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Lets say under some extraordinary amount of misfortune, some trickster god or whatever said "For angering me in my slumber, I shall remove from wargaming miniatures one type of material!"

What would you get rid of?

Plastic (the ones most multi part plastic models are made of,, plastic glue for example works on them)
Resin (including finecast, home casted, and those "resin-plastic" things)
Metal (Pewter, lead, etc)

Wood.... I hate the stuff.

Honestly I love all the different kinds though resin is my least favorite

I Made my choice... and it's working.

I thought this already happened, and the material was metal.

For gaming purposes, plastic is obviously the best, and IMO metal is the worst. Compared to good resin, not the other one.

Is this a finecast hate thread in disguise?

orkybenji wrote:Is this a finecast hate thread in disguise?

10pts go to Grifindor!!!

Resin!

Resin, because it's a poor fit for me and gaming models. I don't mind the actual modeling with it, but transportation and the tabletop itself tend to mean broken gubbins.

Resin. I don't mind the extra work involved with most metal, that is until you get a large model with lots of little fiddly bits but then even plastic would be a better option.

On the large scale(like GW) resin. Resin is a wonderful medium if you are able to do it properly and pay close attention to miscasts and QC. I personally cast all manner of nonsense for personal use, and so for me a miscast is just an annoyance and not a lost sale. Clearly though, resin casting on the scale that GW is trying to force just doesn't work, especially as resin isn't recyclable like metal is.

On the small scale(countless upstart games and garage kits) metal. I would buy a lot more models and bits from upstart companies and third parties if they were all done in resin. Small companies have the ability to control what goes out the door better, and to me resin is a far superior medium than metal, if it is done right.

Plastic is pretty much always a good thing. The only real problem with plastic is the short term costs of getting the molds made and buying the machinery to cast with. Up front cost is worlds more than that for resin or metal, but the quality of the medium and the ease of conversions makes it the best.

Metal, definitely. All of the headaches of possible finecast miscasts aside, I would rather deal with checking a store's stock of certain finecast models than deal with a single metal model. Building metal kits blows, as does converting a metal model.

I'd get rid of this plastic/resin hybrid crap.

Metal : Fine with it. I've done various WMA and bronze castings over the years. Not hard to work with if you have the right tools (and a dremel ISN'T a requirement). Good for fiddly bits.
Resin: Fine with it. Cast it myself. Polyurethane, acrylic, foaming pu. Good detail retention, not good for fiddly bits.

Besides, once you hone your skills on metals, modifying ANY OTHER material is easy in comparison.

orkybenji wrote:Is this a finecast hate thread in disguise?

No, I'm generally curious to see what material would be live without.

Gnawer wrote:I thought this already happened, and the material was metal.

For gaming purposes, plastic is obviously the best, and IMO metal is the worst. Compared to good resin, not the other one.

Heh try getting the historical community to go from metal to plastic. Most will tear you apart

Metal and Resin.
They are both a paint to work with.

I will say to him to get rid of them all, except metal.

I know trickster gods and they never do as they say they will/promise. If I say to keep plastic, he will get rid of it...because he is angry at me. So, I want metal...wait, I think I just exposed my plan and now he will keep metal. GARRRRRGH, damn you trickster god!

Well i have not used any Fincast minatures yet, so i have to say metal, its a pain to convert and a pain to paint as well as the paint seems to chip very easy, maybe its just my painting skills on metal

The one that comes to mind is that soft plastic that they made the Star Wars, and hero clix minis out of.

of all of the minis that I hate the most, that plastic is responsible for a good many bent minis and turned me off to those games as serious.

( Bad too, because having a metric !@# tone of stormtroopers all over a board with a batch of rebles on a city map is a good concept. Just badly executed with those cheap inferior plastic minis.)

Good concept. craptastic minis.

kenshin620 wrote:Lets say under some extraordinary amount of misfortune, some trickster god or whatever said "For angering me in my slumber, I shall remove from wargaming miniatures one type of material!"

What would you get rid of?

Plastic (the ones most multi part plastic models are made of,, plastic glue for example works on them)
Resin (including finecast, home casted, and those "resin-plastic" things)
Metal (Pewter, lead, etc)

None.

Each one of those materials has properties that make them better for a determined type of model.

Assuming that miscasts and quality control is good are taken out of the equation. I'd say metal. To me one of the main things it's got going for it is that it is not brittle, which is good over resin for really really slim pieces. But working with (cleanup and converting) and kit building with resins and plastics are much easier. And they don't chip paint where metal tends to.

MightyGodzilla wrote:Assuming that miscasts and quality control is good are taken out of the equation. I'd say metal. To me one of the main things it's got going for it is that it is not brittle, which is good over resin for really really slim pieces. But working with (cleanup and converting) and kit building with resins and plastics are much easier. And they don't chip paint where metal tends to.

i could not have said it better myself.

Metal. Not even a hard choice.

None. Each is irreplacable within certain limits.

1.) Plastic is good for mass products where variability is important and details not so much. Not viable for small run models though (including small companies).
2.) Resin is good for small run models where details and reduced weight is important and breakability not an issue. Resin can potentially show a bit more detail than metal. It is best for small run vehicles and terrain.
3.) Metal is good for small runs where breakability is an issue and you need more details than with plastic.

