast having seen the trash my friends had early on. I only bought them because it had been a long time since finecast launched, and I assumed the issues would be resolved by now. I was wrong.

Finecast Ethereal - not too bad, a bit warped so needed the warm water treatment. A lot of flash to clean.

Finecast Crisis Commander - Awful. Warped pieces, lots of tiny bubbles, poorly fitting pieces that needed a lot of shaping (on the one hand at least it was easy to cut, but that doesn't excuse poor product imho) and lots of flash. So much flash that some of it was hard to tell whether it was supposed to be a mechanical part or not. I had to clean everything up, build the model, then clean it up again once it was a bit more obvious what should be there and what shouldn't. And then, due to the pose, it lacked the weight to stand properly, so I had to glue a washer into the base to weigh it down. Oh and then after I hadn't used the model in a couple of months, I took it out for another game and it had bent over far enough that it would no longer stand even with the weighted base! It was laying down in a battlefoam tray inside a cabinet, how it managed to be put under such stress it bent is completely beyond me. So it will need repair again, if I bother.

I'd never buy finecast anything again.

The issues with finecast outweigh the benefits its not just the little bubbles or bent swords i've had some terrible experiences.

My frustration is caused by the fact its just so hit and miss, you can have really good clean cast on one model and furry mess on another
sometimes from the same pack.

I paint models for a living and honestly I dread finecast projects because the time taken to fix or reorder models is time I could be earning money.

I'd say on a good to bad ratio it's currently about 1:7.

Plastics are awesome though.

Didnt read the whole thread, but the only real issue i have with finecast is that if the model gets slightly too warm it will start to warp ever so slowly. I have the crisis commander and i left him in a spot that i didnt realize got as much sun as it did. Came home and he was damn near lying down. So i cut his feet off and stuck him on a clear plastic pole so that hes flying now. Also, his arm started out pointing straight out, now hes pointing mostly towards the ground.

Oh! and it doesnt work with the glue that melts the plastics together which means i had to go buy more gak just to put em together.....just a minor pain....

 Peregrine wrote:

 sing your life wrote:
I was asking for peregrine's pictures of her models, not just random failcasts that are much less common than good casts.

Why would I take pictures of garbage? The models are gone, and I didn't bother keeping pictures of them just in case some white knight demanded proof that yes, finecast has problems. If you want to believe that I'm making it up out of sheer irrational hatred for GW, that's fine.

I THINK(I may be wrong)That he wants proof of Forgeworld using finecast,not proof that finecast is bad.

I love the way GW promises "better detail".Why?How is a 5 year old legolas sculpt supposed to have extra detail when it used to be metal?What does failcost suddenly make detail appear that wasn't sculpted in the first place?However failcast has slightly redemed itself in that at least its cheaper then plastic characters.SLIGHTLY.

Fine cast in general is pretty fail, but like Martin said you can get good models.

In the same commission I had Skarsnick and a Mangler Squig. Skarsnick was ace, nice clean cast and very little cleaning up, the Mangler Squig, not to bad a cast, few bits of cleaning up, was great until I glued it all together and the one leg supporting the whole model bent in the summer weather, had to put pins through the leg so it wouldn't bend and fail again.

I'm looking forward to gw binning finecast all together, the plastics are ace, bit on the pricy side though.

Finecast is like that weird out of date foreign candy that some people give out on Halloween, it's either bad or horrifying.

huh..I was told by a redshirt here in aus it's improved. and in the latest 19 finecast buys not even flash was on the model.

Yeah, I've had 0 problems with finecast.

Not that I'm saying there is nothing wrong with it, I've seen other people get terrible disfigured finecast miniatures, I just haven't had any problems myself.

Finecast has definitely improved since it first came out, though.

Do I prefer plastic? Hell yes! But I'm ok with finecast.

finecast looks great on certain models. nurgle dp plague marines etc

well... 65% of the time, finecast works all of the time.

Its super hit and miss. Every now and again you get a great cast but most of the time it requires much more work than the metal equivilant and there is very little increase in quality ver metal. Overall though I just dont think all the extra effort that is required is worth it. Its a premium price for a sub par product and frankly I will be glad to see it go. On the plus side it has taught alot of hobbiests how to sculpt entire faces/hands/skulls :s

EyeOfDC wrote:
huh..I was told by a redshirt here in aus it's improved. and in the latest 19 finecast buys not even flash was on the model.

My redshirt likes to tell me only 1 in 10 is bad, ignoring the fact that even that is truly terrible quality control if 10% of your products make it to the shelves in that condition, you don't believe what redshirts tell you.
They don't actually know anything and just tell you everything is the best ever, that 'it's gotten better' line is not his opinion, it's what he is being told to say by management.

 ClockworkZion wrote:
There is another reason plastic hasn't taken over everything: undercuts. Or more specifically how plastic molds can't have any. They're finding ways around this now thanks to computer programs and some experimentation but it kept GW from making the switch in the past to all plastic before.

Plastic molds have had the ability to do undercuts for a few years now with sliding sections built into the mold. Slide them in to cast the undercut, slide them out to pop the sprue out. What keeps GW going all plastic is simply their production capacity and the up front cost and time of making a plastic mold.

