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Purchased a Skulltaker finecast model and was looking forward to getting and painting my first finecast model.
When it arrived i quickly found it has several airbubbles caught in it during the casting process.
Main problem was that the left "top" horn on the face was missing about 6mm of the tip and by missing i mean completely gone.
Got it exchanged (bought via GW webstore) but the replacement had the same issue.
Tried heading down to my local store and found that the ones they had suffered from the exact same mis cast issues.
My GS skills are not that good and while I could fix small holes etc sculpting horns is a bit beyond me.
Have now given up on finecast and bought a metal one from ebay.
Was wondering if others have had the same problems or did i just choose a bad model ?

I think you just had bad luck to be honest.

During the first batch of finecast, there were TONS of miscasts, but lately it seems to have gotten better. Granted the problems aren't 100% solved, and i doubt they ever will be.

I've gotten 3 finecast models so far, and I've only had a minor issue with 1 of them, which I was luckily able to fix quite easily myself.

I agree, there's less issues with the metal models from what i've seen, but I wouldn't give up on finecast altogether, it's easier to build, convert, etc. Also your LGS may have just had some of the old batch, I'm not sure.

If you decide to try it out again, I'd suggest opening it at the store just to make sure it's alright so you dont have to deal with the hassle of going back and returning it.

I think you gave it as fair a chance as anyone could ask. I'd write a letter to GW in the UK and let them know what ahppeend and why you're giving up on Finecast.

Thanks to stories like these I decided to give a complete miss.

I was given the Sword Brethren box for my birthday. Three out of the five models have insane amounts of air bubbles in them, the other two were gorgeous. Good thing that I prefer my models to have weathering and battle damage, so I turned the bubbles into armor damage and replaced the offending heads (one has a big bubble smack right in front of its face, and the other looks like he had a stroke) with my own bitz and generally made do with what I have. I also have zero greenstuff skills but they do look decent now, even without greenstuff.

What you can do is salvage that Skulltaker and basically convert a loss into a gain. Even if you're not buying more finecast models, at lease don't let this model be a loss to you: if it has an air bubble on the horn, why not chop off that part of the horn? It might add character. Holes on the skin itself can be changed into wounds by some careful cutting (and painting it as wounds and such). I'm just saying that, while finecast may suck, it'd be a waste to just turn that model into a test piece or a terrain piece or something.

A single model which may actually have been part of the 'first wave'(and one that had problems when cast in metal to boot)--that's a "fair chance"?

I hate to see your track record with metals.

starsdawn wrote:I was given the Sword Brethren box for my models. Three out of the five models have insane amounts of air bubbles in them, the other two were gorgeous. Good thing that I prefer my models to have weathering and battle damage, so I turned the bubbles into armor damage and replaced the offending heads (one has a big bubble smack right in front of its face, and the other looks like he had a stroke) with my own bitz and generally made do with what I have. I also have zero greenstuff skills but they do look decent now, even without greenstuff.

What you can do is salvage that Skulltaker and basically convert a loss into a gain. Even if you're not buying more finecast models, at lease don't let this model be a loss to you: if it has an air bubble on the horn, why not chop off that part of the horn? It might add character. Holes on the skin itself can be changed into wounds by some careful cutting (and painting it as wounds and such). I'm just saying that, while finecast may suck, it'd be a waste to just turn that model into a test piece or a terrain piece or something.

Airbubbles, they're not a bug, they're a feature!

Guys. Don't 'salvage' the models.

Return them If GW send you more defective models, return them. This is something GW do well - faulty products are easily replaced.

-Loki- wrote:Guys. Don't 'salvage' the models.

Return them If GW send you more defective models, return them. This is something GW do well - faulty products are easily replaced.

I was under the impression that you get to keep the defective models.

You get to keep them. I've had enough problems with Finecast that I have entire extra units now. Very bubbly, poorly formed units.

Bubbly units that are soft, finely detailed and thus easy (and pretty!) to chop off and convert into other units.

Kanluwen wrote:A single model which may actually have been part of the 'first wave'(and one that had problems when cast in metal to boot)--that's a "fair chance"?

I hate to see your track record with metals.

I would call it a fair chance yes as the 3 examples I have seen/gotten of it have all had the exact same issues with airbubbles forming in particular spots. Also the more I look at it the more flaws i find in it. Every sharp edge has some minor flaw area where it hasnt filled properly.

