Do you approve of the switch to resin?

[Emerald Rose Widow]

I love the idea of the resin models, because frankly I hate metal models with a passion, nightmare to paint and ive never done well with them. I am really happy about the switch, because I was really dreading having to deal with the Hive Tyrant and the Zoanthrope, not to mention the Venomthrope. So yeah, I'm happy about this personally.

[Tamwulf]

The idea of this thread was to examine whether people approve of the switch to resin regardless of how GW have handled it.

You can't approve nor disapprove of a decision until you understand why the decision was made in the first place.

In this case, GW really hasn't said why they made the change. They haven't really shown any comparisons between the "old" metal minis and the "new" finecast. All we have seen are the finecast minis in the exact same sculpt as the metal. So what does this mean? Why the switch?

The suspicion here is that GW is making the exact same minis as before, using a cheaper process and cheaper materials, but raising the prices. Then they are trying to say "Look! We are giving you a better product!" when in reality, it's all about the money.

If the finecast stuff really was "the bees-knees", then why not re-sculpt the models to show us just how fine and detailed they really can be?

I should amend my prior post and say no, the switch to resin is a bad idea. Working with resin is right up there with working with lead in the scale of how harmful it can be. Plastic on the other hand, is the future. Plastic is where they should be going. This resin/plastic hybrid is a halting, half step to where they need to end up. In the end, it'll just cost us, the consumer, more money to play GW's games.

[wittdooley]

If the finecast stuff really was "the bees-knees", then why not re-sculpt the models to show us just how fine and detailed they really can be?

So.... they should resculpt all the models they presently have, eh? Come on now.

While I've not gotten my hands on a finecast yet, it's fairly clear that the resin handles the undercuts and the fine details better than the metal does, simply from the pictures. The photos of Astorath and the Empire Captain are really good examples of this. I'd never considered buying that Empire captain before. I'm 100% getting him now.

[eldargal]

Don't be ridiculous, all you need to do is look at the qualities of metal miniatures and resin miniatures, look at the pictures of Finecast models and decide whether you think it was a good thing or not. If you want to talk about why, go to the other Finecast general discussion thread, this is simply a poll to see whether people like the fact that GW models will be resin, regardless of price rises or any other factors.

You can't approve nor disapprove of a decision until you understand why the decision was made in the first place.

In this case, GW really hasn't said why they made the change. They haven't really shown any comparisons between the "old" metal minis and the "new" finecast. All we have seen are the finecast minis in the exact same sculpt as the metal. So what does this mean? Why the switch?

The suspicion here is that GW is making the exact same minis as before, using a cheaper process and cheaper materials, but raising the prices. Then they are trying to say "Look! We are giving you a better product!" when in reality, it's all about the money.

If the finecast stuff really was "the bees-knees", then why not re-sculpt the models to show us just how fine and detailed they really can be?

I should amend my prior post and say no, the switch to resin is a bad idea. Working with resin is right up there with working with lead in the scale of how harmful it can be. Plastic on the other hand, is the future. Plastic is where they should be going. This resin/plastic hybrid is a halting, half step to where they need to end up. In the end, it'll just cost us, the consumer, more money to play GW's games.

[MrGiggles]

Well, from the [URL="http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/371719.page"]initial review[/URL], the stuff appears pretty soft and springy. We'll have to see, but it might wind up being a blessing and a curse in that regard.

I'm a fan of the stuff being less akin to asbestos than the Forge World resin and of the lack of priming required.

I find that I like painting metal as much as I hate converting metal, so I'm mixed. I like my minis to have some weight to them, but I can definitely see the benefits of the lighter weight on some models. If I've got balance issues, I usually just glue a washer to the bottom of the base and that works. Chaos Raptors have definitely been the exception to that for me so far. I've not done any Zoanthropes yet though, so I can't comment on them. I've definitely had issues with chipping paint, though I can't think of one that hasn't followed one of my 'dropping' issues, so I can't realistically blame metal for that one.

My final concern with the new resins is that I'm not entirely sure what they'll do to the used mini market. Right now, it's a pretty simple matter to pick up a used lot from the shop or eBay, strip it and paint it up. I can't help but think that's going to change somewhat given the softness of the new material. My suspicion is that it's going to be tougher to strip paint from Finecast without damaging the mini than the current metals or plastics. We shall see I guess.

To sum up, I suppose I fall into the 'interested' camp rather than the 'for' or 'against' camp right now.

[juliusb]

I picked up my first Finecast mini today, Urien Rakarth and I'm completely sold!

My main concern was that it would be like FW resin; very brittle, making small parts like swords snap off too easily. From my first experience with Urien, I feel 100% confident that this new resin recipe is fantastic! The resin is just soft enough not to break but it feels very sturdy.

Cleaning up the model was a breeze and I kept thinking of all the time I've spent cleaning metals and wish I had this resin all along. The flash on the sprue was scary, there's a lot of it, but it's so easy to remove and it didn't appear to harm the quality of the cast.

I haven't built Urien yet because I want to convert him and I'm still working out what I want to do but I'm really looking forward to him not being metal!

My mind is racing with conversion ideas for these new minis, it's going to be a lot of fun not having to deal with metal!

Also, when I was at the store looking at that box of Vanguard Vets; man I wish I had known about this a few months ago! My metal vets are so annoying on uneven terrain due to their top-heaviness, if it hadn't taken me so long to paint them I'd love to replace them with resin models!

The weight savings and lack of pinning is really going to open up a lot of dynamic conversion opportunities!

[doskar]

I've seen the miscasts posed on the web with the nerd rage deriding finecast as failcast. I saw the models first hand at my FLGS today, and they looked fine. They are essentially the same as the metal models they replace. I don't believe the detail is really any sharper, or at least not to the point it deserves the hype given by GW. Looks like they will be fine to work with, a non issue for me.

[Lemt]

As I collect 'Nids I am loving this change. Not even because of the zoans. It's all because of my F'ing hive tyrant. I had no idea what "pinning" was at the time and I spent about 2-3 hours fighting with that one model trying to get the legs to just stay in the position I wanted them. But are many vulgar words and whispered prayers they stayed. I'm assuming that in that same situation resin would have been a hell of alot easier to work with lol.

I used two-part epoxy glue on mine. No pinning was needed.

[reynor]

Now that I've seen the models, I have to say that I think they are amazing and I'm very happy with the switch.

[Commissar Lewis]

I have to say, haven't seen the new models, and am on hiatus from purchasing Warhammer stuffs so won't for a good while.

But I will say the pics look nice, and I'm glad for the added ease to convertability and not having to try and assemble multi-part metal models.