Ah Finecast. Miniatures made from reinforced whipped cream and sold at a premium.

Relapse wrote:
Ah Finecast. Miniatures made from reinforced whipped cream and sold at a premium.

lol, I'ld be a happy man when it all gets shifted to plastic

As a commission painter I always feel a pang of dread when I recieve some Finecast models to work on. I don't think I've ever had a Finecast model that didn't have some sort of horrible defect. The first one I bought for myself was a Necron Overlord. Had to go through 5 of them before I got one that could be considered a complete model. Give me a good old metal model anyday.

I actually like Finecast. Easy to assemble, easy to paint, and not a nightmare when it is dropped. Maybe it's just me, but I have never purchased one of these swiss cheese nightmares everyone claims to have returned 5 times. I think a lot of it is Internet RAAAAGE blown way out of proportion.

and besides, didn't someone say Finecast was going to be discontinued by the end of this year?

I am sort of 50-50 with it. It's very hit and miss. But the sooner they go all plastic, the better.

Da krimson barun wrote:

 Peregrine wrote:

 sing your life wrote:
I was asking for peregrine's pictures of her models, not just random failcasts that are much less common than good casts.

Why would I take pictures of garbage? The models are gone, and I didn't bother keeping pictures of them just in case some white knight demanded proof that yes, finecast has problems. If you want to believe that I'm making it up out of sheer irrational hatred for GW, that's fine.

I THINK(I may be wrong)That he wants proof of Forgeworld using finecast,not proof that finecast is bad.

I love the way GW promises "better detail".Why?How is a 5 year old legolas sculpt supposed to have extra detail when it used to be metal?What does failcost suddenly make detail appear that wasn't sculpted in the first place?However failcast has slightly redemed itself in that at least its cheaper then plastic characters.SLIGHTLY.

that was exactly what I was thinking.

And finecast does have "better" [not more] detail, look at finecast models from the reviews and you'll see some of the lines are less rounded than metal.

 SoloFalcon1138 wrote:


and besides, didn't someone say Finecast was going to be discontinued by the end of this year?

Finecast gundabad orcs in February or later seems like evidence that they were wrong to me.

 sing your life wrote:


that was exactly what I was thinking.

Well then put that in the post! I know you're going to snipe at me for this but I don't give a gak. As others have pointed out, your posts seem haphazardly slapped together being composed of nothing but half-finished thoughts and snark about people's avatars (!?!?). We are not in your head. We cannot see what someone intended in their writing; we can guess, and with that comes the joys of interpretation. Simply putting that you were referring to FW resin in your original reply would save a lot of grief with people trying to interpret what these single-sentence posts actually mean.


OT: Now for my general opinion on it- Finecast is seriously the worst thing to happen to the wargames industry. Whilst it seems like a good idea in principle; GW really screwed the pooch with this one. It has tarnished GW's name WRT quality like nothing else ever could. Even if they have improved the quality FC's reputation, coupled with GW's general dickery makes people unable to trust whatever GW says about its quality.

 Grimtuff wrote:

 sing your life wrote:


that was exactly what I was thinking.

OT: Now for my general opinion on it- Finecast is seriously the worst thing to happen to the wargames industry. Whilst it seems like a good idea in principle; GW really screwed the pooch with this one. It has tarnished GW's name WRT quality like nothing else ever could. Even if they have improved the quality FC's reputation, coupled with GW's general dickery makes people unable to trust whatever GW says about its quality.

You copied that from somewhere else on the internet, didn't you?

Besides my OP wasn't originally asking to see FW finecast, I just saw Barun's post and thought the idea of FW models being secret FC seemed dodgy.

Finecast is fine.
Forgeworld's resin kits on the other hand...

I like the rubber ish feel there is to it, hate prices and low melting point. Try to avoid but still prefer it over metal.

 azreal13 wrote:

karlosovic wrote:
GW has this public health and safety / liability issue because of lead being toxic, so they had to change the metal models to resin (which, btw, is also sometimes toxic).
Their lawyers/accountants told them not to admit liability, so they spun some B.S. story about the "extra detail" possible in resin "Finecast".

Yes, it's rubbish, obviously.... but they kinda had to do it. They didn't have to be dicks about it though, but honestly, who's surprised?

There hadn't been anything resembling lead in a GW miniature for approaching 20 years before the switch.

There are traces of lead in post 97 white metal still.

 M4cr0Dutch wrote:

karlosovic wrote:
GW has this public health and safety / liability issue because of lead being toxic, so they had to change the metal models to resin (which, btw, is also sometimes toxic).
Their lawyers/accountants told them not to admit liability, so they spun some B.S. story about the "extra detail" possible in resin "Finecast".

Yes, it's rubbish, obviously.... but they kinda had to do it. They didn't have to be dicks about it though, but honestly, who's surprised?

I remember painting my first miniature (mid 90's) and being told by my mate "Don't forget to wash your hands after painting" for this reason.

It is actualy a good idea with newer minis too, there is antimony instead of lead in the alloy and it is significantly toxic as well. I would even say more than lead because the latter when solid hardly releases just by touch. The real trouble is lead carbonate but that is rare (though happens with gw stuff) also eating/ snorting miniatures.