(Y.A.G. - yet another giveaway at the end of this post!)
Finecast summary
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| A perfect example of a perfectly fine finecast cast. (Source Games Workshop ) |
We all remember the big outcry and flood of ridicule Games Workshop had to endure when they released Finecast miniatures. The argument GW used at the time was something along these lines: "White metal has gotten too expensive, therefore we will now release Finecast models". It seemed only natural, following this logic, to increase prices at the same time...
This is what the official GW site has to say about Finecast:
"Our Citadel Finecast models are the latest step in hobby evolution, providing you with incredibly detailed, high-quality resin kits to bolster your army. Painting and modelling Citadel miniatures has never been as rewarding as this. Click on one of the game system logos below to see the full range of Citadel Finecast miniatures."
Looks good on paper, err, the monitor, doesn't it (you could print this page and check whether it also looks good on paper).
I only bought a hand-full of finecast models so far. Two were absolutely perfect, the others were... well, not so good. I went to return them in the store (which GW will gladly do for you, which is awesome) and with the store manager we checked the complete stock on hand for an acceptable model - and after opening 6 packages actually found one. I used to buy up to 20 limited (white metal) GD models when visiting the events (my retirment fund), now I usually only get two.
Finecast - is it good or bad?
I have seen some excellent finecast miniatures. And I have seen stuff that I would be ashamed to sell and angry to have bought.
Basically, results on finecasts were hit-or-miss. You may get lucky and get an awesome cast which is far superior to the whitemetal minis and the next time you get something that only fits a nurgle themed army. Total Wargamer wrote a nice side-by-side comparison of Finecast to White Metal back in 2011. Others, such as the excellent site Chest of Colors reported of less encouraging results.
Many hobbyists came up with helpful tutorials on how to work with Finecast on platforms such as YouTube, Blogs and so on.
For some reason I was under the impression that Games Workshop had resolved their initial Finecast challenges.
For some reason I was under the impression that Games Workshop had resolved their initial Finecast challenges.
Recent developments - Finecast bans
Recently, there are voices again complaining about the quality of Finecast products.
Some of the top commission painters actually banned finecasts from their list of accepted commission models. Well-known commission painter Arsies wrote on his Facebook page, after refusing finecast commissions on his site:
"Some people asked me in past weeks why i'm not accepting finecast works. Please allow me to paste here the last reply I gave to them:
I'm not accepting finecast works because this material is very difficult to work on. My prices are the same for almost all 30mm mianitures, but in finecast I need one extra day just to clean and repair the miniature, it's harder to work on and painting job doesn't reach same quality level as plastic or white metal (I don't know why) so as i don't want to charge an extra 25% for finecast miniatures to give customers a lower quality work - I just don't accept them."
And now, one of the biggest commission painting studios, Fantasygames followed suit with a flat-out-ban of all Finecast commission models:
"Hello, after assembling Hellcanon I decieded today to BAN all commissions with GW FINECAST. I don't want to get anger when I have to prepare minis to paint. I returned to many of them. It cost me a lot of nerves and energy and final effect is always worse than with metal or plastic miniatures. So I don't want to charge more for lower quality miniatures. Please do not ask me about painting FINECAST miniatures. Ctan."Ctan also shows you why:
Heaven, I don't even know what this is supposed to be. Definitely NOT the result of increased "Quality Control." :D
And yesterday, atacams followed by banning all Finecast comissions.
"Following on from a few other painters. we will no longer be accepting commissions of Finecast. For me, it was because today I have had to tell a customer the 3rd miniature they have sent me will cost the commission again to rectify the atrocious miscasts and bubbles in prep time. Sorry if this causes any inconvenience."These are just a few examples out of many commission painters and showcase painters that just "don't do finecast no mo'".
GW's return policy works
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| Return policy - a strong point with GW |
One thing that works really well, though, is the curteous return policy for Finecast (or any other faulty product for that matter) that GW offers. They will gladly replace your item with a new one. My personal experience as a customer has always been very good - both in the store as well as on the phone with the mail order.
The one thing that I don't get is that this must be frakking expensive for GW. I know of people who had to return their finecast models 5, 6 or even 7 times until they got a decent one. As a business person at heart, this makes me cringe and convulse uncontrollably. This just cannot be cost effective - and image-wise its a nightmare.
Of course, some people pride themselves of abusing the system and claiming faulty products only to receive a 'second' mini for the price of one (you usually don't need to send back stuff you ordered from the mail-order). Again, such waste makes me weep bitter tears of Business 101 classes.
I don't know what the Gamers among you have to say about this, but as a painter I feel that Finecast is just 'not there yet'. Especially when you consider that all these extra krispy kickstarters and indigogos deliver really well cast resin miniatures (that don't even melt in your mouth, not just not in your hand).
