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I sent an email to GW Australia expressing how disappointed I was with my first Finecast, the jump chaplain.

They did reply and said they's pass my comments on and that i could take the mini back to the shop. I didn't as i had soldiered on and fixed it up enough for my wants but I am still mifffed I paid $28 for a single figure and it was rubbish.

Just bought a High marshal Helbrecht and at first i gave it a look threw and decided it was fine. now that i got it out and gave it a good eye, theres atleast 5 bubbles and 3 are taking out parts of his sword hilt cape and cross bar on his back pack. im most likely never goign to get a fine cast since i had such high hopes and now GW disappointing on whats called "fine" cast models is worse than my 4 year old models.

AegisGrimm wrote:I fully congratulate people if they get Finecast models they are happy with. Kudos for them, and have fun!

I just personally don't think a product that costs a good deal more than the old standby should have so many examples to the contrary.

White metal figures easily could have had a 50% failure rate in casting, we don't know. The important difference though, is that if they did, the flaws didn't reach consumers at anywhere near the rate of Finecast, while still maintaining a lower price point compared to the economy of the years they were being sold during. That's my major gripe, far above the materials change.

Part of this might be the materials themselves. With metal, you can chuck a failure right back into the pot for recasting if you catch it. But resin? Set in brittle stone my friend, might as well chuck it into a blister to see if some sucker will keep it.

Can't prove it and it really is wild speculation on my part but it wouldn't surprise me if that is exactly what is happening to returns - sent back to GW factory, resealed and sent back out to be sold, at least for all bar the worst examples.

Update on my situation - email received by GW.

Called them to make sure. The guy sounded horrified on the other end of the phone as he opened the email up. They've said they'll send another one out for me.

I can't help but think the joke when this Anniversary mini was rumoured might be coming true - buy one, get 4 replacements, make a decent one out of all those and fix, prime and flog the rest on ebay.

For the record, they haven't asked me to return the flawed one.

I wasn't asked to return mine either. I think they know exactly what's wrong with them and send them out anyway.

I got my 25th Anniversary figure today from my FLGS. The owner told me to tell him if it had any problems, if it did I would be able to get another and he'd bend his rep's ear pretty hard.

Well, to my supreme surprise and pleasure, the model has only one flaw. One small gap in the back of the left shoulder pad (and you cannot see it without actually looking very hard once the Marine will be assembled, I'll probably patch it up with green stuff and sand it down). I'll take that out of an inconsistent material like FInecast.

I do feel badly for the folks who ordered theirs. I at least could open mine at the store in front of the owner.

filbert wrote:Can't prove it and it really is wild speculation on my part but it wouldn't surprise me if that is exactly what is happening to returns - sent back to GW factory, resealed and sent back out to be sold, at least for all bar the worst examples.

I think common sense works here - why waste the effort and expense getting failed goods back just to repeat the process. Finecast cost pennies (figuratively) to make, it would cost more to employ someone even on minimum wage to sort and package.

The didn't even ask for figure back when they were metal and you can reuse that.

shasolenzabi wrote:

I wish they had just stuck to plastics all the way instead of trying to over complicate things with their resin that make me NOT want to buy DKoK minis as at 80bucks a squad, their rifles would be so brittle as to never be played at all for fear of ruining them.

Well to be fair, Forgeworld's resin and GW's "Finecast" are not the same type of resin. "Finecast" is a resin/plastic hybrid while FW's is good old normal resin we have grown to love or to hate YMMV

It wouldn't be feesible for GW to do everything in plastic. Way to expensive. The molds for Plastic models are milled from a block of steel/aluminum to within .001/.0001 of a inch. IF they are off you get a mis-cast piece of crap.

They don't sell enough of some figures to justify the cost of the molds. How many Calgar's/ Sicarus/ Vulkans/ (insert any special charactor here) do you own? Unless you are buying them for conversion fodder probley not more then one.

