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My brothers birthday is coming up and I figure I should get him something for his 40k army. He plays Dark Eldar (I know there were shouts of surprise when he showed up at the FLGS with them). So I was lurking around forge world yesterday when I saw this http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Dark_Eldar/DARK-ELDAR-RAVEN-FIGHTER.html

I was thinking about possibly getting it for him (45 pounds is around 60$ USD I'm pretty sure) It seems like something he would enjoy, and something nobody else would have.

so it it worth the money, Its pretty much a armored reaver with heavy weapons attached.

and I was curious, I have never ordered anything from FW, are they a reliable service? I have ordered products from GW.com and they have great service, is FW comparable?
I know the exchange rate is brutal for those that live in the US, and concerning billing, will I be billed in the converted US dollars? or will I have to go out of my way to pay for this thing

answers will be greatly appreciated

On the plus side:
It's DE. There was probably never enough demand for them, so the moulds are probably still in good condition, reducing the chances of miscasts (unlike anything imperial or chaos).

Does your brother have much experience with resin models?
Resin is NOT like plastic kits and requires a different skill set (It takes more patience to start with).

Normal issues for FW are warpage (bent pieces) which can be remedied with warm water and gentle repositioning.
Other 'normal' issues for them are large chunks of resin (casting ports and air vents) and often internal voids/bubbles.

When they do ship bad casts (more often than they should), CALL them (Yes, in the UK. You'll have to wait for the right time to do this and pay the costs for Int'l calls) to get it remedied (You'll need your invoice).

If paying by credit card, the card company will handle all conversions. You will pay the "going" rate in USD for the product when the sale is completed. They will be paid in pounds.

thanks you, I really needed that info, I have never ordered from FW before and no I have never used resin. is it really different from plastic?

It's lighter than plastic, if you can believe that, and VERY FRAGILE. You drop it, it's toast (shatters). Also, it's toxic, so when filing, wear a face mask to not breathe in the dust. You also have to wash it thoroughly before priming or the paint won't adhere evenly. You also have to use superglue of some kind; plastic glue doesn't work.

That being said, the Forgeworld stuff is very cool and highly detailed. It will take more work than usual to clean and assemble, but definitely worth it. The other part is that it's "unofficial," so you can only use in friendly games.

Yes, resin is very different from plastic.

It needs a different glue (plastic glue just does not work) superglues or epoxy adhesives are best - to start with and an entirely different way of looking at it.

To take plastic model parts off sprue, you use clippers, right? Then finish off with a knife/file.

Resin casts often have gates and vents - large chunks of resin hanging off the main casts. This is where the resin is poured in and the air is let out. These need to be carefully sawn off - as there is a risk of airbubbles behind them, and clippers might cause it to shatter.

I keep a spray bottle of water nearby for sanding resin. Wet it down and sand (using wet/dry). Large pieces often need pinning for extra support. Dust mask /respirator and safety glasses are mandatory.

You will also often need to SCRUB the models with warm soapy water and a medium firm brush (like a medium toothbrush) to remove the mold release FW use.
Sometimes repeatedly.
Occasionally a wipe down with methylated spirits to finish.

FW used to have a few handy articles on prepping and assembling their models on their site - since the makeover, they've gone away.

Priming is heavily recommended. With an automotive primer. This will help ensure the paint sticks. GW sprays are just not good enough as a primer on resin.
Roughcoat used to work, but you can't get it anymore.

Anyhow, good luck with it. If it's your first resin model, you're in for a world of hurt and a steep learning curve. It gets easier over time, though.

I should also suggest as an alternative to automotive primer:
Tamiya's Fine Surface Grey Primer.

Tamiya's "Fine Surface" or "Surface" primers give very very very very impressive formulas and are what a lot of the heavy hitters who do the impressive dioramas at museums and the like use to prime resin figures.

holy crap what did I get myself into? it sounds like these models are extremely hard to put together. how fragile are they, I'm not going to throw them around or anything of the sort, but can they be fielded safely? will they survive a trip in my army transport?

so let me get this all sorted out. don't use plastic glue. (will the testors metal glue work?), don't trim anything with clippers. and be sure to prime (I don't have anything fancy, will hardware store black prime work?)

Will I be able to tell what the model is or am I going to go through hell carving at a resin block to build these guys. Are these problems prevalent with infantry models? because I was thinking about getting these for my IG http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Imperial_Guard/Death-Korps-of-Krieg/DEATH-KORPS-OF-KRIEG-GRENADIER-SQUAD.html


And lastly is purchasing FW models a smart choice, from what I am hearing they sound like a huge and ridiculous project where the slightest mistake could result in a 50$ toy soldier shattering. I love the models, but now I have doubts, I am not very skilled at this whole game, mediocre at best. But I wanted to try something new and collect some wild looking things. What do you think, should I give this a go, or stick to ravagers and steel legion squads?