My personal opinion on Finecast's future
For some reason I am usually pretty good with my predictions, so here it comes: Finecast will be replaced with an all-plastic range in the (hopefully not so far) future. The individual models sold as plastic are absolutely gorgeously perfect. And cheaper. Noone does them better than Games Workshop. Noone.
I just hope that its sooner than later.
Must be love :D
GIIIVEAWAYYYY ALERT!
So what do you think? What are your experiences with Finecast miniatures? Do you still buy them? Don't you? How were they??
I would be interested to get as many comments from Finecast buyers as possible to get a comprehensive 'state of the Galaxy'.
Comment below and you could win a great looking Finecast miniature as a giveaway prize! I promise that I will find one! :D
And if you like giveaways, don't forget you can win a Workshop with GD UK 2012 Slayer Sword Winner Karol Rudyk here.
Have a great weekend, guys (and gals)!
Thank you for this rundown on the subject. Personally I've bought four or five Finecast models so far, mostly GD and other limited stuff... I had no blotched model so far, all were fine or at least acceptable, but where I definitely can agree, it takes a lot more time to clean them up... combine this with the high price and, well... I do not mind buying Finecast but when I can up with some alternative in plastic or metal, I take those...
ReplyDeleteI refuse to buy them as almost every one has had a defect, yeah they return them but like you said, finding one that is any better is almost pointless. I how ever do buy up the plastic blister kits, as they are stunning, but also they don't leave much room for alteration unless you go all out in cutting and converting. I hope you are right about an all plastic range, then I could go back to knowing what I am buying :)
ReplyDeleteI bought some finecast miniatures but only in a shop in my hometown because there I was able to look at the blisters but nevertheless there was a lot of work to repair the miniatures inside. Sometimes i saw horrible casts and so i would never order a finecast miniature online because i´m afraid of what i will receive.
ReplyDeletebest regards
Darkezekiel
I find the newer casts have been alright.. but any old recasts from metal are terrible!
ReplyDeleteOften with older metal casts flawed are carried over & *cannot* be rectified without a new mold
I've bough a few Finecast models and only really had a problem with one of them. The The Hive Tyrant was perfect, the Lictor did have some excessive mold lines on one arm but was otherwise good. The Zoanthrope was the only real problem because the Finecast is not strong enough, the small join at the base cannot support the weight of the model and it snapped easily.
ReplyDeleteThe Finecast itself is easy to work with and glues much better than metal.
As it stands I prefer plastic, avoid metal as much as I can and am not put off by Finecast.
I *M*U*S*T* win...
ReplyDeleteNot because I need another GW-Miniature,
my god, I have enough of them and more, I can paint in my lifetime.
But I want see a perfect Finecastminiature... only one... only once!
My experience with finecast... öhm ....look:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/269889_204969182883911_5197273_n.jpg
And now, I want get back my confidence,
that there will be a perfect finecast-miniature outthere....
O.M.G. - that pic. It cannot be made unseen!
DeleteThat's the worst I have ever seen.
I guess Quality Control was buzzed.
What the heck was it supposed to be, besides a dead model split in two from a greatsword!
DeleteThat was my first experience with finecast,
Deleteit was an DarkEldar-Unit, all 5 of them were split.
BUT GW was very fast to send me a new box,
they said, they have searched out the 5 models out of 5 different boxes to make 1 good unit,
good means here, the quality was "ok".
I tried a second time finecast, a necronlord,
and the quality was also very, very bad....
So I decieded for me, not to buy any finecast anymore,
but... the new hobbit-miniatures...all finecast....
hope, I cant resist!
Alrite kidda! I have only ever bought 3 different finecast models and they were all shocking quality, I have been trying to buy illuminor Szeras models for a golden demon project now for the last 2 years, iv tried buying the models on 3 different occasions, the last occasion started 3 1/2 months ago, I bought 2 copies, in that time I have rejected 8 copies of the model, it takes about 3-4 weeks for a new return to be sent out (you do actually have to return the original model to get a replacement, although it is a free post return), in those 3 1/2 months GW has managed to, lose my return, sent me one model back instead of 2, sent me a model they new to be flawed "the model has a few air bubbles in so we have sent you some liquid green stuff because its an easy fix" (its not even the air bubbles that am arsed it, its the horrible grainy texture that takes hours and hours to sand smooth) and iv been told that models sent out to me were "of a standard GW would consider acceptable" when the models weren't they were piss poor to say the least. Currently I have been waiting over 2 weeks now for my latest return, I had to send them samples of a good cast and a bad cast so they could tell the difference, the examples are currently with the factory, they are currently attempting to create a cast I would deem acceptable, I have been told not to accept better than I have received so far.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to see pictures of finecast models I have rejected check out my post on PB, http://www.platoonbritannica.com/index.php?threads/illuminor-szeras-finecast-issues.2689/#post-44869
And the really nice models are all in findecast now.... :(
DeleteI gave up after the first time, to get a new model instead the old one,
I have hidden the finecast-models deep in my hobbyroom,
so noone can find them and never, really never, the model can find back his way to the daylight.
