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The reported goal of GW was to go over to Plastic completely, Finecast was an interim product. So this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

I don't see Special Characters being too well covered though. A box with 2 or 3 like the recent End Times ones might work but that was part of a larger kit?

I have to ask - does anyone know is it not possible to cast the previously please don't bypass the language filter like this. Reds8n figures in plastic?? Even if they have to make a new type of mould to cast in plastic, I'm presuming that they still have the master sculpts.....surely it wouldnt be too hard a thing to switch over all the ICs, old figs etc that they tried to flog in see previous comments.

I still prefer finecast to metal in pretty much every way.
I mean its crap resin, but metal is just so awful to work with.

Glad its going away though.

What are the chances of them actually going to proper resin?

Yeah, I've never bought a bad model in Finecast. I did always check the model over before buying though. I've bought plenty of poorly cast FoW and 20mm WW2 tanks in the past though.

It is something to be said of Finecast in that it replicates the workability of plastic somewhat. Trying to remove flash/miscast/vents from a brittle resin can be a bit hit or miss. Finecast cuts more like a plastic.

 Januine wrote:
I have to ask - does anyone know is it not possible to cast the previously cast figures in plastic?? Even if they have to make a new type of mould to cast in plastic, I'm presuming that they still have the master sculpts.....surely it wouldnt be too hard a thing to switch over all the ICs, old figs etc that they tried to flog in cast to plastic.......

Not really possible. Finecast/metal will use softer rubber mold which in turn allow undercutting and more dynamic posing.

Plastic molds are metal and do not have the give needed to drop out more fully formed character models, at least not ones with good poses.

With such different processes the Masters would have to be redone. Basically its a big Time/Cost exercise that is unlikely to be of benefit on models with limited future sales i.e. everyone probably has one already. Better to produce a new model/version that would have better sales.

Ahhhh - cheers. Thx for the expln.

Mymearan wrote:
Resin is extremely common, since it's the best way to do smaller production runs, so basically anyone who isn't one of the big dogs. No need to look further than the front page of this very forum to see several companies who produce resin stuff!

I meant the big guys. Warmachine, Bolt Action, Infinity... I figure a lot of Kickstarter stuff is resin, but can you name a big, established system that uses the stuff?

Hmm... This might make me consider buying that Lord Commissar model I never got around to buy. I never really got around to use him but if I ever do, I'll be damned if I end up using that fugly plastic Commissar they released recently.

 Kosake wrote:

Mymearan wrote:
Resin is extremely common, since it's the best way to do smaller production runs, so basically anyone who isn't one of the big dogs. No need to look further than the front page of this very forum to see several companies who produce resin stuff!

I meant the big guys. Warmachine, Bolt Action, Infinity... I figure a lot of Kickstarter stuff is resin, but can you name a big, established system that uses the stuff?

PP has several miniatures in resin, most of their larger models have most components made from resin.

And the same thing happens with Dystopian Wars.

Oh, okay. Nevermind then.

Still, failcast going the way of the squats is a good thing i'd say.

I'm with Notprop on this one. When people talk about finecast problems, I'm left scratching my head at the fuss they're making. I stopped playing GW games about 2 years ago, and when I did play, I must have bought at least a dozen finecast products, and I never once had a problem. Maybe I was lucky?

I call it gak cast.
(Sorry, can't bypass the language filter)
This is great news!!!
GW is switching to all plastic!!


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 Januine wrote:
I have to ask - does anyone know is it not possible to cast the previously please don't bypass the language filter like this. Reds8n figures in plastic?? Even if they have to make a new type of mould to cast in plastic, I'm presuming that they still have the master sculpts.....surely it wouldnt be too hard a thing to switch over all the ICs, old figs etc that they tried to flog in see previous comments.

I see reds8n edited your post. Don't feel bad, its happened to me too.

 Kosake wrote:

Mymearan wrote:
Resin is extremely common, since it's the best way to do smaller production runs, so basically anyone who isn't one of the big dogs. No need to look further than the front page of this very forum to see several companies who produce resin stuff!

I meant the big guys. Warmachine, Bolt Action, Infinity... I figure a lot of Kickstarter stuff is resin, but can you name a big, established system that uses the stuff?

Not sure if you consider them "big" or not, but Dropzone Commander is almost entirely (except 4/5 of the starter packs and the infantry) in resin. I've not had any issues with any of their models.

What was the last new GW release that was Finecast?