I made a Super Heavy Eldar Scorpion anti-grav tank. It was easy to make, I just had to use warm water to bend the twin cannons straight (long thin parts are often bendt). I used my normal glue which I use for everything, but it's not plastic glue. It's hobby super glue, works for plastic metal and resin. I used normal GW/Citadel/Army Painter spray and painted it like any other model. No problems what so ever.

I looked up some tutorials on Google, It gave me a bit more confidence. You have to soak the parts in warm water and soap, then brush them.

I still have questions though, can I use clippers to get the parts off the spruce? and more importantly do these things come with directions?

I've built a few Forge World kits and I think they are excellent quality and really not as bad as some of these people are making out. I've built Tau Heavy Gun Drones, the Eldar Nightspinner and Ork Flakka-Gunz. They do need a good scrubbing with washing up liquid and water but apart from that whatever glue you use for your metal models and maybe a good primer and you're fine. The Pieces go together well, and there are few large pieces of excess resin except sometimes on larger kits like the Thunderhawk. On some of the conversion kits some cutting of the plastic pieces is required, but apart from that, I'd say they are easier to build than metal models if you take things slowly and scrub them properly.

The Night Stalker wrote:
I still have questions though, can I use clippers to get the parts off the spruce? and more importantly do these things come with directions?

OK, it's SPRUE, not spruce. Plural is 'sprues'. Spruce is a tree.

Clippers are more than likely going to result in the pieces shattering along some heretofore unknown fracture inside the cast.
Use a razor saw. Go slowly, and use a dustmask.

FW kits with directions? Not to my knowledge. My Valkyrie (resin, original one) didn't. Neither did the replacement. Nor did the Hydra.

You used to be able to look at the various angles of the model online to help with assembly. That means you're SOL these days as the site is even less useful than GWs one.
I don't know what testors metal glue is. Is it a superglue type ?
As for how hard it is to tell the models from the flash - depends a lot on the models.
With some pieces, yes, it is a tough call. One that only experience will help with.
The ranks of krieg are a tough one to separate. It would take a fair bit of resin practice to get it down. It can be done, and the models will need some patching with GS afterwards.

I find forgeworld resin infantry much easier to assemble than their big resin tanks and titans.

Don't let some people fool you in the fragility of resin though, a thick block of resin is far tougher than plastic, but a thin part is extremely brittle.

I suggest using a hobby saw rather than a knife for cutting though, it'll save your hands from some misery.

The grenadier squad comes with their feet attached to a long resin strip. DO NOT CLIP IT!
This just results in their feet snapping off. Use a hobby saw or knife to remove them.

For instructions, they usually send a component list on an A4 bit of paper, it's not too helpful but it helps you figure out how things are put together.


Death Korp infantry are assembled as the following:

The body, legs and head are already sculpted as one, they come on a big long resin strip. If you want to repose them, make sure you have a lot of green stuff and a steady hand.

The arms are on a seperate sprue, the weapons are what you see on the FW website, you have to buy the weapon/command upgrade pack for options. Generally, Death Korps infantry have the weapons sculpted onto the arms (a bit like the snap together Space Marines)

Before gluing them them together, make sure the arms fit the models, each arm adheres to a specific body, otherwise it looks kinda weird when you finish assembling them.

Ok SPRUE sorry.

And thank you shoes and vampire hunter, I think I might give this a go, not immediately though, I'm just starting guard and want to be sure of my commitment before I buy a 50$ squad of toy soldiers.

However I think my brother really wants to get that raven ship, but then again he can never make up his mind.

Just 1 more question, where are the rules for the raven. And I'm guessing the Dkok are just normal guardsmen?

The update rules for the Raven are in IA:Apocalypse 1.

The Death Korps range infantry are regular guardsmen, grenadiers are stormtroopers (they have hellguns), and engineers and the quartermaster have their own little section in the Siege of Vraks book.
The command squad is the platoon commander and the command HQ is the company commander.

If you don't mind a little work, or a little less detail in some of the models, I suggest getting the Gorgon Death Korps platoon. It costs £48.00 for 50 Kriegsmen, which you get a Vox, flamer and platoon commander, takes a good few days to seperate them but they're cheap. (~ roughly £9.00 for every 10 men)

You do need a lot of patience and green stuff however, I use em for conscripts, where you don't notice the smaller imperfections (such as larger cartoony arms in some of the models).

Thanks, I will look into that, I probably won't get to it for awhile. I just starting IG and want to get the basics down, and test paint a few models. I will then probably make a project thread. Then I'm just going to run with it and hope this all works out.

Sorry about the double post, but I just thought of something I wanted to ask. How should FW models be transported, I am guessing carrying resin models around in a shoebox is a big mistake, I have one of those big army transport bags, will they be ok in there? And if not, what should I do?