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With the 4 crazy boxes I recently received, plus my full Dreadball and Deadzone ranges I have plenty of samples of Mantics restic and some of their plastics - elves and basileans. I also have a lot of fireforge, whfb and 40k stuff on sprue still so will happily get some scale comparisons of anythign people are interested in to help solve problems caused by restic. One that went down well was the Deadzone Rebel human trooper with the Eisenkern arms and rifle. The body was pretty good but the arms and gun didn't do it for me, turned out to look pretty damn awesome!

 Yonan wrote:
I took a dodgy scale comparison pic with some models that were to hand. The Basilean Elohi are definitely tall and with fairly slim proportions. A Space Marine comes up to their shoudlers.


edit: Added scale comparison for some heads from various ranges I had in my bits drawers. Can take better shots of any if they pique your interest. Have fireforge infantry and knights, wood elf archers, dark elves, dreamforge and maybe some others if you want any of those too but they're on sprue so didn't want to do it unless you were interested.

Maybe?

Azazelx, if you think 40k stuff might work, you might try Dark Eldar weapons from Wych kits, and the spears and such from Raider kits. Finding an armored left hand that looks like it belongs might be a bit of a trick though.

 Azazelx wrote:
They're tall, but their proportions are odd. I think "human-sized" WFB models would (probably) work okay. A space marine arm looks fine, for example. (And if I had a ton of SM arms with weapons that looked like medieval weapons rather than power weapons, I might have used those.)

Can you get a bunch of SM CC weapon arms and just snip off the weapons? The swords on the Basilean Men at Arms sprue are actually quite decent, and look good with the elohi.

Other than that, maybe some High Elf Silverhelm arms?

You could always go the comedy option and use some spare Dwarf Berserker arms.

Doh I misread Azas post as wanting head ideas not weapons -_-. Arms and weapons (and heads) seem to be the main things I don't like with restic minis. Is there a common theme of restic being less good for the smaller parts?

It's not recommended for any part 28mm or less.

He wants arms and weapons I think, which is why I linked the Ushabti.

As far as heads go.. I have no idea.

Thanks Yonan. I think I've got the head issue under control. Either Sanguinary heads, or perhaps some of the smaller-looking (and less sci-fi) Maxmini ones I've bought over the years.

Arms and weapons are the hard part for me now. I think any heroic WFB type stuff will work well.

I have plenty of that so I'll dig around tomorrow and take some pics. Even if you don't find it useful, I'm building a fair "scale comparison" gallery so happy to take it anyway... and think I might investigate doing the same. I really like the Elohi, but yeah... can always use improving!

I like(d) them too - enough to clean the torsos and plan to build and paint them. Heads are always easy to swap out. The arms and weapons though... euggh.

I have a suggestion that might be of use. Clean and perfect one set of arms and depending on how far you want to go - either use silicone to make molds or go with instantmold. I don't consider this recasting as you own the originals and it's for your own use. I've done this in one instance when I got miscast part of an OOP figure (confrontation specifically) and completed the figure by borrowing the specific arm from my collector friend. However since you want it for gaming, I'm not sure of how sturdy the part will be in GS or milliput.

 basement.dweller wrote:
I have a suggestion that might be of use. Clean and perfect one set of arms and depending on how far you want to go - either use silicone to make molds or go with instantmold. I don't consider this recasting as you own the originals and it's for your own use. I've done this in one instance when I got miscast part of an OOP figure (confrontation specifically) and completed the figure by borrowing the specific arm from my collector friend. However since you want it for gaming, I'm not sure of how sturdy the part will be in GS or milliput.

Use i piece of wire as the "Bone" of the limb and it should hold really really well. I have a Greenstuff tree on the base of one of my BoneJacks. That wire core keeps it together.

While I appreciate the thought here, gents. And I do have some resin and silicone, I don't yet have the confidence in my own skills to recast the arms (I need to sit down sometime and make a bunch of my own bases to start leaning that particular skillset), and frankly it's more effort than I want to put into these models anyway. Like, I'd be ok with paying someone to assemble the bloody things, or buying a box of fantasy figures that I can also use in KoW.

