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So i haven't ever bought a finecast model. In fact i haven't really bought any models lately. My question is can you dice up finecast like you can plastic? And also is it dangerous to inhale etc? I remember when i used to buy forge world there was a big thing about the resins being dangerous.

Thanks for any feedback

 Imperius Tebax wrote:
So i haven't ever bought a finecast model. In fact i haven't really bought any models lately. My question is can you dice up finecast like you can plastic?

Different feel as it's resin, but similar as far as "dicing up" goes.

And also is it dangerous to inhale etc? I remember when i used to buy forge world there was a big thing about the resins being dangerous.

Sure, if you sandpaper it to oblivion and then snort the dust, every day, for months and months.

I've sanded resin, I've handled greenstuff without gloves, I've licked paint brushes that had citadel paint residue on them.... I've yet to get cancer.

It's as dangerous to inhale as any synthethic material I suspect, a bit here and there and you'll be fine, it's not like it lodges into your lung and your body piles it up and you die within a week. So dangerous? Not if you compare it to shooting yourself in the chest with a .22. Compared to eating crisps and reading the news (for the past few years) about how you may get cancer from them..... not so much.

Warning labels are there for the public not to overindulge in anything. McDonalds food isn't dangerous in itself, but if you have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening snack, and only drink cocacola for every meal, yeah, you may have an issue if you don't exercise enough. As for dangerous to take out the box and sniff, or handle without wearing gloves? No. Sanding, while trying hard not to snort it by pressing your face against it..... no, not dangerous. Licking and chewing, for that special plastic taste.... maybe, in the very long run if done frequently.

Consider it a plastic. Treat it as such. You don't eat plastic for dinner do you?

I have chewed green stuff before... by accident. Cheers for that. I can buy now! also when i heard that stuff i was like 15 so obviously i wanted to be more freaked out by it than i would be now.

@Johnno:
While Finecast kits are safe to handle, Forgeworld (and some other modelling companies) use a different kind of resin that can act similar to asbestos when ground into a powder. The effect's not as fatal or quick, but if you file down a bunch of FW models in a poorly ventilated space you risk respiratory problems.

This is not to say Forgeworld is dangerous, though. Only when powdered and inhaled in moderately large quantities.

 NimbleJack3 wrote:
if you file down a bunch of FW models in a poorly ventilated space you risk respiratory problems.

Even this, I think, is hyperbole, although I'd say the next sentence is spot on. Filing produces large enough particles that gravity negates the need for much of anything in the way of filtration. If anything, poor ventilation means still air, which is less likely to kick things up to where they could be inhaled. Fine-grit sanding, perhaps (especially if powered), warrants the use of a mask or water to contain the dust, but nine times out of ten, the precautions commonly taken are overkill. That is not to say one should never take any, lest they happen to be that tenth case.

Safety glasses with power tools, dust mask with fine-grit dry sanding, gloves with caustic liquids (plus goggles, if there's risk of splashing), and a vented booth/hood or respirator with caustic fumes in enclosed spaces. That's about everything you could ever need for this hobby. For a (in terms of risk, at least, if not complexity) simple cut/file/glue job on Finecast, there's little to worry about.

I've fine-grit sanded resin blocks (the ones that come on the sprues of most FW tanks) to make various things, I always do this outside on my front porch & either the item being sanded is about waist level so I easily keep my head well-elevated from the item, or it's a good 2-3' in front of me. Being as I don't use power tools for this, I've never had any issues. Besides, if something's gonna kill me it's all the alcohol I put into my liver years ago & the aggravated injuries from rodeo-ing in my teens or the fact that I've talked on a cell phone for 14 years.

I wouldn't worry about ill effects, but just be aware that the resin cuts easier than plastic, so be careful not to let the knife or cutter gets away from you. I hacked up a Techmarine, giving a new head (never easy when the back of the head is connected to armor, and worse when you're sculpting a pewter head to fit it) and hand/weapon.

This was my second experience with forecast, and I got two of the same sprue with the Techmarine, so watch out for that, too, I guess.

Yea ive seen on here that the casts can be really bad apparently? what is wrong with them exactly? are they warped etc...

It will cut and bend alot easier than plastic, so you need to take some care.
I use a jewelers saw to cut it since you get a very thin and clean up, but your average sharp knife will do it with ease.

Common finecast issues (in order of the most popular to find)

1: Air bubble; Very common and to get a model without them is pure luck.
Some are small and hidden, others will be a pain as they are in small details and ruin them (faces, hands, weapons etc)
Re-sculpting may be needed, or liquid GS works wonders on most air bubbles.