The only thing, you can do with them. :(
And by the way, your link does not work without beeing in the britannica-forum.
Being member of the forum does not change the fact that that link is broken. ;)
Deletetry http://www.platoonbritannica.com/index.php?threads/illuminor-szeras-finecast-issues.2689/
Deletealthough the other link works for me!
Nope, does not work. Searching for illuminor also only gives me your WIP thread link of the converted dude...
DeleteBut what you write in your comment about your experience with Finecast models and how GW deals with them makes me sad. Especially considering that 'paid return postage' is probably more expensive than the whole production of the mini.
Nice article covering off most points.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have mixed views on Finecast. Firstly, I have yet to purchase a Finecast model that I have thought was worse cast than any metal mini's I have ever bought. Yes, you still get mould lines and the occasional mould slip (I'm not denying that), but that occurred just as much on metal mini's and is even more time consuming and difficult to fix.
I have seen plenty of examples online of Finecast miniatures with horrible mottled surfaces too. Again though, this also happened with metal mini's and oddly people made very little fuss and rarely returned such figures.
I think because there is a disconnect between the marketing messaging of Finecast and the (apparent - there are significantly less people vocally complaining than are buying mini's afterall) average quality of what is being produced, that people tend to take a more negative view of the product than it actually deserves.
The biggest negative for me is the fact that thinner pieces have a lot of flex - too much in fact - making them highly prone to bending and staying bent.
However, I will always prefer it over metal as a material for miniature casting. Metal miniatures are such a pain to clean up since even removing mould lines requires significantly more physical effort than is needed to remove them from resin. It is also far easier to see the surface quality on resin/Finecast than it is on metal and far, far easier to cut miniatures up to convert and repose them.
I don't see GW replacing it with an entirely plastic only range - as good as the plastic kits are and as far as the technology has come, it is still a far more expensive and limiting medium for casting models (inability to handle undercuts etc that metal/resin casting can).
I do however agree that either some kind of change or refinement will be made to either the material or the casting processes. As I understand it, the current implementation was purely a material switch, though the actual casting process itself remains much the same. I'm not sure how much impact a change to the process would make on average quality, but I imagine its something they will investigate.
Cheers,
CMDante
This is quite a late response - but why not? I've now purchased three finecast models from various ranges - my first was bought second hand, (witch king foot and mounted, LotR) and the witch king on foot was in a frame (like many) and the frame was completely filled in with a thin layer of resin. It did come off fairly easily, but left some ugly mould lines. Fortunately, I already had the metal version, and it was the mounted figure I was buying it for.
DeleteThe second was the white council (hobbit) and galadriel came with no nose, which completely ruined the model's appearance. As I was originally buying the £40 set for just that figure, I got a replacement which is a beautiful figure.
The third model I got was the Wood elf spellcaster with staff (warhammer) and it has a few air bubbles in - although I'm not going to get this replaced because I can fill them in and I don't want to wait four weeks. it's mainly a good model - except for the problem i've had with all the models:
Cleaning them up is nigh on impossible in some places. It's not always clear where the model ends and the waste begins (such as at the end of hair strands and weapons - and many of the struts are in pieces that my tools just can't get to cleanly. With the metal waste - sure it was harder to physically get rid of the mould lines, but at least they were in places you COULD do it.
As for going all-plastic, the methods are getting a lot better - and the more recent multi-part plastic heroes/lords have at least as much detail as the old metal models. I know that finecast can create beautifully detailed figures when everything goes right, but plastic is much more reliable, in my opinion. Also, I believe that with the plastic, they can reuse faulty casts? I know they could with the metal, but they cannot with the resin.
While I love Games Workshop, and they do make fantastic miniatures (and paints!) - they've been making some bad decisions lately. My other problem is really not relevant - but the Hobbit/LotR has not had any articles in White Dwarf for 7 months now, despite a press statement last year that it was absolutely as important as the other two systems to GW.
But yeah. finecast is OK. I like the weight of the new models. But it's not fun to work with, I'm in constant fear of cutting off the wrong piece!
Great article! I'm so glad other painters have issues with Finecast and that its not just me! It's nice to hear a professional come out and say that the quality is sometimes too poor to work with. I've said that in the past and have been told by GW fanatics that I 'obviously just don't know how to clean up miniatures properly'.
ReplyDeleteI have only bought about three miniatures in Finecast and all of them had defects (though admittedly, this was in the very early days).
I then bought the Nurgle Lord in plastic and have never looked back - he was perfect!