I think finecast has the potential to be good, but not at the price they are at now ( and it's only going to go up people) and the quailty they are at now. It's bloody disgracful IMHO. As I said before in this thread "For the love of god PLEASE PLEASE GW put the sturnguard and vanguard molds out of their misery and cut some new ones."

Want some more shenanigins? How about this:

Did you know that had you pre-ordered 25th Anniversary Model on time, you'd still be waiting for the damned thing. GW didn't even ship out the damned things until this past Saturday.

I swear to God, if there is even the slightest flaw on any of them, I'm going to read the riot act to each and every poor slob in the customer service dept. In fact, since 800 calls cost GW money, I encourage each and every one of you to complain if you need to, even if the defect is relatively minor. Call them so they have to pay for that call and encourage everyone you know to do the same. And don't just accept their superglue/greenstuff U-Fix garbage. Make them replace the defective figure. GW might not care about their customers but they damned sure care about the phone bill.

Breotan wrote:Want some more shenanigins? How about this:

Did you know that had you pre-ordered 25th Anniversary Model on time, you'd still be waiting for the damned thing. GW didn't even ship out the damned things until this past Saturday.

I swear to God, if there is even the slightest flaw on any of them, I'm going to read the riot act to each and every poor slob in the customer service dept. In fact, since 800 calls cost GW money, I encourage each and every one of you to complain if you need to, even if the defect is relatively minor. Call them so they have to pay for that call and encourage everyone you know to do the same. And don't just accept their superglue/greenstuff U-Fix garbage. Make them replace the defective figure. GW might not care about their customers but they damned sure care about the phone bill.

Damn rights, anything that takes money out of their pockets they hate. Try calling them collect on a international call, I'm shure they would love that. =o]

I wouldn't mind so much if it was teething troubles and they admitted as much, but it's being going on too long and simply pretending it's all okay is bad for your corporate image. The sheer level of legitimate concerns backed by photographic evidence is really starting to snow ball and this is becoming a real millstone around GW's neck. Finecast needs a quick rectification before it becomes a toxic brand. This is further compounded by their desire to accelerate as much of their miniature ranges to Finecast.

Maybe the margin is so much smaller they can afford all the bad publicity and it still is cheaper to produce. However bad customer service can have an extremely negative impact in a crowded market place.

Bought 70 bucks worth of DE - Incubi box (swords bent) Archon (smooshy mangled Crucible, bent swords) and a Medusa (bubbles, miscast face) and the CS guy, when I called, was super friendly but I had to poke a bit to get the replacements, they were initially going to send me a few new Incubi/Archon swords and a new Medusa. They were really friendly and pretty easy to work with but it's hard to say the overall experience was great when it's taken 7 days for me to get my stuff in the mail (and there could still be errors with the replacements, I haven't had a chance to open the shipment yet) and there's probably not anything extra in the box, If I'm lucky I just waited an extra week to get the stuff I initially paid for.

filbert wrote:Can't prove it and it really is wild speculation on my part but it wouldn't surprise me if that is exactly what is happening to returns - sent back to GW factory, resealed and sent back out to be sold, at least for all bar the worst examples.

Then why would you make such an assertion? Especially as a moderator, you should be more careful making incendiary comments such as this.

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:

filbert wrote:Can't prove it and it really is wild speculation on my part but it wouldn't surprise me if that is exactly what is happening to returns - sent back to GW factory, resealed and sent back out to be sold, at least for all bar the worst examples.

Then why would you make such an assertion? Especially as a moderator, you should be more careful making incendiary comments such as this.

Yeah your incendiary comments (offered partially in jest, I'm sure) might set off a chain reaction and...oh, right. Nothing will happen. Continue offering discussion in a discussion thread.

Breotan wrote:Want some more shenanigins? How about this:

Did you know that had you pre-ordered 25th Anniversary Model on time, you'd still be waiting for the damned thing. GW didn't even ship out the damned things until this past Saturday.