I really hope this is true. They have improved the quality since it came out, but its still prone to having bubbles and flaws in detailed areas. The only downside I could see is if they narrow the miniature line and only produce the "major" characters.

 Kosake wrote:
Question, does anyone else in the buisness use anything like that? I'm no expert on other systems, but when I look around I see either plastic or metal. FW stuff and Failcast are the only products that spring to mind as resin-based by design (and not by recasters).

Yep, they sure do, and any of the resin stuff I've bought off other companies like Kromlech has been flawless. Not 100% where GW went wrong with their resin, but word is it that they retained their metal moulds when they switched to finecast, as a cost-saver, and this was the cause of some if not all of the problems.

SpyderG6 wrote:
I really hope this is true. They have improved the quality since it came out, but its still prone to having bubbles and flaws in detailed areas. The only downside I could see is if they narrow the miniature line and only produce the "major" characters.

I actually just put together my third finecast model ever (the tau link in my blog sig link below) and gave it a C+ overall compared with the previous F with the initial release. It's still much more prep work than resin from other companies including Forgeworld let alone metals. I don't have huge bubbles the size of pencil erasers like before but I still have plenty of uneven corners, gaps, and smaller bubbles that need fixing, most of which I didn't have to worry about previously with GW models.

Oooh, interesting.

I actually have to honestly see this bad news IMO.

The plastic clampack models are so characterless and overpriced that even with finecast being pretty gakky it was and is still far, far better than what we have now.

 sing your life wrote:
I actually have to honestly see this bad news IMO.

The plastic clampack models are so characterless and overpriced that even with finecast being pretty gakky it was and is still far, far better than what we have now.

"Character" is subjective.

And I just searched Citadel Finecast Sprue, and I found
A HIVE TYRANT OUT OF FINECAST?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
No way!

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:
And I just searched Citadel Finecast Sprue, and I found
A HIVE TYRANT OUT OF FINECAST?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
No way!

Hive Tyrant is a plastic kit.

 sing your life wrote:
I actually have to honestly see this bad news IMO.

The plastic clampack models are so characterless and overpriced that even with finecast being pretty gakky it was and is still far, far better than what we have now.

The general crappyiness of the clampack plastics is independent of the crappyiness of finecast. One isn't directly the cause for the other. GW could have either chosen to properly QA their resin offerings instead of letting ridiculously badly cast stuff out the door in droves like with the initial roll out and they could have actually come up with plastic kits that had some semblance of customization and value (like the space marine commander kit). I know you're not claiming otherwise but I figured I'd stress that neither the plastics nor finecast had to be so crappy.

 ClockworkZion wrote:

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:
And I just searched Citadel Finecast Sprue, and I found
A HIVE TYRANT OUT OF FINECAST?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
No way!

Hive Tyrant is a plastic kit.

It is now, but I found this:

When I searched 'Hive Tyrant Finecast'

That's the old model.

It appears that GW did finecast A LOT for years.

Above: You can't tell what you're supposed to cut out on this sprue.

This looks less gakky.

Above: How do you cut them out? Especially without breaking anything?
Look at how uneven things are.

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 pretre wrote:
That's the old model.

Oh, I know.


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This one looks OK, but do you really need to hold the emblem in place that aggressivley?


And a finecast painboy with finecast grot orderly.

When will the switch from finecast to plastic happen?

Those aren't actually bad examples. They have flash and a large number of vents but at least they don't have bubbles the size of a figures head obliterating detail. Or missing or twisted sprues. The first NIB finecast model I ever saw opened was a space marine librarian with half the head of the staff missing due to a bubble along with part of the book that goes on his hump miscast and unfixable.

The emblem isn't being held in place aggressively, that's all venting. Likely because it's a shape that looks prime to trap air bubbles.

Yeah the little vents aren't a problem as Finecast actually cuts well with a blade compared to other more brittle resins.

 warboss wrote:
Those aren't actually bad examples. They have flash and a large number of vents but at least they don't have bubbles the size of a figures head obliterating detail. Or missing or twisted sprues. The first NIB finecast model I ever saw opened was a space marine librarian with half the head of the staff missing due to a bubble along with part of the book that goes on his hump miscast and unfixable.

I always wonder if any sort of QC exists for Finecast they can't possibly be checking them and saying "Well the feet are twisted and gnarled like a terrier had it's way with them and the face has a giant bubble on it but it's a pass!"