I'll still paint Finecast if I'm asked, but do hate the extra time it takes to clean up some of the models - luckily most of my 'customers' agree with my views and will do everything they can to buy metal or plastic minis from GW!
I just can't understand why there are still issues with it when finding miscasts and bubbles in other companies' resin miniatures is a relatively rare thing (unless I've just been extremely lucky!).
Cheers for the fantastic blog!
I have banned myself from buying any further finecast products as they only give me frustration and anger. There are some great models I would buy if only they were released in plastic. Also with current pricing being near 'boutique' levels it can be better to find an alternative resin mini which will have a near perfect cast and often be a better sculpt too. I wish GW would move to plastic only - they do that very, very well.
ReplyDeleteIve bought five finecast units to date- well, 3 were gifts, but still- and two of them resulted in the models being basically useless to me as they seemed to be incased in carbonite.
ReplyDeleteThe other three werent bad, and overall I wasnt displeased with the quality of the minis. They had more flash on them than the white metal did, and more contact points with the mold, wich was just a pain in the arse. Ive also found they break alot easier, much to the dismay of one of my warlocks.
Overall Id rather have metal, every time. Im sad that GW went this route, and I hope they either do an actual resin or switch back to white metal.
I bought one Finecast mini and it was totally crapy. I never bought one again and I won't. But I am often taking finecast blisters and look at the mini inside. Sometimes they're ok - not good but ok - most of the time they are not worth the money and I dont know how GW can live with this image loss. As a Communication designer I learned a thing or two about branding, corporate identity and how important it is to match your reputation with the actual product. Gw is doing pretty stupid things atm if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteI believe that GW will go towards only plastic models. And it will be a good direction ...
ReplyDeleteColoured Dust
i have a number of them and they look and paint
ReplyDeletefabously, but are to fragile as weapons keep snapping or breaking along the joints or handles
bring back the metal models or improve the finecast otherwise i will be put off buying gw's crap offerings i say
I'm buying only what I "must" - essentially ONLY finecast miniatures for my main WFB army - vc. And they are thoroughly checked before picking them up. No other finecasts for me, at least so far.
ReplyDeleteI think fine-cast miniatures aren't so much of a 'fail-cast' as they initial starting point, but still lack the clean and precise edges and models we expect from games workshop, as we are used to seeing much higher standards.
ReplyDeleteI think you guys have a great of summing it up, and hope to see more reviews of various products of GW and how they compare, keep it up! :D
Models i bought were actually miraculously fine! I did check my later purchases as i became aware of the issue, but i was definitely very lucky! My friend though had a chaplain with his crozius arcanum bend so much it was ridiculous.
Here is how my finecast experience went. My Dark Eldar were aweful, but they were the first range done in fine cast so I was willing to wait for improvement. Then my Necrons were a bit better, but still require a ton of work. My 25th anniversary marine was almost flawless though! From my POV, it seemed to be improving but it is still way too inconsistent to spend good money on. Besides, converting is more fun!
ReplyDeleteI am on the fence concerning the finecast models for commissions. I have done a few now, and they weren't terrible, but they were bent out of shape bit. I have stated to the clients that I will only do basic repairs to it, unless they want to pay extra. Currently I have a mephiston on my desk that is in actually really good shape overall! Much better than the 2 arjacs I have done recently.
ReplyDeleteWill I do more? Well, I am not in the pro category for commission work, so I can still do a few. I like the challenge at times, but I always give the same warning as above, and if the client is still OK with it, then I go ahead. The ones I have for myself though, I probably won't buy anymore. As they are a bit too fragile, and some of the pieces snap off too easily, and don't go back together as nicely afterwards!
Good luck to whomever gets a "perfect" finecast model!
I'm about to start workin on two Finecast miniatures for a customer. I decided it would be best that I ordered the figures for him, so that I could swap them if needed. Guess what? I'll have to swap both.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to make things clear to GW is to keep swapping the figures until you have a good one (or have parts enough to construct a good one), that will hurt them a lot more than simply stopping to buy this.
But I already made the decision not to buy Finecast anymore for myself, but I will keep doing Finecast commissions...
So far I only bought one. A Necron overlord.
ReplyDeleteIn the store I went through the entire inventory and selected the best looking, most flawless I found.
After arriving home I opened it and I could check it more, I threw it in the corner, it's there ever since. I simply didn't want to resculpt whole sections.
Most write that FC is shit because of the bubbles. I for one don't care about that all resin casts have some, I can deal with that, but when a resculpt is needed... I don't wanna do it.
On a side note a part of the overlord broke off when I was checking. As I didn't know which part I opened the codex to find the part on the painted model. Suprise it wasn't there. The 'EM painted model is broken in the exact same place in the exact same way.
