"Citadel Finecast: Improved Detail?" Topic

According to Games Workshop, their new line of Citadel Finecast resin figures provide an improved level of detail compared to metal castings:

Our hobby has ever been a tactile one and as soon as you've held a Citadel Finecast miniature in your hands and studied the detail up close, there will be no turning back!

Have you noticed the improvement?

I'll usually defend GW from the haters, but not on this one. Finecast is a sham. When cast well, it's no better than metal. All too often, badly cast figures are turning up. A sub par product at premium prices.

Are we to have variations of this poll until the required answer is achieved?

TMP link

Not really.

The tone of Finecast(dull tan color) is such that it shows off details better than a blister with a shiny metal figure. But photos I've seen of the same figure primed in the same color – they are identical at best, and only if there are no casting issues with the Finecast.

It's possible the Finecast has ever-so slightly crisper edges just due to the nature of how the material flows in the mold compared to metal. But I can't see it.

Are we to have variations of this poll until the required answer is achieved?

The previous question was whether the new models are truly a "revolution" in gaming; this poll is solely concerned with the casting quality.

The detail is not better than metal.

The detail when it is cast tends to be better – HOWEVER – there are HUGE problems with quality control. Some figures are exceptionally crisp and clean, while others are a mess of poor mold lines, bubbles, mis-cast parts, obscured detail, parts which contain some of the mold rubber ON the figure – so you know the next guy is getting screwed, and other issues. These are not "limited editions" with high price tags, exceptional quality control, etc. These are mass produced products and if you happen to be lucky and get one of the first few castings out of the mold and "Joe Good Quality Control" is the one who casts your figure, you get great stuff. If you aren't so lucky – you get – CRAP. Yes, it is CRAP all caps, because now you've paid a premium price, for a model which in every other line would be a limited edition, for a casting that is worse than an early Mike's Model's figure and cannot be saved without major work and adjustment on your part. Oh, and the solution to all of these issues – LIQUID GREED STUFF. (PUN INTENDED! Pure corporate greed there – make a faulty product, advertise it as a great product with better detail and then fail to deliver!)

Just my not unbiased opinions of the figures after spending over $100 USD on various figures or being asked to paint them on commission!

Just spoke with a New York store owner about those new resin castings. He said that he gets a lot of complaints because of air bubbles in resin.

Never dealt with the figures myself.

I would have said no improvement, but the ads for the new vampire counts look to have a lot of finer details (I have not seen these in person though). Maybe they are starting to get to the better detail part?

I did notice slightly sharper detail on a select few figures. A couple of the Sternguard marines, but for the most part, I've noticed no improvement.

"Oh, and the solution to all of these issues – LIQUID GREED STUFF. (PUN INTENDED! Pure corporate greed there – make a faulty product, advertise it as a great product with better detail and then fail to deliver!)"

Agreed. But… that liquid greenstuff is actually reasonably effective….not just for faulty finecast stuff. It's really just another type of filler, but I figure one overpriced bottle for the convenience of having it there and then without hunting for a similar product was alright with me at the time. It works alright for all those other little gaps on models and stuff.

Some of the castings are good improvements over the old ones. However, painted up, they look exactly the same 95% of the time except they are a lot more prone to chipping and breakage as well as require more prep work.

As much as I hate resin, the first tranche of models are pretty much plain recasts of old models regardless of what they say. Newer models i.e. VC really allow them to go crazy with the sculpting to get full benefit out of their resin casting. The lighter weight and brittle nature of their resin allows for bigger taller models with more wispy elements.

yawargame.blogspot.com

I didnt notice any diference in detail when the remastered veersions of the metal figures came out in Fincast. They have been able to do some nice things with new figures. For instance the mangler squig model is something that would have been nigh impossible to do in metal without having the figure constantly topplg over.

I ve heard the horror stories about fincast and they have put me off on buying much. I did buy the new Jabberslythe mini and didnt have any problems.

They have been able to do some nice things with new figures. For instance the mangler squig model is something that would have been nigh impossible to do in metal without having the figure constantly topplg over.

Agreed.

I have painted half a dozen Finecast models and I have had no problems of bubbles or miscasts at all.

What, in the other hand, I have not noticed is the presumed improvement in detail over the metals. If there is, it's so small that only those who paint for the love of painting instead for gaming will notice it.

Chuck05,
My local GW (store manager) admitted that the mangler squig model is unbalanced and had to be pinned to stop it breaking when it fell over.

I havent actually seen one in person. My friend owns a game store and he was telling me about it. It does look like the spot where the to squigs join is pretty thin and would be prone to snapping.

Slightly.
But only when the fig is cast without air bubbles.

I have now three of them

One is a real beauty. I think more from the sculptor's skills than the material.

The other two have finish up as good but nothing special from either the detail, crispness, pose or anything else. One of them should have had a chose of arms but had a large lump of excess material in one of the hands making only one chose viable. That fault was the only one (but a major one ) in any of the figurers.

x42

Finecast is like marmite! I think you love it or hate it, from what I've seen I can't agree that it gives better detail then metal. I think the quality is pretty poor, I think the price doesn't reflect what you would expect from the product!

Only like the new plastics. The finecast looks brittle.

You tell me if this is improved detail.

Sure looks like great freaking detail to me.

1) for the price they are asking I expect top notch quality in sculpting, production and material. It isnt.
2) some of the new sculpts are great figures but difficult to play with.
3) the difference in existing sculpts does not warrant the price increase and the drawback of the brittleness.
just my 0.02

Does GW accept returns of failed castings?

I would rather file flash off metal than patch and sand and contour air bubbles in resin.Flash, well you got more than you paid for,filling,hmmm paying full price for substandard product and having to repair it.

Spartiate, not only will they accept the return (sometimes you can even keep it!) they apparently are quickly dispatching yet more failed castings as your replacement. They'll do it multiple times too. Though one persons blog reported that he stopped asking for replacements after the 10th one received.

GW customer service has always been top notch. Until FailCast was released they were top quality models in my opinion. Hope they don't try to "improve" their customer service!

To the OP; no there is not an improvement in detail.

I agree with Amdmiral Yi Sun Sin is my Homie. GW has absolutely incredible customer service. You really don't ever have to return a model as such, even if it was bought from a third party. All you have to do, in most cases, is call them up with what is wrong and they send you out a new one. The secret is be nice to customer service. The "call center" is a single row of desks at HQ in TN, so if you are a jerk to one of them all of them will know you. If you are super nice, then you are good.

Odd thing is, they can't send out just the bit you are missing due to a miscast so you get at the very least the entire sprue, if not an entire box.

Sadly, some people have taken advantage of this and managed to wrangle massive armies for free.

I'm not complaining. They always replace the miscast items with a smile and as Scott said, they give you more than you asked for. Though I'm sure there are unscrupulous people who called them and said: "My boxset of Plague Marines are all bad" when maybe only two or three (or even none) and they go ahead and send you a new squad so you get two squads of Plague Marines for the price of one. That's the price they're willing to pay. Then again, I'm sure it's all covered by the high prices they're charging.