I swear to God, if there is even the slightest flaw on any of them, I'm going to read the riot act to each and every poor slob in the customer service dept. In fact, since 800 calls cost GW money, I encourage each and every one of you to complain if you need to, even if the defect is relatively minor. Call them so they have to pay for that call and encourage everyone you know to do the same. And don't just accept their superglue/greenstuff U-Fix garbage. Make them replace the defective figure. GW might not care about their customers but they damned sure care about the phone bill.

Not sure that's universal. I pre-ordered and it was picked up by the carrier last Thursday (never mind I got a shipping notice from GW that Monday), just checked tracking and its still slated for tomorrow. FYI, I bought with standard shipping.

FabricatorGeneralMike wrote:They don't sell enough of some figures to justify the cost of the molds. How many Calgar's/ Sicarus/ Vulkans/ (insert any special charactor here) do you own? Unless you are buying them for conversion fodder probley not more then one.

I agree, however it does make you wonder why they don't just gravity/pressure cast like FW instead of trying to utlize spin casting. Sure, initially they could use their existing vendor and molds but that ceased to be the case a long time ago. If you make a resin half-master or plate you could potentially pour dozens of silicon molds in a few days. Even if each only yields say ~40-50 castings you could still pump out enough to meet the demands for individual character models. Units might require a bit more molds.

JUST EMAIL THEM!!!

If you tell them your problem, they will sent you another without asking you to return the current one.

I ordered 2 anniversery models and 1 is messed up so I asked for another.

Breotan wrote:Want some more shenanigins? How about this:

Did you know that had you pre-ordered 25th Anniversary Model on time, you'd still be waiting for the damned thing. GW didn't even ship out the damned things until this past Saturday.

I swear to God, if there is even the slightest flaw on any of them, I'm going to read the riot act to each and every poor slob in the customer service dept. In fact, since 800 calls cost GW money, I encourage each and every one of you to complain if you need to, even if the defect is relatively minor. Call them so they have to pay for that call and encourage everyone you know to do the same. And don't just accept their superglue/greenstuff U-Fix garbage. Make them replace the defective figure. GW might not care about their customers but they damned sure care about the phone bill.

Their CS department is literally 4 guys in Indiana. They are pretty nice. They also have nothing to do with the casting process.

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:

filbert wrote:Can't prove it and it really is wild speculation on my part but it wouldn't surprise me if that is exactly what is happening to returns - sent back to GW factory, resealed and sent back out to be sold, at least for all bar the worst examples.

Then why would you make such an assertion? Especially as a moderator, you should be more careful making incendiary comments such as this.

Because it seems like something, given GW's current public image, would be hardly surprising. It's one of those things that cannot be proven right now, but has a certain air of plausibility about it, even if said in jest, where you can take a step back and say "Yes, I can see them doing that. Oh Wacky GW, you scoundrels!"

Bottomline it's a great idea, they just need to refine the process or discover a new method or use some kind of pressurised inert gas method to force the resin into all the parts of mould and then spin out the air bubbles. Their Share price is amazing at the moment, and shares and the revenue from them are supposed to be used on R&D, new manufacturing techniques and equipment to keep ahead of the opposition and keep your revenue stream solid.

There is always a way, they just need to spend a bit more time on R&D and stop the rush to production. 20% more time on Development will result in alot less stress in the long term although if you are happy to have an overloaded unnecessary CS department go for it. For a company that is supposed to be run by suits, they are failing to follow manufacturing best practice.

MikeMcSomething wrote:

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:

filbert wrote:Can't prove it and it really is wild speculation on my part but it wouldn't surprise me if that is exactly what is happening to returns - sent back to GW factory, resealed and sent back out to be sold, at least for all bar the worst examples.

Then why would you make such an assertion? Especially as a moderator, you should be more careful making incendiary comments such as this.

Yeah your incendiary comments (offered partially in jest, I'm sure) might set off a chain reaction and...oh, right. Nothing will happen. Continue offering discussion in a discussion thread.