At this point I gave up and that mini remained my one and only FC model.
Now the plastic monopose singles... I love them, they are detailed, not miscast and generally look good.
Bought one finecast female vampire and it wasn't too bad. Parts of the bones on the collar were miscast but other than that it was pretty decent. I do tend to avoid it though with all the horror stories I keep hearing. I don't live very close to any GW stores so I can't actually look first so I would have to gamble with an online purchase and don't need the hassle of returns and what not in my life. On another note, the new sculpts are getting really childish for my tastes as I got into warhammer because of the dark and gothic fluff, where as the new doesn't look dark and gothic anymore. Maybe it's just I lack the vision to see past the GW paint jobs, but for me the direction is lost in the woods being chased by bucktoothed hicks wielding banjo's.
ReplyDeleteExcellent article Zaphod,
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think my recent whining had something to do with it.
I've already stopped buying finecast...but I think I'll definitely start charging more for painting and assembling it.
No-one should end up paying for a mini that's not conform to the standards of quality one should expect from the leader of the industry...GW will agree with this argument but they'll keep selling you bad molds if they can get away with it.
Unfortunately finecast has a history in this matter...and its a history that goes on to this day.
I bought Pedro Kantor and I had to swap it 2 times with moderate success concerning the qualtity. But the big problem was, that at all three miniatures had the exactly same casting failures.
ReplyDeleteI think if you plan to buy a miniature, which won´t sold that often, you have to swap until you get one of a new casting session/load.
I think GW has casted one load of that specific miniature all with same mistake.
I dont know how many numbers of minaitures had been casted in a single load, but with that problematic casting, I think I could have swaped the miniatur 10 times and wouldn´t experience a significant change of a overall quality
I've only bought one finecast so far (Huron Blackheart). The quality was great, but that is because I bought it in the store so I could look over it before I bought it. Can't do that if you look online. I absolutely prefer plastic because it just feels more sturdy and smooth. The points on his iron halo have become bent slightly while waiting to be painted. I wouldn't be against getting more finecast in the future, but I would be much more willing to pay $20 for a single mini if it was plastic.
ReplyDeleteI've not bought any Finecast for myself, although I've painted quite a few for clients.
ReplyDeleteActually, check that. I bought myself the Samael on Jetbike model in Finecast. It looks awesome and only had one or two very, very small bubbles that will be hidden by his robe when he's done. Annoyingly, at some point I lost the eagle on the front of the bike, so it's all ready to paint except for that one, missing piece. I keep hoping it will turn up, but suspect the dog may have eaten it...
Anyway, I've had mixed results, but nothing that took more than half an hour's extra work to fix. I've never felt moved to take one back to GW. But I do agree that their plastic character models are vastly, vastly superior and some of the nicest models out there for building and painting. Recently I did the plastic Lich King and just had so much fun painting it that I went out and bought another, just for myself:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/321072
Hi everyone, Rich (Grifter) all the way from South Africa. I have been a fan of GW for years not only for the excellent kits but because it's pretty much the only stuff we get out here!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen fine cast was released I was hope full for better minis and cheaper prices!
To keep this brief and not long winded!! FINECAST has been a monumental business failure. I refuse to buy FINECAST as I cannot go through the lengthy period of waiting for replacements and the bitterness of opening a mini you have looked forward to, only to find...lI LOVED NURGLE COMPARISON!!!
In numerous emails to them discussing there poor business model, poor quality finecasts and incredibly expensive prices....we now have word of a temporary suspension of stock to south Africa all together!!! IT'S SAD DAYS HERE IN SA!!
When a product failure borders on global, should the right business decision be, to recall, suspend, and improve before a re-release of FINECAST?
Let me extend a biiiig hello to South Africa :D Welcome to masterminis!
DeleteQuick question: Does the SA suspension just involve Finecast or all GW product?
Helllloooo! I thought with such a successful blog you wouldn't read all your entries. Awesome! Unfortunately it's EVERYTHING! I can't even get a copy of white dwarf? We are currently two months into the suspension and I recently informed by GW, that they have no idea when they will recommence shipments. It's so sad, I am passionate painter, and have been doing so for 10 years now. BUT I can't even get my hands on a riptide, or any kits for that matter.
DeleteHonestly, as an ork payer, I haven't done too many finecast models for myself. But I have helped a friend or two with them. The upside to them is customizing them. Kitbashing is so much easier on resin than metal. What I hate are the stubborn bends in the resin and the bubbles. Spending extra time scraping up the model, filling it in is just ore time not being fielded. So I find it as a fair trade off.
ReplyDeleteHarder to finish But easier to make your own.
Well, it might sound strange, but I do not have ANY finecast model in my armies. I have seen them and some of them I really like, but no one will tell me that plastic or any other material is better than metal. Maybe they are multi part, are easier to work with in terms of conversions and sculpting, but still I hate them. To much work with bubbles and other staff, and to high price for these kind of material.
