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Latest blog from Mathieu Fontaine and his quest to find and acceptable Finecrapst Necron Overlord: (sorry, won't repost entire entry, it is quite long with photos)

http://www.akaranseth.com/blog/7-8-fail.htm

This quote summs it up best: "The question is why should I spend the extra time to repair a finecast model which Games Workshop labels as “incredibly detailed, high-quality resin kits”. You simply have to click on the finecast logo on their website to read the description. As a friend recently said on the topic: I shouldn’t HAVE to resculpt parts of it, the fact than I “can” is moot.

Did he buy online?

Most, if not all stores, allow you to open to package to check.

So Fontaine probably bought online, a general No-No when it comes to Finecast.

I still just hoping that they are working through the kinks with any new models they produce. That isn't an excuse for them to not have been able to cast properly though. Heck I can cast pewter and bronze and have it not come out all jacked up, they should be able to do plastiresin by now.

You can cast on the level that GW has to?

You maybe deal with a model a day. GW deals with thousands.

I'll simply say the same thing I said when the last reports of flaws came out regarding the Firebelly sculpt; the fact that this is being reported on brand new sculpts that have been made specifically to be produced in Finecast is concerning. IF it were old sculpts that had been re-jigged for Finecast then there is a certain amount of leeway one can give, since you know that the sculpt was made with a different cast medium in mind. However, new sculpts, sculpted to be cast specifically in Finecast should not have flaws. The fact that they do indicates a much more serious and underlying flaw in the manufacturing process.

The worse thing is that in the veiled response that GW gave to the Finecast quality grumbles, they intimated that any flaws were as a result of getting to grips with a new manufacturing process (and also tacitly acknowledging that they rushed the release out incidentally) but they also said that once they had the process pinned down, the QA would improve. This is clearly still not yet the case.

Mathieu Fontaine bought all these through his local store and these are all replacements sent by GW. He is on his 8th replacement and still has not found an acceptable cast. The crazy thing is, there are so many issues that change from model to model! It is not like every staff is messed up only. This shows a huge fundamental problem in Finecast if some have messed up cloaks, others have holes in staves, etc. Just so crazy...

People keep hating on those that point out Finecast's flaws and it's not right. I realize that there are people out there that have bought finecast models and haven't had any defects but there are continuing reports of numerous defects including models like in this report that are new releases. Have the reports decreased in frequency since May? Sure. Are the casting defects still ridiculously common compared with the days of GW metal minis? You bet. I've bought over 300 metal minis from GW over the years (I still have a 6000pt Blood Angel all metal army from mostly 2nd edition and had a 2000pt all metal IG force) and never had a single casting defect other than an occasional mold line; the only problem I've had to call GW with was a packing error in which a hybrid metal/plastic kit was missing the metal bits blister. I've won/bought a single Finecast mini last week after a tourney and it had no problems but I had to check it because 2 of the maybe dozen minis I checked on the rack had the type of defects described in this thread. Until we reach the point where you simply are not obligated to open and check the minis on the spot, Finecast will be Failcost. This new method is worse than metal until you can simply buy and enjoy your minis without fear of defects. Telling people to just not buy online is not an answer.

I imagine we'll see more reports of defects as people who are NOT in the hobby will be buying minis as presents for the holiday season and expecting that their gifts are not defective. If you bought books from Amazon and they came with coffee stains, bent covers, and missing pages... would the appropriate response be to buy the official Amazon book repair kit consisting of blank pages, glue, and a pen to write in the missing words on pages? Would it be to tell people that they just shouldn't buy online and should instead just go to their local Barnes and Noble so they can check to see if every page is there? Somehow some people think that the equivalent tabletop wargaming hobby responses are appropriate.

It's all well and good to suggest buying finecast online is a no-no but for many people their is no other option.

Not everywhere has a GW or Local store, while others may not have the means to travel.

It's really poor overall and I just can't see how anyone can think its close to good enough.

