[Archive] Forgeworld resin

Vex:

I have a question about the resin used for the chaos dwarfs by Forgeworld, recently I scored 2 limited edition sorcerers and found that they where made from a resin that’s similar if not the same as finecast (which I’m not a fan of), I also heard that Forgeworld uses a different kind of resin for some of their miniatures and I was wondering if the Chaos Dwarfs by FW are the same as the finecast or the older resin that they used.

Admiral:

FW have never used Finecast resin as far as I’m aware. It was entirely GW’s own try at resin casting.

Vex:

FW have never used Finecast resin as far as I'm aware. It was entirely GW's own try at resin casting.

Admiral
Well the limited edition sorcerer is made of something very similar to fc, however it's a higher quality than any gw fc I've had, no air bubbles or miscasts and very little flash.

But I've seen some fw miniatures cast of a heavier and darker resin, I'm concerned if they've replaced it.

Kera foehunter:

this is why im a heavy metal girl… Resin is like but cheese stuck to a frying pan… yes resin is good for something. but not miniatures

Admiral:

Vex, you’re surely right. My insight into resin recipes is about nil.



this is why im a heavy metal girl… Resin  is like but cheese  stuck to a frying pan… yes resin is good for something. but not miniatures

Kera foehunter
You have a way with words. :cheers

Yeah, metal have its good sides, though resin models are easier to cut and won’t topple as much.

Vex:


this is why im a heavy metal girl.. Resin  is like but cheese  stuck to a frying pan.. yes resin is good for something. but not miniatures

Kera foehunter
I prefer metal myself, for lords/heroes at least (got some on the workbench). But I hate the light papery fc resin and I heard the classic fw resin is a bit heavier than plastic (if I can't have metal I'll have the next best thing).

torn:

I would prefer 100% metal but for fantasy regiment based games that’s a bit expensive

Yodrin:

I prefer plastic tbh, especially when gaming. You could actually dropp a mini on the flor without it breakeing, do that with a metal one, and you have to take out greenstuff and superglue. + a horde with metal is really heavy, and I am very weak…:wink:

Admiral:

If I was one to exaggerate I’d claim my CD great weapon horde have made me a stronger man. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Roark:

FW have never used Finecast resin as far as I'm aware. It was entirely GW's own try at resin casting.

Admiral
Yeah, I don't get this. Aren't both organisations owned by the same people? Why would you go out on a limb with untested methods and materials when there is already a functional and successful version?

It just seems like madness to my (admittedly ignorant) mind.

Bitterman:

Yeah, I don't get this. Aren't both organisations owned by the same people? Why would you go out on a limb with untested methods and materials when there is already a functional and successful version?

Roark
Yeah, they are both owned by the same people (more accurately, one is a division of the other).

However, the vacuum casting method that Forge World is simply too slow and labour-intensive to produce models in the quantities that GW require. There is simply no way they would be able to manufacture sufficient numbers of figures, using FW-style vacuum casting, to meet the demand for models and units in the main GW line. (They struggle to meet the demand for FW, which is a large part of the reason FW stuff isn't sold in any GW store except Warhammer World).

The mistake (idiocy? Stupidity? Wilful ignorance?) they made, was to instead use a cheap (ie. cheaper than metal) resin material, but continue with the same spin-casting methods they'd previously used with metal, to produce Finecast. They can happily churn out vast quantities of the stuff, so that's not a problem... but where spin-casting metal relies on the weight of the metal itself, in combination with centrifugal force, to fill the mould; Finecast resin has practically no weight to it, so it just doesn't work. Hence the huge numbers of bubbles and appalling miscasts from which Finecast suffers, and the huge numbers of detail-obscuring vents and shafts they've added to those Finecast models, in a desperate attempt to work around the problem (with indifferent success).

Of course, we all know that cheaper raw material, plus inherently and unavoidably lower quality, equals higher price. Thanks for that, GW.

So, yeah. tl;dr: even though they're the same company, GW couldn't possibly have used the materials and casting techniques that FW use, to replace the old metal material. The problem is that they shouldn't have tried to use spin-casted Finecast, either. (The Finecast name has entirely disappeared from their website, BTW, but it's the same shoddy stuff they're using, which is disgraceful).

torn:

Really they should just go back to metal. Resin is just not a good modelling material for anything other than small scale garden shed enterprises.

