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Just got a Terminator Chaplain Finecast and god, is it worthless. The details are great, but the material is just so damn shoddy. I tried to cut out some flaws and ripped one of his legs off by accident. Anyone have any decent ways to file or trim the material without marring the details?

I don't think there's really any positive way for this topic to go. I'll just agree that I do not find it a desirable material to make models out of. I also was terrified of breaking things even while I was clipping the models out of the sprue. I just put a new blade in my hobby knife and tired to shave a little material off at a time.

Also, the detail does look good in my experience. I guess I may be lucky or the casting has improved a lot since it was introduced, because the only flaw I have ever had over 10+ models was a little bubble in my Ethereal's foot, which was invisible once I based the model anyway.

I've edited the title to be a bit less inflammatory.

I'm no fan of finecast in general, but I just got a hellcannon made from it, and it's light years better than the old metal one (which I suffered through assembling two of). It really depends on the application, but it's decent on larger models, imo, and more likely to have issues on smaller ones.

I only have one Finecast model, the Space Marine master executioner model.

Frankly it is poor, bubbles, bent bits and horribly warped axe.

Last time I buy anything with Finecast branding.

The sharper your knife is the better. My best experiences with Finecast have been the Incubi (though I stuck Sea Dragon cloaks on them so they're a little sturdier than bare Finecast) and Space Marine characters (which are solidly-built), if you're not looking at protruding thin bits of weapon or ribbon you're not usually going to have problems if you're careful.

Use forum search, there's already a plethora of threads about this.

Finecast has a reputation. Lets just say its not a good one.

My rangers were cringeworthy and my Jump Pack Chaos Lord is a disaster, but otherwise my Finecast models are okay. My Farseer had a bit bent swords though.

Yep, that's what you get when you buy finecast. Demand a refund, throw the model in the garbage where it belongs, and never make the mistake of buying finecast again.

 jreilly89 wrote:
Just got a Terminator Chaplain Finecast and god, is it worthless. The details are great, but the material is just so damn shoddy. I tried to cut out some flaws and ripped one of his legs off by accident. Anyone have any decent ways to file or trim the material without marring the details?

They still put that crap out? I thought they discovered that reinforced whipped cream being used as miniature material wasn't going over well and ditched it for plastic.

I ran into a couple issues with my Jump Pack Chaplain. First, for a $20 mini, it sure has a fair number of small bubbles. They were easily filled with a little Green Stuff, so whatever. But the number of injection feeds is just absurd. And they aren't even intuitive. On very large feed on the shoulder resulted in a large cut into the rim, basically unavoidable with how large it was. The amount of warping is unacceptable too. The Chaplain's Crozius, a fairly thick part, was warped. That, to me, means they aren't letting the resin cool adequately.

Relapse wrote:

 jreilly89 wrote:
Just got a Terminator Chaplain Finecast and god, is it worthless. The details are great, but the material is just so damn shoddy. I tried to cut out some flaws and ripped one of his legs off by accident. Anyone have any decent ways to file or trim the material without marring the details?

They still put that crap out? I thought they discovered that reinforced whipped cream being used as miniature material wasn't going over well and ditched it for plastic.

It's a transitional process. They'll make it eventually.

In the meantime enjoy your reinforced whipped cream that isn't $30 for a single-model blister.

 AnomanderRake wrote:
In the meantime enjoy your reinforced whipped cream that isn't $30 for a single-model blister.

Only because you can't buy models made with finecast.

own 1 finecast mini. The advice here is correct sharpest blade you can grab and take your time. The bigger issue for me has been the warping which continued over time to the point of me having to chop the thing up and redo the model myself.

Thanks guys. I picked the model up secondhand, so I'm not that worried about the pricetag. But part of his scroll got damaged and while cleaning it up, his leg broke off. On top of that, I think if I look at his Crozius wrong, it'll break. I'm tempted to rip it off and replace it with a Thunder Hammer proxy made of actual plastic.

 AnomanderRake wrote:

Relapse wrote:

 jreilly89 wrote:
Just got a Terminator Chaplain Finecast and god, is it worthless. The details are great, but the material is just so damn shoddy. I tried to cut out some flaws and ripped one of his legs off by accident. Anyone have any decent ways to file or trim the material without marring the details?

They still put that crap out? I thought they discovered that reinforced whipped cream being used as miniature material wasn't going over well and ditched it for plastic.

It's a transitional process. They'll make it eventually.

In the meantime enjoy your reinforced whipped cream that isn't $30 for a single-model blister.

I gave up on that after being burned on the first couple Finecast miniatures I bought and just started working conversions in metal and plastic.

I have a single finecast and he had zero flaws.
On the other hand its a Tau enforcer suit, meaning the think is as bulky as it gets for a finecast.

Honestly the material is meh, and the earlier runs where horrid casts.
The latest casts are actually pretty good. but there are still stocks of the old lousy ones of models that sell little, and most of the second-hand finecasts are like that too.

My advice is not to get finecast without inspecting the model before you pay. just too many of them are flawed.
Only if you know its a newer cast you can get it without worries.

Does anyone have experience with Finecast Terminator Librarians? Looking to pick one or two up and try my hand at some conversions with them.

I've had a finecast Crowe and ended up chopping off his blade because... it rolled up like a... fruit-by-the-foot. I still regret that purchase.

No, Jagger.

My only Fine-cast model is Sammael master of the Ravenwing on Jetbike. 50 bucks - bent sword - nothing fits where it should and even after 2 hours of careful shaving and gluing I'm going to need a huge amount of greenstuff to fill gaps. Not to mention there is a fair amount of bubbles in detail regions. Never been so dissatisfied with a miniature. You spend 50 bucks for a model you expect it to be capable of being made properly.

 Xenomancers wrote:
You spend 50 bucks for a model you expect it to be capable of being made properly.

THIS

but being honest, it's not just finecast. FW have sent me a lot of resin which doesn't fit together properly - including my warhound. (£317)

SirDonlad wrote:

 Xenomancers wrote:
You spend 50 bucks for a model you expect it to be capable of being made properly.

THIS

but being honest, it's not just finecast. FW have sent me a lot of resin which doesn't fit together properly - including my warhound. (£317)

Yep, My friend has a FW hydra with bent cannons. Only conclusion I can draw is that the material they use warps with time or with heat. There is no way they are boxing up bent pieces like that and think it's acceptable.

The axe-shaft on a Librarian snapped after I'd bent it back a couple of times.
So, I hot-water bent the halves back into shape, and drilled into it. It's possible to pin Finecast, but be careful when drilling.

Are you aware that FW is actually a couple of designers + guyz casting miniatures. Their quality varies greatly as they have no mass production.

Just call and get a replacement.