For those that don't know, Matthieu Fontaine is a multiple demon winner. He's a really, really good painter / modeller. I totall agree with what he's written.

I don't know if online retailers are getting crap intentionally, but every finecast I have bought in-store at GW after the first batch has been flawless and they open them up in-store before I purchase them to make sure it is perfect before I buy it.

I would think the new models which would have been designed for finecast out of the gate would have had poses and parts designed for the process unlike some of the metal models which may not have been optimized for sprues.

I guess as long as I can get perfect models that I want with no real effort, I am happy. My next purchase will be mangler squigs!

That's astounding.

His latest model, the ninth, is so bad as to be trash. The only thing more galling is the "hey man, just hit it with some liquid greenstuff". I hate that it's happening, but at least it's happening to a somebody like Mr. Fontaine, which raises awareness. I hope he sends back another nine.

I have a zero tolerance policy on fincast. One flaw and it's a replacement for me.

See, I hate all these people who go 'Oh, you you need to stop complaining about finecast'.
I haven't bought any finecast models yet, though when I start my Tau and Eldar I'm going to need to.

A company like Games Workshop SHOULD NOT release a substandard product that has production issues across the board anyway, let alone considering how much of their product is now in or being replaced by finecast AND the price increase it came with on top of the already high cost they wanted.

When you're expected to pay £10+ for an individual model that they are flaunting as

Games Workshop wrote:Miniatures bearing this logo are part of the Citadel Finecast range. All Citadel Finecast models are incredibly detailed, high-quality resin kits.

then you shouldn't have to deal with any screw ups such as miscasts, let alone 9-10 that they actually have the gall to tell you to buy more of their expensive products so you can fix the mistakes they made.

When it's got to the point it invaribly costs £300-600 to get into the game there should not be the attitude of "it's fine for them to sell us substandard product".

All Citadel Finecast models are incredibly detailed, high-quality resin kits.

One one of the three claims in this sentence is true.

Vents... vents everywhere!

Dreadful. Look at the way all those tags attach to the figure, that need a bit of imagination to remove and clean those up. The miscasting is just horrible. And no, he shouldn't accept anything but top quality, not at these prices.

I've bought dodgy resin stuff in the past but it was always cheap. It didn't matter that it needed work because you got what you paid for.

Le Grognard wrote:Latest blog from Mathieu Fontaine and his quest to find and acceptable Finecrapst Necron Overlord: (sorry, won't repost entire entry, it is quite long with photos)

http://www.akaranseth.com/blog/7-8-fail.htm

This quote summs it up best: "The question is why should I spend the extra time to repair a finecast model which Games Workshop labels as “incredibly detailed, high-quality resin kits”. You simply have to click on the finecast logo on their website to read the description. As a friend recently said on the topic: I shouldn’t HAVE to resculpt parts of it, the fact than I “can” is moot.

I got a model just like that. I called GW and they sent me a new one without any issues.

I disagree, seller and price doesn't matter; you should get fully formed peices no matter the circumstance.

That said I have never considered mould lines or vents to be a defect.

Although this does beg the question of why are there so many vents when the air isn't escaping.

Is it me or are most of the worst cases that have been reported seemingly not in Europe?

notprop wrote:Although this does beg the question of why are there so many vents when the air isn't escaping.

A good mould designer should cut the least number of vents for consistent casting. Not lace the thing with vents only to produce things full of bubbles.

I usually get bubbles when I don't heat my rubber mold. If the rubber is warmed int he microwave before pouring, I don't get any bubbles. It is something about the resin I use gets so hot as it hardens, if the mold is colder, the bubbles latch on to the cold.

Also, it is good to vibrate the mold as the resin hardens.

The blog post is well worth a read actually. He articulates his issues with the models very well and provides clear images showing each and every fault. His complaints are entirely justified IMHO.

I don't understand why people are still buying these. I mean, if I had a lever that shocked me every time I pulled it, sooner or later, you'd think I would stop pulling the lever, because I would realize that it's painful.