Vex:

Really they should just go back to metal. Resin is just not a good modelling material for anything other than small scale garden shed enterprises.

torn
I love metal myself, I kinda have a weird thing about my army general being metal, I simply can't bring myself to having a plastic or fc general in any of my armies. Even if that means doing a hell of a lot of conversion work (wip of a sorcerer using Archaon as a base).

GW really killed it for me when the scrapped metal.

timurbannipal:

Really they should just go back to metal. Resin is just not a good modelling material for anything other than small scale garden shed enterprises.

torn
You obviously haven't seen Scibor models, or Black Scorpion, Raging Heroes, Dropzone commander or Dystopian Wars models then...

Admiral:

Really they should just go back to metal. Resin is just not a good modelling material for anything other than small scale garden shed enterprises.

torn
You obviously haven't seen Scibor models, or Black Scorpion, Raging Heroes, Dropzone commander or Dystopian Wars models then...


timurbannipal
Or Forgeworld's. :D

Still, GW without metal is like a keg without booze.

torn:

I have a few scibot bits, yeah the sculpting is great but the casting process still leaves a lot of work to clean up a pretty fragile model.

The forge world stuff is also good, but still fragile with lots of work needed. The good thing with for world is they do actually get the most out of models, doing things that would be impossible in metal. Chaos dwarf warriors on the other hand could have been done in metal.

Kera foehunter:

Resin is a rip off of any type. Metal is for the hard core gamer … I will not step down to resin i bought the avatar of war ranger THEY FREAKING SUCK AND SENT THEM BACK…

I will pay for metal but i will not pay Metals prices for resin.

Plastic is just as bad but i will choose it before resin

Bloodbeard:

However, the vacuum casting method that Forge World is simply too slow and labour-intensive to produce models in the quantities that GW require. There is simply no way they would be able to manufacture sufficient numbers of figures, using FW-style vacuum casting, to meet the demand for models and units in the main GW line. (They struggle to meet the demand for FW, which is a large part of the reason FW stuff isn't sold in any GW store except Warhammer World).

The mistake (idiocy? Stupidity? Wilful ignorance?) they made, was to instead use a cheap (ie. cheaper than metal) resin material, but continue with the same spin-casting methods they'd previously used with metal, to produce Finecast. They can happily churn out vast quantities of the stuff, so that's not a problem... but where spin-casting metal relies on the weight of the metal itself, in combination with centrifugal force, to fill the mould; Finecast resin has practically no weight to it, so it just doesn't work. Hence the huge numbers of bubbles and appalling miscasts from which Finecast suffers, and the huge numbers of detail-obscuring vents and shafts they've added to those Finecast models, in a desperate attempt to work around the problem (with indifferent success).

Of course, we all know that cheaper raw material, plus inherently and unavoidably lower quality, equals higher price. Thanks for that, GW.

So, yeah. tl;dr: even though they're the same company, GW couldn't possibly have used the materials and casting techniques that FW use, to replace the old metal material. The problem is that they shouldn't have tried to use spin-casted Finecast, either. (The Finecast name has entirely disappeared from their website, BTW, but it's the same shoddy stuff they're using, which is disgraceful).



Bitterman
This is worth some slaves. Thank you kindly sir. Just got a lot wiser on the whole casting thing (that's rather important to our hobby).

Will link this in all the "why can't finecast be like forgeworld resin?" post that I see.
Resin is a rip off of any type. Metal  is for the hard core gamer .. I will not step down  to resin i bought the avatar of war ranger THEY FREAKING SUCK AND SENT THEM BACK..

I will pay for metal  but i will not pay  Metals prices for resin.
Plastic  is just as bad but i will choose it before resin



Kera foehunter
I think that's a rather aggressive statement. I consider myself a hardcore gamer and I love plastic, and as a hobbyist I hate metal.

Never had much experience with resin (read any). But I just got my Beshukk the Immortal from Ravenswood in the mail. That miniature is awesome, I like the material. High level of detail and the paint ain't chipping of him like my metal miniatures.

If all resin miniatures were like him, I would start working with that material right away.

Resin ain't a cheap material, it is was it was, so it cost what it cost.

I won't pay metal prices (thinking GW) for a model in a material that a bad quality. If quality goes down, price has to go down too. With many miniatures this isn't the case - but it is with finecast.