ReplyDeleteFor now most of my models are metal or plastic, but not (as we call it in Poland) FAILcast.
Greetings to all :)
Tom
my only finecast figure I have painted was a oger mage with a big flame. Surfaces like sandpaper, material like warm butter, bubble holes all over the bottom of the figure...
ReplyDeleteI want the old champion figures back. Finecast is only expensive crap!
I personally have had very few issues with finecast. I had to return one Ogre model due to a bad bubble but when I have approximately 14 finecast kits in my collection to date I don't think its that too bad. I do however know people who has had MUCH worse problems, so perhaps I am just lucky?
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't understand with it all is how FW, a sister company to GW, can have such high quality mini's made of resin yet GW still struggle? Surely they could just use the same resin as FW? Yes some of the bigger parts of FW models can warp slightly as they cool but on the whole they are brilliant quality.
I have only bought one Finecast miniature...after four tries at my local shop, I eventually got one that was semi-decent. I will not buy any more....I now paint less, play less, have not started or updated an army with Finecast (I used to paint a new army each year). This does mean that I am working through my backlog of projects, but my money is not flowing into GW coffers as it once did. I can't be the only one...
ReplyDeleteYou are not. Many people have been looking at other companies. I know GW got most - if not all of us into the hobby, but I believe that as we grow and change as hobbyists, painters and gamers we may be outgrowing GW. Make no mistake; they are a good gateway company, but a far cry from what they once were.
DeleteI've had mixed results with finecast - A succubus without a nose and lower jaw, and a DA chapter master with almost no mold lines. I have a friend who need 3 boxes of Incubi just to make 5 usable models.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the size of GW, this level of quality control isn't acceptable, and I won't buy finecast (I'm bidding on old pewter instead). Hopefully they fix this sooner than later.
I bought a few Finecast models and was completely unimpressed by them. The release of Finecast marked the end of my love affair with GW. I've all but stopped buying their models. A kit here or there, but definitely not like the old days. And I'm only buying plastics.
ReplyDeleteI agree that their customer service is great, but the fact that they can send 6+ Finecast minis to get you one you can use just tells me it costs them a lot less to make them, which then makes me ask, "Why does the same mini in Finecast now cost MORE?!?!?!?!"
Maybe that's how they can send out so many. However, I refuse to pay more for a model that will take 4-5 times as long to prep or six tries to get it right.
I too have heard the rumors that all plastic kits are in the future, and I hope it's true and very soon. Although I'm sure that news will come with a price increase as well.
I'm interested to see if this mythical beast of a perfect Finecast mini actually exists!
I don't play the games, I just like to paint the miniatures. GW has the only storefront in my town and I bought some miniatures when they were metal. I have only bought 3 finecast miniatures and won't be buying any more. Each model has some issues needing fixing, and one was so bad I returned it for a new one. I was not lucky to get a perfect example on my 3 purchases.
ReplyDeleteWith so many companies making good quality miniatures it is hard for me to buy Finecast and play russian roulette with my purchases.
I've had two experiences with Finecast; the first being Deathmaster Snikch, which was a horrible cast. I didn't know I could return minis back then so now I'm having it standing on my WiP plank catching dust.
ReplyDeleteThe second being Sigvald, the Magnificent. He was an ok cast, but is now halfway painting catching dust too when I see all the defects and fails on the mini. It's quite annoying.
After recently having bought two of the plastics Single minis, Savage Orc and Nurgle Champion, I won't buy Finecast any time soon.
As I already said on CoolMini, I hope they will change all the finecast to plastics:
- they're cheaper so I will buy more of them per visit to a store(and I don't go like more then once a two months to a GW store)
- In the end they're better casts too, sharp and almost never seen a defect on them.
Even the Store Manager in Amsterdam said it when I was there last time, when I looked at a plastic kit checking for faults in the casting. "Probably won't find anything, compared to the Finecast."
I always search on ebay for the metal miniatures I want when there is that possibility. The few odd purchases I have made of finecast were always made on a shop and so far none has been perfect. I always have to open a few more packs to make sure I have a reasonable enough cast that I can fix on my own. I know metal isn't perfect either but increasing the prices and decreasing the quality is definitely something I don't understand. Plus I have to agree there is something about finecast that makes it looks worst when painted. My feeling is that due to the small imperfections on the lines due to the increased precision
ReplyDeleteI didn't buy just one mini in finecast till now!
ReplyDeleteWhy, you ask?
Well the quality obviously sucks badly. In realy badly!
I've seen a lot of minis that cought my attention, but with all the issues with the "resin"-Material, i just dropped every idea with finecast minis. Just don't want a miniature that is changing its form in any way.