I think it would be a valid point if it hadn't already been said once in this thread. I'm pretty sure the consensus then was that it was illegal to re-sell them. By accepting that they are flawed and replacing the models GW has said that they are not fit for purpose. To then re-sell a product which is deemed not fit for purpose (without it being refurbished to make it fir for purpose) is against the law.

coyotius wrote:

FabricatorGeneralMike wrote:They don't sell enough of some figures to justify the cost of the molds. How many Calgar's/ Sicarus/ Vulkans/ (insert any special charactor here) do you own? Unless you are buying them for conversion fodder probley not more then one.

I agree, however it does make you wonder why they don't just gravity/pressure cast like FW instead of trying to utlize spin casting. Sure, initially they could use their existing vendor and molds but that ceased to be the case a long time ago. If you make a resin half-master or plate you could potentially pour dozens of silicon molds in a few days. Even if each only yields say ~40-50 castings you could still pump out enough to meet the demands for individual character models. Units might require a bit more molds.

That makes sense to yourself and I, so GW would never go that way. =o]

I've wondered at why GW chose to go with the spin-casting insead of pressure/vacuum casting. Speed I guess? Like you said it wouldn't work for rank and file troops but for SC's why not?


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Marthike wrote:JUST EMAIL THEM!!!

If you tell them your problem, they will sent you another without asking you to return the current one.

I ordered 2 anniversery models and 1 is messed up so I asked for another.

The point is with the prices we are paying for this 'Bestest product in the minature wargamming that is more revolutionary then the moon landings' we shouldn't have to put with the same defects that seem to be present in every single model.

I can one up you on that one. Just don't buy the gak until QC has improved ( or been implimented) then you don't have to even send off a email. Simple as pie.

The only way GW is going to take notice of this problem is if it affects their bottem line. Not buying "Finecast" does this.

Got my castellan crowe and draigo in the mail today. Open it up and crowe has a giant hole in his backpack where the vents would be....draigo's sword is so flimsy it could come off at any moment....sigh...This is why I KNEW buying finecast was a bad idea...

Marthike wrote:JUST EMAIL THEM!!!

If you tell them your problem, they will sent you another without asking you to return the current one.

I ordered 2 anniversery models and 1 is messed up so I asked for another.

The problem with this being viewed as the ultimate ''solution'' is that you're waiting to get your stuff, and taking on an unpaid job as 'GW Quality Assurance Representative" while you're at it. Most people, crazy as they are, like to just give people money for a product and actually *get that product* without having to inspect and return it a few times.

Gharron wrote:Got my castellan crowe and draigo in the mail today. Open it up and crowe has a giant hole in his backpack where the vents would be....draigo's sword is so flimsy it could come off at any moment....sigh...This is why I KNEW buying finecast was a bad idea...

Would you be able to post some pic's please? I guess it's off to GW CS for you. I also guess you could also try to find the metal versions of them ( if they where made in metal im not a GK player so I don't know off hand personally).

FabricatorGeneralMike wrote:

Gharron wrote:Got my castellan crowe and draigo in the mail today. Open it up and crowe has a giant hole in his backpack where the vents would be....draigo's sword is so flimsy it could come off at any moment....sigh...This is why I KNEW buying finecast was a bad idea...

Would you be able to post some pic's please? I guess it's off to GW CS for you. I also guess you could also try to find the metal versions of them ( if they where made in metal im not a GK player so I don't know off hand personally).

Both were metal originally, yes.

And you can still get metal versions of Crowe and Draigo... if you know where to look...

China?

Ok so my order of 5 25th marines turned up.

I didn't have high hopes but its a great looking model

Not 1 complete useable model or combination of models.

The powerfist was fethed up on all of them.

Some stunning bits of model though - its so frustrating!

Pictures here:

Also This is a joke the one with, bubbles and fuzzy detail is the original the nice cast is the cheap knock off. You know its a knock off because its metal


seems the best way to get a good model is wait for the knock offs

ot a couple of issues gimme a minute

I was recently thrilled to spot, and win a metal Urien on ebay.

Sure all those tiny metal arms are a nuisance - but on the FC Urien blisters I looked at, most of the fingers were non-existant, just blocks of flash.