This is awful. I have recently started a DE army and I am dreading trying to find correctly cast minis. On the plus side I can go directly to a GW for my purchase. I feel sorry for the poor sap who has to explain why I can't find a model that I can use.

Opened my Imotekh this week.

The last frayed ending of his staff was snapped off, his jaw was unhinged from his face, the last 2 joints of his middle finger on his glove was snapped off (this was tough to find as its as small as the regular flashing , i thought it was missing entirely), and lastly the staff is horribly curved and I know if I try to re-bend the staff it will simply snap.

Finecast is 0/3 in packages opened and not having any issues with me ... and I still have a Coteaz in its blister waiting to be opened... :(

daedalus wrote:I don't understand why people are still buying these. I mean, if I had a lever that shocked me every time I pulled it, sooner or later, you'd think I would stop pulling the lever, because I would realize that it's painful.

Sadly, all newer necron models are failcast... I mean i have 3x old lords, 5x pariahs to proxy as lords.... but imotekh, trazyn... they need to be failcast :(

daedalus wrote:I don't understand why people are still buying these. I mean, if I had a lever that shocked me every time I pulled it, sooner or later, you'd think I would stop pulling the lever, because I would realize that it's painful.

Possibly because some unit options and SCs are only available in Finecast. I should say that the only one I've bought wasn't that bad - bent sword and tiny bubbles.

Sure, but there's usually alternatives. Continuing to buy subpar product also sends the message that subpar product is acceptable.

Warjacks are vastly less detailed and full of convex curves compared to the concave details on a Necron Overlord loaded with details.

That's a stupid comparison and does more to distract from his point than prove it.

DarknessEternal wrote:Warjacks are vastly less detailed and full of convex curves compared to the concave details on a Necron Overlord loaded with details.

That's a stupid comparison and does more to distract from his point than prove it.

8 unsuccessful product replacements are more than enough to prove his point...

daedalus wrote:Sure, but there's usually alternatives. Continuing to buy subpar product also sends the message that subpar product is acceptable.

Not if you're a competitive player on a circuit that only allows GW product on the table. I have yet to buy a Finecast model and after checking the ones available at the FLGS, they showed no obvious signs of defect. When time comes that I bow to the pressure and get a new Necron HQ, be sure that I'll be opening the package prior to purchase and inspecting it thoroughly.

Gavin Thorne wrote:

daedalus wrote:Sure, but there's usually alternatives. Continuing to buy subpar product also sends the message that subpar product is acceptable.

Not if you're a competitive player on a circuit that only allows GW product on the table. I have yet to buy a Finecast model and after checking the ones available at the FLGS, they showed no obvious signs of defect. When time comes that I bow to the pressure and get a new Necron HQ, be sure that I'll be opening the package prior to purchase and inspecting it thoroughly.

If you plan on just running an overlord, I recommend command barge/annihilation barge - comes with a PLASTIC overlord, so its much better

My trazyn has been replaced two times due to defects , and the Imotekh i bitched about above, i just gritted my teeth and glued him together since I didnt want to waste the gas and time going to and from GW

inquisitorlewis wrote:This is awful. I have recently started a DE army and I am dreading trying to find correctly cast minis. On the plus side I can go directly to a GW for my purchase. I feel sorry for the poor sap who has to explain why I can't find a model that I can use.

So long as you don't want any of the court, grotesques, shadowseers or anything from the beasts unit.

They generally only stock Haems, the archon, succubus, urien, usually lelith and lhameans if you're lucky blister wise.

And Mandrakes, Incubi and Wracks are sealed boxes not blisters.

daedalus wrote:Sure, but there's usually alternatives. Continuing to buy subpar product also sends the message that subpar product is acceptable.

But if people buy the subpar items, and demand the company replace them for free, then the company will have to either fix the problem or find a better solution. Sometimes buying bad items "fixes" the problem faster than not buying the items.