The best example how bad the material is, are all the miniatures that have long, straight objects. Almost all of them have some kind of unwanted curves/radiusses on them. And personally i don't want to have a fuss with preparing the mini under hot and cold water to be able to paint in properly.
ive only painted 2 "finecast" models and that was enough for me. i just dont bother with them. terrible quality. stick to the plastics!!
ReplyDeleteI have only bought one finecast mini DE haemonculus. It was decent, there was some miscasts on one arm and some bubbles on the underside, didn't bother to fill them as they will not be visible in finished mini.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the material too much, too soft and bendy to my taste, also the prices are atrocious. I'm planning on getting the new crisis suit commander so another one to test my luck with.
In the early days of Finecast I bought a few, and defended the line - I had reasonably good luck with the quality. But now I avoid Finecast like the plague. I find the material ver brittle and subject to breakage and warping with regards to staves and weapons, along with the usual problems of bubbles and gaps. It's a lousy product in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting to hear from painting studios on this, since they would see a good volume of models head their way. I will not purchase Finecast for all reasons listed since their release. And I imagine GW will need to take a few steps back and reconsider scraping and changing to plastic. The plastics are expensive enough, they don't need a higher tear (lower quality) line.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I haven't had to much experience with finecast. I only painted one model and although some bubbles were inconvenient they were easy to solve. However, I've seen some models in blisters that made me wonder if GW has a quality control policy at all.
ReplyDeleteBut still a fan, and if their returning policy works mostly time is an issue.
But recently I've been discussing with a friend the acceptance of a commission, just because of it being finecast. It's a shame GW released this in it's subpar version, but let's be honest: Almost everything nowadays get's released before thorough testing!
A very interesting article !!
ReplyDeleteAFAIC, I have bought just ONE finecast mini (Isabella Von Carstein) and it will be the last. It's very difficult to work with !!
By the way, fortunately the customers service can refill you in case of trouble (and if they can find a good model XD) but unfortunately all that mess reveals that there is no quality control policy from GW...
In France we call it "Failcast" and it says it all. Many of us try to find "old minis" in metal to avoid "the finecast new ones".
Cheers,
Morikun
indeed interesting article. i only got a few (3-4) finecast miniatures and according to my very limited experiance with it is that it works better with larger minis such as ogres, and not so good with smaller, thin minis like the lotr range. also have 3x of last years gd limited mini which all of them have lots of bubbles at the same areas. all in all, i do avoid buying finecast. simply just not worth the money.
ReplyDeleteI bought quite a few (4 it is ;) )Finecast miniatures and I think I always had a big bunch of luck.
ReplyDeleteMy 3 Zoantrophes are casted without any failures, only one is a bit too much crooked on its base.
And my Captain of the Empire (the one with the pistol and the hammer) has "only" a crooked Pistol and a spot on his cape which is very rough and hard to paint (unfortunately this spot is right on the graven comet, which makes it impossible to paint the comet, because if I had sanded the rough spot smooth, then the comet would have been gone).
So I don't have that bad experience with Finecast, but I think, that even this small faults are in my opinion way too much for that price and for a company that is supposed to be world leader...
I've had a 10% success rate, that is out of 10 models only 1 has been fine first off. 2 laminas (my logic was they were not made in metal first so should be ok - no hands), castellan crowes banner was non-existant in another, umpteen necron overlords (the cape wasn't there or had MASSIVE holes, I'm now on my 2nd tau commander and there's a lot of slipping and the torso isn't *great* despite the fact that they've recut the mould. The only good mini I've had first time was Astoroth. It's really offputting. Especially the tau commander as it's so expensive.
ReplyDeleteI had some people over las weekend on one of my painting courses and only one of them had Finecast... OH MY GOD. What a big piece filled with miscasts, horrible errors or production, bubbles... A COMPLETE DISGRACE. I loved the idea of Finecast, but seriously, why the hate? Can't they do it right?? :(
ReplyDeleteI've only kept one Finecast mini that I've bought. I've learned to open them at the store before purchase - which is why I haven't bought any in quite some time. The miscasts, air bubbles, **missing limbs & parts**, have turned me off to Finecast almost entirely. I'll still look, but I rarely even crack open a package anymore.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 finecast miniatures, both limited and both are OK, but with some casting problems. I really wish GW would fix finecast, there are miniatures I would like to buy, but have avoiding because I cannot be bothered with the hassle of opening 10 boxes just to get 1 good cast.
ReplyDeleteDidn't made any experiences with finecast on my own so far, but those I've seen in the store made me stopping if just even thinking about buying one.
ReplyDeleteI seem to be the only person who hasn't had a problem with finecast. I've only bought in shop so I've been able to pick the best and I do feel for the people having to use mail order.
