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Kilkrazy wrote:Metal is great for manufacturing models in relatively small numbers. The vast majority of wargame figures are metal.

Even GW still make metal for the units which are only bought in small numbers -- HQs, Special Characters and unusual units like the Venomthrope.

That will not change unless GW start to make HQ special sets containing several special characters on one sprue frame.

I would like to see plastic HQ characters with poseable arms/heads/torso etc. You can convert metal, but major reposing can be an ugly task.

They should be able to put 4-5 models on a sprue as the special HQ models generally don't have war-gear options. They could then chop the plastic sprues themselves and sell the characters separately. They would be stuck with making the same number of each, but it shouldn't be a horrible problem as at that point they would just be wasting a bit of thermoplastic on less used models.

Sorry I havent checked this thread in a while, but I also would like to elaborate on my metal hatred.

I don't disagree with the fact that metal models tend to form better on the outside. But for all the good looks they have on the outside, they make up for with the awful forming of their joints and other parts that are supposed to fit together. Pinning works, but it's hard when the stuff doesn't fit right in the first place. And, super glue takes forever to dry (even krazy glue, to an extent), and never seems to stick together very well. For modelling, and even assembly purposes, metal sucks.

As a closing note, I would just like to add that for all my gripes about metal I do find them better for painting. And I think their weight is nice for painting and seems to keep them from falling over when I'm gaming with them.

Bought myself a CSM Terminator Lord, a full plastic kit and it was so much more fun to put together than my metal Chaos Lord.

There were a silly amount of weapons options, no problems with undercutting and, if I'm honest, as good detail as the metal lord.

You know whats good about pewter and metal models, you can put them in a sock and kill someone with them, or just beat your wife and leave no bruises!

I have no clue what people are talking about metal now a days being more in detail, I can paint and put together a plastic model any way I want, with metal I need to saw grind and spend three times as long dealing with them, now I will use some pewter here and there but overall you get the same quality with plastic as metal now a days, and you can get more plastic models then pewter.

I don't know about you but a box set of obliterators 5 to a box for 50 bucks hell even 60 would be a freaking hit, able to customize them, or we can stick with the 20 to 22 dollar ones that all have the same pose of wanting to take a dump on the floor.

Menelker wrote:@Breotan: Actually the whole Confrontation line was metal before they got bought out and tanked the company.

Grats not exactly knowing what you're talking about.

Plastic AT-43 actually sells better than Metal Confrontation did.

R wasn't exactly doing much better before the switch.

Actualy,metal models are cheaper short time.Molds for metal models are alot easier to make.But its a tad more expensive in the long term.Platic molds are realy ahrd to make and require lots of money to make,but work out in the long term.

I REALLY dislike metal models. As everyone knows, they are a b***h to build, for example Shokk Attack Gun and Carnosaurus.
But the other "fact" is that, IMO, paint doesn't stick to metal so good as to plastic. I just hate painting metal models.

Breotan wrote:That's your argument for detail? Old out of print plastic models? If you want to go old school, I can dig up plenty of pics of craptastic metals. We may disagree but I think the plastics GW has put out hold their own against metals just fine.

They suck because they are OLD. Nowadays metal models look way much better, but i hate them ever less because of my love of modelling.

Id go for plastic models any day. But for Individual characters (heroes and the like) they are a better choice because of their better detail. Anyone can figure that out.

Metal models are just disliked because they aren't as easy to use as plastics. Having problems gluing metallics is just a matter of a lack of tools. Get zip/zap kicker and your problems are gone.

As for gaming miniatures, it's clear plastic makes better toys than metals. You can drop plastic models from a much higher height than metal ones, and still have it undamaged. It's also more user friendly to handle, with lifting from any extremity not running the risk of breaking the model, with the weight of the model twisting the part off, as is an issue with large heavy metal models, that have to be pinned(or glued well) for this not to happen.

In terms of details, both materials have their advantages. There is no real difference is how well plastic or metal holds details. Metals might appear more crisp because they hold the actual "sculpt" of the artist, while plastic models have been "engineered"/machined into a block of metal, which changes the characteristics slightly. With GW switching to computer assisted design, we are seeing these new, very nice models. I would think GW realizes how much detail their softer plastic is suitable to hold, and works with that. Tamiya for example uses a lot harder plastic, and have weld marks and insanely small, to scale production numbers etc on small parts of tanks etc, because it needs to authentic.

But with plastic molds costing as much(and more depending on size) as a car, and a metal molds costing less than a tire, you can probably see the reason why the models which aren't counted as a bulk product are done in metal.

Cheers

jutami wrote: Having problems gluing metallics is just a matter of a lack of tools. Get zip/zap kicker and your problems are gone.

I prefer not buying something for one purpose in mind, and in the end, It's just as easy to get a plastic kit, glue it together once and be done, while the metal model will have arms come off, limbs warp, and a multitude of un-fun things I hate to deal with. Sure you can say that metal has more detail, sure you can say this and that. But if I have a plastic model that I can easily customize a thousand different ways compared to a metal model, which you will have about four, I hardly see the advantage. Also forgot to add in you need to drill your models, add in some pinning, greenstuff some of the metal models because they will never fit right, and a multitude of problems that I can keep on going on about.

Metal models are okay, I dont seem to need to pin or greenstuff them . I have the old metal venerable that was a pain in the bum. I just got the new plastic one yesterday so much easier to make and enjoyable. Single minitures are fine, the new legion of the damed were fun to make.