Do you approve of the switch to resin?

[DarkLink]

I despise metal models. Plastics and the like have been able to match the quality of metal for several years now, and have virtually every other advantage over metal.

[wittdooley]

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/60733910@N07/5755183563/][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/60733910@N07/5755183563/]m1821103a_Blog240511_5_XL[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/60733910@N07/]wittdooley[/url], on Flickr

[Sisiutl]

I hate metal, I hate it so much. I avoid building certain armies because necessary parts of the range are metal. Hybrid metal plastic kits are even worse. I see that Astorath in resin on the homepage and even though I have a fully painted Astorath I want to get that one because the detail and weight of the model looks so much better.

[musical-fool]

I agree with Witt on the new packaging, top notch!

[Necron2.0]

You mean, of course, aside from slipping it in some hot water for a few seconds, right?

What I've experienced is over time they go back to being deformed.

As for chipping, the largest GW metal mini I've made are the Penitent Engine. I've also made several Ral Partha dragons. I use primer and sealant. Never had an issue with chipping.

[Brass Scorpion]

The Finecast announcement is the least troublesome to me of the four spear points customers were hit with last week. Here's why.

First, as there is a general price hike to much of their product line this coming weekend anyway, annoying as that is I wouldn't blame it on the Finecast change. This is the time of year GW usually has its annual price increase. Of course, the 25% increase on many items is alarming, but that's a topic for another topic thread.

Second, I actually welcome the material change. After more than two decades in this hobby I've grown weary of certain issues associated with metal models. Now that the same or nearly same level of detail can be captured in plastics I've severely curtailed my purchases of metal miniatures the past couple years, especially since box sets are a much better deal for your money than buying single model blisters, many of which sell for more than $20 now. Though the prices will still be high for single Finecast miniatures, many of the larger kits that were still metal are extremely heavy and fragile because of their own weight. That issue will be mitigated with the change to Finecast. And plastics of any kind, polystyrene or resins, generally hold paint better than metal with far less chipping. I'm really looking forward to less paint touch ups on edges, especially pointed bits or bits with fine edges.

For me, the change to resin is a welcome one. The only remaining issue with these single models is the price. I do feel they've gotten way out of line the past couple years and unfortunately that problem is not going to be mitigated by the change from pewter to resin. Anything in blisters, now clampacks, is and will continue to be cost-prohibitive to do in unit quantities (e.g., Ogryns). But otherwise it's a welcome change and there are some models I would consider buying now that I would not before because I didn't want any more large metal kits.

[DarkLink]

And I've never used sealant, and my plastics don't chip at all. That's a bit of unnecessary work saved right there. And I can't tell you how many GK Halberds have broken off and are far too much work bother to try and fix over and over and over and over and over and over again, because they'll just break if you try and reglue the metal and good luck pinning that thin little piece. But with plastic if something does break, which it rarely does, one drop of superglue and you're good as new.

Plastic is more durable with much less work, and I presume resin is similar, though I haven't worked with it much.

[DrifterUK]

Im quite happy about it. Ive never really had any issues with my metal models breaking so Ive never had to pin them, but the chipping is a nightmare, so if these truly are near impossible to chip, then awesome

Plus a massive reduction in weight is a definite plus point. My 2500pt, all metal GK army weighs a stupid amount

[Gotthammer]

If only for the fact they won't fall over all the time (metal jump-pack guys, I'm looking at you), I'm very happy with the change. The (hopefully) easier converison is a big plus too.

[Daemonette666]

If they stopped producing in metal, I would prefer they produce in plastic rather than in resin.

The fine detail Resin miniatures bend with the heat, and deform in shape over time, which does not help you have to re-straighten them with hot/warm water later on, and you have spent time painting them, just to have the paint flake off because the resin had bent/ deformed so much.

There are also 3 other reasons I shy away from resin miniatures if possible.

Firstly resin is supposed to be extremely dangerous to drill sand or file. I heard it can be as bad for you as handling Asbestos, or fibreglas, and you have to wear a mask to avoid breathing in the dust.

Secondly resins need to be cleaned thoroughly before undercoating them. They have a releasing agent on them that makes it hard to get paint to stick to them.

Thirdly, they are more expensive to make than plastics, so it will give GW a reason to justify their ridiculous and continual price rises, even when the Australian dollar gains market value, from 70 cents US to per Australian dollar to what it is now with each U.S. Dollar equal to $1.05 Australian. This should make the cost of the miniatures cheaper even with the supposed increase in staff wages, which should not affect the cost of the miniatures. If they use plastics, then we should expect a drop in prices, but knowing GW, they will make another announcement and some other bogus reason before they raise the prices again.

I know I will get a few GW die hards replying to the last statement, arguing with what I have said, but you can not change a die hard's opinion, especially some of the pro GW members on this site.

Combined with the new policy to stop companies delivering to Australia/ NZ, I will not be buying anything GW for a Looong time. In fact I will be actively looking at other companies out there that make miniature that can be use directly or converted for use as GW Chaos Marines, Traitor Guard, etc. I already have enough miniatures to cover me for the tournaments.