ReplyDeleteAs a converter it has been a godsend. That said I have not painted one yet so the above comments from people taking commissions is a little worrying.
I've not had any real problems with Finecast. I've had a Commissar Lord who had a few bubbles in his cloak and were dead easy to sort with Green Stuff. I've also prepped a couple of Death Cult Assassins for a friend - and sure, they had slightly larger mould lines than plastic, but they were much easier to clean up.
ReplyDeleteMy wife has made herself a little infamous for betting staffers that she can fix a Finecast if she can keep the "broken" model. She's doing well out of that.
I do see people returning Finecast, but then I look at the problems they are raising and it is something that could be fixed with a couple of minutes work with Green Stuff.
I picked up some old early nineties metal GW figures from ebay recently - and one had a really nasty miscast where there had been a slip in the mould - the front and the back just weren't lined up. It happened back then as well.
I also see stuff from people like Mantic that is horrible to work with and a real pain to put together. I really do think that we've just been spoiled by the technical quality of plastic these days and forget how bad the 'good old days' really were.
I've only bought one finecast, Azhag the Slaughterer, about a 95%, which is not to bad for such a big mould. The only real problems were the joints. Now Forge World, such good designs, such poor execution. I've got a few pieces from them and anything not off a very fresh mould will be trouble.
ReplyDeleteI mostly have plastic models but I have to say that I've had no problems with my Greater Daemons (I have a Lord of Change and a Great Unclean One). I have a Finecast Herald of Slaanesh that had a couple of issues but I was able to work around them. I'be also just finished a Dark Apostle and the only problem I've had was that it was really flimsy resulting in a broken Accursed Crozius on more than one occasion. I'm not used to Finecast (I started painting back when everyone was raving about metal releases). In my limited resin experience the problem has been fragility but up until very recently they were the models with the highest level of detail; a crown that is now being taken by the new plastic releases. I like the level of detail but now that plastic is catching up maybe it's time to stop over-using Finecast and especially for units (see Chaos Elite choices which are almost pure resin).
ReplyDeleteOnly bought 2 finecast models: veteran vanguard sergeant and space marine librarian. The first was absolutely perfect, the second was average, not great but not really bad. What i hate about finecast is it's too "soft" and bends or gets cut really easily. While i was cleaning mould on the librarian i applied too much pressure (too much for finecast i mean, since on a plastic model would have been irrelevant) and cut the hilt of the sword by accident.
ReplyDeleteBeen trying to aviod finecast with my tau as bad experiences with my great unclean one (the damn feet bottoms weren't paralell so i had to spend ages cutting and cutting away, then when i had finished i had to use sooo much green stuff to fill in all the gaps in bubbles and joints!). On the other hand the quality is immense! My best finecast mini (least bubbles, etc) i have got was my first, a tau etheral, went together like a charm! Although i have been awfully tempted to get a Cadre Fireblade...
ReplyDeleteOh and by the way, i didn't jump the bandwagon with tau and daemons D:<. I have been playing them for years before! Honest!
Don't give GW credit for swapping bad models for good. They legally have to in the UK. I don't know about other places but I bet it's the same there.
ReplyDeleteI actually panic bought metal models fearing they would be replaced by finecast....
ReplyDeleteI have bought a few now but avoid it if I can. I bought a Commissar Lord on the day finecast came out, myself and the manager checked everyone in stock before i got the only one who had actually been molded correctly. I bought a techmarine who had a blob where his hand was meant to be and most of his shoulder missing, after that i ordered the direct sales metal one.
I do not even want to talk about my Dark Apostle...
At the end of the day there was no need for finecast and there still isn't, the plastic kits are more detailed than metal was, more reliable than finecast and easier to work with than both.
I have to agree with the comments relating to poor quality. I have had to return most of the finecast models, and those that haven't been returned are....well, not too good...the fact that, so far, GW have replaced them all (even after having to open several packets of Fire Dragons to get one, reasonable set) isn't the problem. The problem is that they even had it on their shelves in that condition for me to take home and then have to return. However, my biggest issue with them is their flimsy nature. They break far too easily (I find it hard to believe that plastic is so much stronger and more resilient!!), they become warped, especially the staffs etc, if packed and left somewhere too warm, and I don't mean hot. which is really quite depressing after spending all that time before painting them, with boiling water and hot fingers, straightening them out in the first place! Rubbish really, I dread being asked to buy and make another. I would rather loose the supposed (?) extra detail and have plastic anyday........... or metal, cardboard, slush, plasticine, whatever? I never wanted to be a sculptor. I just like to make and paint models. I have to spend sooooooo much time preparing/ repairing the finecast models before doing anything else with them, that the joy is gone, it becomes a chore, a pain, I actually DON'T look forward to opening the box!! I gotta say....that is a first!!
ReplyDelete