2: Warping; Again, this is very common.
However this tends to happen to thin and smaller parts, or heavy and long sections like the legs of greater daemons.
This is an easy fix though.
I wash the resin 1st anyway, but simply put it in heated water for a few minutes, take it out and its easy to bend it back to shape.
You can either keep it in place for a few minuted unil it sets again or run it under cold water to speed this up.

3: Pinks chunks of rubber in the model; This isnt as common, but ive had it a few times.
You will usually have a poorly detailed section of a model that had fine detail in it.
This will be replaced by pink rubber, which is(was) actually part of the mould that has broken away.
Im affraid this one requires sending back or re-sculpting the detail.

4: Poorly set up moulds; Some times the mould appears to have not been set up correctly and you will end up with parts of the model not lined up with eachother.
This isnt actually possible to fix, so its a case of sending it back.

5: Resin not fully set; This one is very uncommon, so thats allways a good thing.
The resin will be very soft and plyable and there seems to be no way of making it harden up.
I think this is an issue with the resin mix used, but im not an expert.
Ive brought alot of finecast models and only had this twice, and both were dark eldar incubi's.
The horns, blades and legs were simply bending under thier own weight (which is next to none in resin)
These have to be sent back.


While this may seem like 1 big horror story, dont let it get to you, these are just the "what if's" and dont allways happen.
I would say ive only had issues with 15% or so of the finecast i have had.

Ahh okay fair enough! are they aiming to fix this? they must be painfully aware that they haven't delivered as well as they could have.

To be honest, i think GW knew from the get go that there was a real casting issue down to the sheer volume of returned models.

The 1st lot i got, i had about 80% problems with them and they really were terrible.
However, over time it seems they have changed something as the quality has gone up ten-fold.

They still require alot of cleaning (usually have alot of flash and excess resin on them) but i dont mind as i prefer working with plastic and resin to metal.

They do need a ton of cleaning up. Warping, unfortunately, is fairly common. One of my Sternguard with a nearly two-dimensional head can attest.

It's diappointing. We'd all rather have these thing cast in plastic. You'd think if they simply did that, those kits would've more popular because they would be a better quality and easier to work with. Dark Vengeance just proved the level of detail they can achieve with plastic, which was supposed to be a selling point for resin. I don't buy any argument about cost - Games Workshop prices their models and kits at a high profit margin to begin with.

Zappit wrote:
They do need a ton of cleaning up. Warping, unfortunately, is fairly common. One of my Sternguard with a nearly two-dimensional head can attest.

It's diappointing. We'd all rather have these thing cast in plastic. You'd think if they simply did that, those kits would've more popular because they would be a better quality and easier to work with. Dark Vengeance just proved the level of detail they can achieve with plastic, which was supposed to be a selling point for resin. I don't buy any argument about cost - Games Workshop prices their models and kits at a high profit margin to begin with.

I'd normally disagree with the "we want plastic" argument, but the Dark Vengeance models really are pretty amazing, at least from the pictures, I haven't seen them in person. I've bought plastic character kits before and been disappointed that, though they're easy to convert, lack the detail of metal miniatures. Honestly I'd have been happy if they just kept the metals, resin seems like it has potential but even at the best of times is so inappropriate for many models, especially models with long thin components that should be straight.

 Jackal wrote:
2: Warping; Again, this is very common.
However this tends to happen to thin and smaller parts, or heavy and long sections like the legs of greater daemons.
This is an easy fix though.
I wash the resin 1st anyway, but simply put it in heated water for a few minutes, take it out and its easy to bend it back to shape.
You can either keep it in place for a few minuted unil it sets again or run it under cold water to speed this up.

I never bought finecast, but i would send any miniature back if i had to reesculpt anything in it. Small bubbles are passable for cheap models, not to high cost models who are labeled FINECAST.

The Dwarf Wolf wrote:
I never bought finecast, but i would send any miniature back if i had to reesculpt anything in it. Small bubbles are passable for cheap models, not to high cost models who are labeled FINECAST.

That sounds nice, but practically speaking every model I've seen thus far at LEAST has small bubbles requiring filling and at least 1 spot on the model where detail is actually missing. I haven't bought Arjac Rockfist despite the fact I really like the model or the Tyranid finecasts despite the fact I need them for my army simply because I go to my local GW store and look through all the models they have and can't find any that don't at the least have some small bubbles obscuring detail that I don't want to waste a couple of hours fixing.

One of the nice things about resin over metal is that it's easier to work with, but it's all for naught if you have sooo many more things that need "working with" just to get the model presentable.