I am called the Sinful Hero, and I am a Restic Knight.

My friends, I beg you! Help me! Temptation purrs in my ear,"Conan! Pledge for Conan!"

They say they have conquered the foul material known as PVC, wringing detail from it's mishapen claws and smooth face... Can it be true? Have they possibly found the secret?

The price seems too good to be true. The masters appear to be of high quality. But there are things that worry me, worry me greatly. The basic mooks are never shown but from far away and in small size, several renders appear to have mistakes such as axes turned in odd directions, and they keep referring to the material as "plastic".

Am I being naive? Has Restic truly been tamed, and broken to the mold? I think back upon all the cries of "High quality plastic!"; remember the bare smooth faces, the broken brittle weapons, the cuts and gouges from cleaning the dread material; and I whimper...

Restic Knights! I call upon thee! Wherein does the answer lie? Are we no longer needed? Has Restic become...an ally? To stand with metal, resin, and HIPS? Or are these more honeyed words to poison our will?

Knights of Restic, you are my only hope.

Same here!

I'm mightly tempted, but at the same time something seems...off on this one.

And it might just be that I've been burned by "high quality boardgame plastic" (PVC) promises before?

 Alpharius wrote:
Same here!

I'm mightly tempted, but at the same time something seems...off on this one.

And it might just be that I've been burned by "high quality boardgame plastic" (PVC) promises before?

There's also something of a concern in that the King pledge now includes 150+ miniatures with 40 different sculpts (not including the scenery pieces and not accounting for larger than human miniatures) for a $135 pledge that also includes all of the normal board game components, which now includes 4 double sided game boards.

weeble1000 wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
Same here!

I'm mightly tempted, but at the same time something seems...off on this one.

And it might just be that I've been burned by "high quality boardgame plastic" (PVC) promises before?

There's also something of a concern in that the King pledge now includes 150+ miniatures with 40 different sculpts (not including the scenery pieces and not accounting for larger than human miniatures) for a $135 pledge that also includes all of the normal board game components, which now includes 4 double sided game boards.

As a point of reference, Bones I included over 230 miniatures for $100, with the large figures, familiars, scenery, and different colored miniatures added in. With no board game components in the package. They still delivered albeit very late.

Of course, they used a different formula of PVC and had quite a few more molds. Or could they use the old metal molds for some of them- I can't remember. Either way, these factors should be considered.

 Sinful Hero wrote:

weeble1000 wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
Same here!

I'm mightly tempted, but at the same time something seems...off on this one.

And it might just be that I've been burned by "high quality boardgame plastic" (PVC) promises before?

There's also something of a concern in that the King pledge now includes 150+ miniatures with 40 different sculpts (not including the scenery pieces and not accounting for larger than human miniatures) for a $135 pledge that also includes all of the normal board game components, which now includes 4 double sided game boards.

As a point of reference, Bones I included over 230 miniatures for $100, with the large figures, familiars, scenery, and different colored miniatures added in. With no board game components in the package. They still delivered albeit very late.

Of course, they used a different formula of PVC and had quite a few more molds. Or could they use the old metal molds for some of them- I can't remember. Either way, these factors should be considered.

And there are issues with Bones minis. Bones certainly have a place in the market, as the low price point, even at full retail, is a fair trade-off for the drop in quality. Sometimes you need 10 gnolls for an encounter and don't want to pay 50 for them.

 Alpharius wrote:
Same here!

I'm mightly tempted, but at the same time something seems...off on this one.

And it might just be that I've been burned by "high quality boardgame plastic" (PVC) promises before?

Tell me more. I haven't been following that campaign so far.

Got a sedition kickstarter pledge cheap from someone and put together the special characters and some monsters and stuff, It took me so long, that i will think twice to ever pledge on a kickstarter for a restic tabletop game (i have less problems with it if it is a boardgame).