My track record with metals ?
I have NEVER had to return a metal model for miscasts or flaws so would say that my track record there is perfect.
After the hype that GW put on about finecast I expected better so you may think im unreasonable but I can hardly see any reason to pay money for something that is defective and I highly doubt you would either.

On a related note I played around a bit with the finecast sprue and was surprised.
There is hardly any resistance in the material and i could actually make a mark in it with my nail so wonder how things would go if
you needed to sand or cut anything on the model itself. Must be very easy to overdo things.

As said by the others, if you plan on buying Finecast check it at the store first, or just buy the ones which you can see if they are defective or not. And yes, it's very easy to overdo things to them: it's both blessing and a curse.

I have mixed results after having purchased two fine cast models. The first was a big mek that was so poorly filled it was literally missing chunks out of the cast. T second is abaddon and I must say this particular casting of him came out AMAZING. It is a gorgeous casting, the detail is phenomenal and there is no bubbles or underfill, however he is very brittle and fragile especially on the spiky bits that come off the top of his armor.

I try to think of finecast as a high-risk, high reward venture. LIKE GAMBLING.

Might be beside the point by now but how is that horn even a problem?

He's like a demon or something, it's not the end of the world if his head isn't 100% symmetrical right?

I guess he fights a lot of dudes? someone obviously shot his horn off.

Almarine wrote:Might be beside the point by now but how is that horn even a problem?

He's like a demon or something, it's not the end of the world if his head isn't 100% symmetrical right?

I guess he fights a lot of dudes? someone obviously shot his horn off.

Thing is that where the airbubbles have formed is at the point where the horns curve around a skull so I can understand why that spot is an issue when casting. True he could have lost the horn in a fight but the flaw does not look anything like a battle damage.
Now dont get me wrong here I love GW models and will gladly continue buying metal/plastic ones its just that finecast to me for the moment seems like buying something that is far from the way it should be.
I hope finecast gets sorted as i do like the idea of the lighter non chipping models and the possibilities it opens up pose wise etc.
It is simply a matter of me not wanting to spend my money on models that are defective, even if you can make do for me it is the principle
that if I pay money for something I want an item that is as it should be.

zugzug wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:A single model which may actually have been part of the 'first wave'(and one that had problems when cast in metal to boot)--that's a "fair chance"?

I hate to see your track record with metals.

I would call it a fair chance yes as the 3 examples I have seen/gotten of it have all had the exact same issues with airbubbles forming in particular spots. Also the more I look at it the more flaws i find in it. Every sharp edge has some minor flaw area where it hasnt filled properly.

And like I said: Skulltaker had issues even in metal. The horns would be flimsy, you'd have misalignments, etc on the molds.

My track record with metals ?
I have NEVER had to return a metal model for miscasts or flaws so would say that my track record there is perfect.

I'm calling bull or you haven't bought much.
Metal has had just as many flaws as Finecast. The flaws are not the same by and large(you won't find air bubbles, for example), but they definitely exist.

After the hype that GW put on about finecast I expected better so you may think im unreasonable but I can hardly see any reason to pay money for something that is defective and I highly doubt you would either.

I've put my money where my mouth is. I bought Vlad when he released in Finecast. He did not have his upraised, grasping hand and the basket hilt on his sword was malformed. I called them and got a replacement, and they sent a replacement. The replacement was fine except for the fact that--again--the basket hilt on the sword was malformed. I called up GW and they offered to replace it with a metal version of the model, as they still have him in stock.

And guess what? The hilt even on the metal version has the same problems. Some parts just don't work, no matter the material.

On a related note I played around a bit with the finecast sprue and was surprised.
There is hardly any resistance in the material and i could actually make a mark in it with my nail

Did you expect the sprue to be stupidly resistant to damage or something?

If that was the case, how would you remove the model from the sprue?

so wonder how things would go if
you needed to sand or cut anything on the model itself. Must be very easy to overdo things.

It's really not.

Kanluwen wrote:Did you expect the sprue to be stupidly resistant to damage or something?

If that was the case, how would you remove the model from the sprue?

So the sprue is a different material/hardness from the model?

If the sprue is that easy to damage, the model would be similar. That's his point.
And things I can't really scratch with my fingernail can get chopped to pieces by most any cutting tool.

rigeld2 wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:Did you expect the sprue to be stupidly resistant to damage or something?