Example: This model was released in finecast only. No chance that the sword will not break for the average gamer. Some of them even break in the blister.

SonicPara wrote:Metal, definitely. All of the headaches of possible finecast miscasts aside, I would rather deal with checking a store's stock of certain finecast models than deal with a single metal model. Building metal kits blows, as does converting a metal model.

I agree, finecast has a major redeeming feature... you can cut stuff up!

I'd get rid of Forgeworld resin! I endure it because they have great miniatures!

Resin.
My argument is mainly that resin is a pain to strip paint from, and since I buy a great deal of my models second hand, I would prefer to have the resin models be made from plastic or metal.
On the other hand, resin is generally fairly lightweight, so there's that going for it.
Still, I prefer metal and plastic.

While not exactly "metal / plastic / resin" specific, I asked myself this question in real life at the beginning of 2012. The answer was "almost everything". I've spent the last few months sorting through every single thing I had, from small boxes full of little tiny broken bitz to monstrous plastic totes and 4X8 sheets of polystyrene. All total I removed 5 contractor bags of "scenery materials" and over 1,000 models / miniatures. I have kept my CSM, WoC, Genestealer / Chaos Cult, IG, and VC Undead (which admittedly is still a considerable collection, but it's manageable and easily stored). As of last weekend (my final cleanup) decades of -collecting- hoarding things for wargaming ended.

I have no regrets and with the reclaimed space I have created the most organized and functional game / hobby space I've ever had in all my years of this hobby.

I could live without resin.

I understand why sometimes it is the medium of choice, but there is no model I am not happier with the plastic or metal counterpart.

For Example: SPACE MARINE DREADNAUGHT

METAL - I have over a dozen of these.Not the easiest to convert, but solid, heavy, easy to assemble. Learned to love them before we had any alternatives.

PLASTIC - LOVE THEM. Easier to assemble, easier to convert.

RESIN - Cost more than either metal or plastic, most difficult and hazardous to assemble, fragile, and difficult to convert.

Gnawer wrote:I thought this already happened, and the material was metal.

For gaming purposes, plastic is obviously the best, and IMO metal is the worst. Compared to good resin, not the other one.

Agreed. Plastic is clearly the best all around, resin (non GW resin) is acceptable. Metal was fine in the early days of minis, when there wasnt any other real option. I know some people like the feel of heavy minis, but metal is a pain to work with.


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Kroothawk wrote:None. Each is irreplacable within certain limits.

1.) Plastic is good for mass products where variability is important and details not so much. Not viable for small run models though (including small companies).
2.) Resin is good for small run models where details and reduced weight is important and breakability not an issue. Resin can potentially show a bit more detail than metal. It is best for small run vehicles and terrain.
3.) Metal is good for small runs where breakability is an issue and you need more details than with plastic.

Example: This model was released in finecast only. No chance that the sword will not break for the average gamer. Some of them even break in the blister.

Excellent points.

None. Blaming the material for the artist's work is ridiculous. All can be used to produce amazing quality artwork.

Rackham (Confrontation) and Corvus Belli (Infinity) work magic with metals. It's harder to work with in some cases, especially larger models, but can hold its shape better at small sizes (depending on the metal).

GW and Wargames Factory have made incredible plastic troop kits which facilitate large units with sharp detail and endless variety. Plastic is the best medium for large scale models.

Resin allows smaller companies to produce high-quality minis at affordable prices that might not otherwise see the light of day. Scibor and Smartmax (Smog) come to mind.

To me it's like asking whether we should get rid of painting, illustration or sculpting. Used correctly, any medium can produce magic. Or dog poop.

Finecast and Large multi-part metals... I can't put FW or other resins in the same boat as finecast... I hope to change my tune on finecast someday though.

For regular 28mm infantry, I liked metal just fine unless I was planning a major conversion involving chopping. I still remember when they were lead, not pewter... there was something awesome about the weight, still kind of miss it.

Metal most definitely, that as a material is a nightmare its heavy awkward and just about everything requires pinning.

I see a lot of people hating on resin, we are still talking material right? not how various companies make use of it?

I don't mind metal its just more work to hold the larger stuff together then plastic or resin.

Plastic is my favourite by far the plastic adhesivene makes this a pleasure to put miniatures together with.

Resin is quite nice as well, incrediably lightweight and much higher detail capable then your regular plastics by far. I just got this one model from cool minis or not, Iric the Defiler, Autonomor and its absolutely stunning, far outshines any of the plastics and metals I've seen while being a resin.
I also like resin and plastic alot more then metal because at a starting glance the material not being shiny and actually being grey makes seeing the details at a starting glance 100x easier and not to mention not everything needs pinning.

Of course, the CASTING PROPERTIES and various companies ability to use said materials do vary as said in multiple threads that aren't happy with casts complete with realistic battle damage, I mean bubbles....

But thats not what this thread is about right >_>, on a material level resin and plastic are by far my favourites, metal if I had to choose would be the one to get gone simply because of the weight.