 Azazelx wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
Same here!

I'm mightly tempted, but at the same time something seems...off on this one.

And it might just be that I've been burned by "high quality boardgame plastic" (PVC) promises before?

Tell me more. I haven't been following that campaign so far.

Well, so far it's PVC, board game, 150+ minis for $135(US) plus an undetermined amount of shipping. It starts at $15 and will be added to with expansions and unlocked stretch goals. They refer to it as a plastic campaign, have only shown renders and masters, and have not shown close ups on the generic mooks included.

 Sinful Hero wrote:

 Azazelx wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
Same here!

I'm mightly tempted, but at the same time something seems...off on this one.

And it might just be that I've been burned by "high quality boardgame plastic" (PVC) promises before?

Tell me more. I haven't been following that campaign so far.

Well, so far it's PVC, board game, 150+ minis for $135(US) plus an undetermined amount of shipping. It starts at $15 and will be added to with expansions and unlocked stretch goals. They refer to it as a plastic campaign, have only shown renders and masters, and have not shown close ups on the generic mooks included.

That is, of course, the formula.

Piggy back onto that the font of Kickstarter Exclusive content, early bird pledge levels, the rabid marketing, and the large amount invested into development and you've got the whole ball of wax.

You might as well call it Hyboricide.

Well, I guess I'm a member now.

I had put off dealing with any Restic for a while, including my Deadzone KS Rebs which had been sitting in a box since I got them.

Then a funny thing happened. I split a copy of Sedition Wars with a buddy to get the Vangaurd minis and I actually cleaned and painted the troopers.
Full Results here:
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/2015/01/sedition-wars-good-deal-for-patient.html
Not perfect (I missed some mold lines here and there) but they actually came out pretty good considering I just used my base colors and dip process.


Spoilered pic that was causing the thread to scroll sideways - RiTides

So I did the unthinkable.
I ordered another copy of Sedition Wars and now I've just about finished assembling my Rebs!

I've never quite experienced the same combination of emotions of really liking the miniatures and really hating the material. With the brass-brush technique, cleanup is a little easier, but these are still by far the most fiddly time-consuming figures to clean, and I remember the days when big metal models were the norm. I don't know if I'm a full on addict yet, but if there's another DZ kickstarter, I'll buy some more rebs and while I'd never pay full price for it, it's entirely possible I might buy a third Sedition Wars box (at the Amazon 27 buck price) to continue to grow my army.

All this to say, I can't see my self buying restic at reatail. It's just to much for not enough. However at KS and closeout prices, it's hard to resist great sculpts even if they come in an inferior material. Do I have a problem...

Where are you getting the brass brushes? I can't quite imagine what they look like.

 Wehrkind wrote:
Where are you getting the brass brushes? I can't quite imagine what they look like.

I get mine at Harbor freight. I think any hardware store would have them, but Harbor freight only charges 79 cents.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-3-8-eighth-inch-x-7-inch-brass-detail-brush-40441.html
I seem to have misplaced my brass brush and I've started using a steel one and it works just fine though I try to use a lighter touch.
The brass brush looks like this.


Spoilered pic that was causing the thread to scroll sideways - RiTides

Are the Raging Heroes troops considered Restic? It's resin of a sort, but spin-cast. Are you about to have to suffer my presence?

So many questions! Stay tuned for more!

 Eilif wrote:

 Wehrkind wrote:
Where are you getting the brass brushes? I can't quite imagine what they look like.

I get mine at Harbor freight. I think any hardware store would have them, but Harbor freight only charges 79 cents.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-3-8-eighth-inch-x-7-inch-brass-detail-brush-40441.html
I seem to have misplaced my brass brush and I've started using a steel one and it works just fine though I try to use a lighter touch.
The brass brush looks like this.

Woah! That's what I thought you meant at first, and brushed it off* as far too rough a method. How do you do it without abrading like half the model away? I am really curious now!