If that was the case, how would you remove the model from the sprue?

So the sprue is a different material/hardness from the model?

If the sprue is that easy to damage, the model would be similar. That's his point.
And things I can't really scratch with my fingernail can get chopped to pieces by most any cutting tool.

Sprues are almost always a different hardness than the model.

And if he actually tried to scratch the model with his fingernail, and it did work--then it was an example of the material not hardening fully. You see it happen sometimes with resin, where it does not harden fully and sometimes will 'sweat' material as it never had time to cure fully.

Kanluwen wrote:

zugzug wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:A single model which may actually have been part of the 'first wave'(and one that had problems when cast in metal to boot)--that's a "fair chance"?

I hate to see your track record with metals.

I would call it a fair chance yes as the 3 examples I have seen/gotten of it have all had the exact same issues with airbubbles forming in particular spots. Also the more I look at it the more flaws i find in it. Every sharp edge has some minor flaw area where it hasnt filled properly.

And like I said: Skulltaker had issues even in metal. The horns would be flimsy, you'd have misalignments, etc on the molds.

My track record with metals ?
I have NEVER had to return a metal model for miscasts or flaws so would say that my track record there is perfect.

I'm calling bull or you haven't bought much.
Metal has had just as many flaws as Finecast. The flaws are not the same by and large(you won't find air bubbles, for example), but they definitely exist.

After the hype that GW put on about finecast I expected better so you may think im unreasonable but I can hardly see any reason to pay money for something that is defective and I highly doubt you would either.

I've put my money where my mouth is. I bought Vlad when he released in Finecast. He did not have his upraised, grasping hand and the basket hilt on his sword was malformed. I called them and got a replacement, and they sent a replacement. The replacement was fine except for the fact that--again--the basket hilt on the sword was malformed. I called up GW and they offered to replace it with a metal version of the model, as they still have him in stock.

And guess what? The hilt even on the metal version has the same problems. Some parts just don't work, no matter the material.

On a related note I played around a bit with the finecast sprue and was surprised.
There is hardly any resistance in the material and i could actually make a mark in it with my nail

Did you expect the sprue to be stupidly resistant to damage or something?

If that was the case, how would you remove the model from the sprue?

so wonder how things would go if
you needed to sand or cut anything on the model itself. Must be very easy to overdo things.

It's really not.

Well I just bought a metal one of ebay so will see if it has as many issues.
Not bought much ? how would you know ? I have about 250 metal models across my armies and yes i agree they have flaws but the flaws in them unlike finecast have not needed resculpts to put detail onto them that should have been there from new.
No I did not expect the material to be stupidly resistant was more that I was surprised how soft it was compared to plastic.
Neither was that meant as critic was simply a question if the softness caused problems when working models.
Have had a look at a friends librarian in terminator armor finecast model looking at it there were several problems that i do not have on mine in metal.

As I said I love the idea behind finecast lighter models no chipping etc just saying that my experience with them means I wont be buying any of them until they seem a bit more sorted.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

Kanluwen wrote:

rigeld2 wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:Did you expect the sprue to be stupidly resistant to damage or something?

If that was the case, how would you remove the model from the sprue?

So the sprue is a different material/hardness from the model?

If the sprue is that easy to damage, the model would be similar. That's his point.
And things I can't really scratch with my fingernail can get chopped to pieces by most any cutting tool.

Sprues are almost always a different hardness than the model.

And if he actually tried to scratch the model with his fingernail, and it did work--then it was an example of the material not hardening fully. You see it happen sometimes with resin, where it does not harden fully and sometimes will 'sweat' material as it never had time to cure fully.

You are quite right there I just tried making a mark with my nail in the model itself but was unable to.
I expected it to be the same as the sprue as I did not think they could have them different but they were my apologies you are right.
So can see that it will be better to work then i thought

Kanluwen wrote:Sprues are almost always a different hardness than the model.

Really? Isn't it just the one combination of chemicals? I guess the model gets some different magic.
I apologize for my sarcastic tone.

rigeld2 wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:Sprues are almost always a different hardness than the model.

Really? Isn't it just the one combination of chemicals? I guess the model gets some different magic.
I apologize for my sarcastic tone.

I was surprised at this too as I would have bet money on them being the same.

Am I the only one with 4 Finecast models, and all of them are perfect? (one of them had 1 very small airbubble, but that was easy to fix).

I have 11 Finecast models, and not a single one is faulty, with the exception of the Eldar Missile Launcher to a Dark Reaper Exarch. It is so incredibly bent it looks ridicoulus. Luckily, I would never even consider using the EML on him when you have a Tempest Launcher.

zugzug wrote:

rigeld2 wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:Sprues are almost always a different hardness than the model.

Really? Isn't it just the one combination of chemicals? I guess the model gets some different magic.
I apologize for my sarcastic tone.

I was surprised at this too as I would have bet money on them being the same.

Maybe some kind of varied pressure during the molding process, so things in the centre are denser? Only thing I can think of. Perhaps a thickness of the material thing? Baffling.

I was initially enamoured of the idea of Finecast and eagerly awaited the 'new' figures. I got them and realized they weren't new at all. Simply redone old figures.

I then realized that they don't have 'more' detail as espoused by many, but rather 'crisper' detail. I was a little disappointed again, but I can live with crisper.

Then I realized the castings were pretty crappy, roughly 50% of the figures were miscast in some way. While not as fragile as say Forge World resin, they are very light and do not take well to less than moderately skilled putty users in an attempt to fix flaws.

The launch of this line was a disaster in my opinion and while GW customer service is top notch I still don't understand why I had to go through this in the first place.

...and lets not start talking about the pricing.

The entire experience has forced me to reach the same conclusion.

@Kanluwen: Since 1987, I have returned ZERO metal miniatures to GW due to miscasting issue. I've had a couple of cases of having to phone up for packing issues (mispacked / missing parts). But actual physical flaws with the models, no.

I do have a Captain Sicarius (metal) helmet (the one that he's holding) that's miscast, but as the model was to be built with the helmet on and with the plasma pistol, no problem. If I needed to use it though, it would have been returned (taking my 24 year total to ONE).

I'm still seeing lots of issues with Finecast; any improvement in QA seems to be marginal at best. I forsee a huge price hike to cover the necessary labour cost for further checking / production rather than an admission of a monumental screwup.

winterdyne wrote:@Kanluwen: Since 1987, I have returned ZERO metal miniatures to GW due to miscasting issue. I've had a couple of cases of having to phone up for packing issues (mispacked / missing parts). But actual physical flaws with the models, no.

I do have a Captain Sicarius (metal) helmet (the one that he's holding) that's miscast, but as the model was to be built with the helmet on and with the plasma pistol, no problem. If I needed to use it though, it would have been returned (taking my 24 year total to ONE).

I'm still seeing lots of issues with Finecast; any improvement in QA seems to be marginal at best. I forsee a huge price hike to cover the necessary labour cost for further checking / production rather than an admission of a monumental screwup.

Besides, isn't Finecast resin about 30% cheaper than the metal they used (which I actually prefer)?

winterdyne wrote:@Kanluwen: Since 1987, I have returned ZERO metal miniatures to GW due to miscasting issue. I've had a couple of cases of having to phone up for packing issues (mispacked / missing parts). But actual physical flaws with the models, no.

I do have a Captain Sicarius (metal) helmet (the one that he's holding) that's miscast, but as the model was to be built with the helmet on and with the plasma pistol, no problem. If I needed to use it though, it would have been returned (taking my 24 year total to ONE).

I've returned no less than six metals.
Three Kasrkin Grenade Launchers(mold was misaligned--noticeably), an Ezekiel (again--misaligned mold, a full half a millimeter difference between each side of the hood), a Crom the Conqueror and a Dark Elf Dreadlord on Cold One.

I'm still seeing lots of issues with Finecast; any improvement in QA seems to be marginal at best. I foresee a huge price hike to cover the necessary labour cost for further checking / production rather than an admission of a monumental screwup.

When the hell does a company ever make an admission of a monumental screwup when nobody has died?

I've seen a fairly decent improvement in QA. That doesn't change the fact, however, that some models will be more prone to issues than others. It's a different set of problems along with the same old ones.

I have to agree with the majority here. In the 10+ years i have been buying GW product, the only problems i experienced with the metal figures, we're missing parts.

Until now i've only bought 3 finecast models and each and everyone of them has some issues with them. I also feel the finecast models are too brittle.