*yes, I am a dad, how did you know?

 Wehrkind wrote:

 Eilif wrote:

 Wehrkind wrote:
Where are you getting the brass brushes? I can't quite imagine what they look like.

I get mine at Harbor freight. I think any hardware store would have them, but Harbor freight only charges 79 cents.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-3-8-eighth-inch-x-7-inch-brass-detail-brush-40441.html
I seem to have misplaced my brass brush and I've started using a steel one and it works just fine though I try to use a lighter touch.

Woah! That's what I thought you meant at first, and brushed it off* as far too rough a method. How do you do it without abrading like half the model away? I am really curious now!

These brushes aren't actually that bad for minis. I've used brass and even steel brushes in stripping minis for quite some time and you don't lose detail if you use them sparingly.

Restic seems to be a material that is harder than regular plastic. If you really scrub hard you can mess it up, but a light brushing doesn't hurt the detail at all.

My second Sedition wars box just came in. I'll be trying the cut-then-brush method on the troopers and will report back as to how well it works

Mathieu, I made a similar post to this in another thread previously, but am bringing it in here and updating it:


There is a limited number of materials in which to have wargaming models cast, which should all be covered by the list below:

1. Hand Cast Resin (polyurethane, usually one of many varieties from a company called Smooth On). Labor intensive, so expensive unless you know someone who does it on the side (Wehrkind does it in his basement, highly recommended!). Quality can be very good but needs to be QC'ed for air bubbles and the like. The detail it can hold is incredible, and it can allow for undercuts that other methods cannot, due to it being cast from a flexible silicone mold. Forgeworld, Mierce Miniatures, and many other companies use this material / method.

2. Spincast Resin (aka Trollcast, a mix of different plastic materials). I actually know of no one else who does this but Ed at Trollforged, it is proprietary or at least a trade secret in many ways. It lets you get volume out of resin casting that is simply impossible with hand cast resin, and holds detail better than something like PVC. However, it also can be more brittle, and have more air bubbles at times. See example pictures here and here, since this is one of the rarer materials on the list.

3a. PVC. A type of injection molded plastic, which usually results in softer details than other materials on this list, and can also have harder to remove mold lines. Can be a good fit for some organic models. This material has lower start-up costs for making molds than doing so for High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) which is what is generally known as "hard plastic" that companies like GW / Malifaux (from WGF) use. PVC is also easier to remove from the mold, and so does not require as much expertise in model design and mold making. Reaper Bones material would fall under this category, although they have a proprietary mix, along with most board game models and all of CMON's Kickstarter projects.
3b. ABS. Recently the Wrath of Kings project by CMON had some weapons made from another type of injection molded plastic, ABS (the plastic that legos are made of). The results on these so far are largely similar to PVC. More to come as pictures come in.

4. HIPS (high-impact polystyrene, commonly just called polystyrene). The gold standard for a material that is easy to work with, but as noted under the PVC entry above, you have to sculpt with it in mind and can have much fewer undercuts than in hand cast resin. Start up costs and waiting time can also be massive (see the results of WGF's customers: Dreamforge, Kingdom Death, Malifaux). An extremely high level of expertise is required to be able to create models in this material.

5. Metal... the old faithful! Holds detail well, can be difficult to assemble, paint can chip... but it is still the best choice for some smaller companies, and Infinity still uses it exclusively! It is also stronger which helps with their finely-featured models.

As an overall note, each of these materials require someone good at their craft to create high quality miniatures out of. We've seen bad examples of HIPS models done by companies not as skilled as GW or WGF in making molds for them, for example. But you can have some indications of what to expect from the above list.


Hope that helps, Mathieu!

I was given a bunch of painted retribution jacks that are made of PVC, so I'm afflicted with the substance again. And the person who assembled them didn't clean a single mould line or remove any extra plastic at all. Ugh. Even at $0 I'm not sure I got a good deal

I'm definitely going to get a brass brush the next time I'm out and give it a try.


.