Hi all,
I’m seeking some advice since I purchased this Taurus as original but have some cast issues that makes me think of a recast.
For me it’s the first time having one in hand so it’s hard for solve this riddle by my own.
The bull head ears have in front of them some rest of excess cast metal that create a little chunky spot ?
Body injection point is at right place ?
On other hand the lord seems really good in quality even with fine details.
Would love to read what’s your opinion about this.
Your help is much appreciated.
Merry xmass.
Fabrizio
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Yeah it’s a recast. GW flash doesnt look like that and neither does white metal that’s been around since 1994.
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Thx for the reply.
Any of you have a clean bull to show some picture to have a reference ?
I’m just gonna level with you oldsquid- “real” 95 minis also have gaps that need filling, and often have casting errors, they just have a distinctive patina/grime and different flashing. That’s it. You have good detail on the beard and face, and no better or worse issues with fit and assembly than you would with a “real” taurus. You have a good cast with some issues.
Similarly, from a philosophical perspective, what is “real” exactly? A 95 GW cast of a greenstuff sculpt that was made on an assembly line? You will not find a “real” cast, you may find a higher quality cast, you are very likely to be paying for a recast. Like, 99% or more likely at this point of the market.
Once it’s assembled and painted, it will make no difference.
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I agree with @chitzkoi, while its unfortunate its not an original, its still great mini and cast. Why replace it with a more expensive one with its own flaws?
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I totally agree with this. Form me the issue was paying the price of a real one and in the other hand have a nice copy that is worth 3 times less.
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Yeah, thats bitter. I always assume im buying recast unless its someone i know and trust.
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Well…it’s definitely a recast. I can see double mould lines on the body.
However, I’ve taken miniatures out of a blister and they’ve been recasts. That’s to say GW trolls used to do recasting at times.
I wasn’t aware of that activity still taking place by 4th ed though.
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They were recasting Savage Orcs up until 6th edition, I got a load from GW with double mould lines. But infantry is cast significantly more than a lord on a monster from one of the least popular armies - I doubt they ever needed to make new moulds of the Taurus due to normal degradation.
On the plus side, that is a very good recast. Not much detail loss at all. After cleaning up and under a coat of paint, you couldn’t tell.
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Its a funny old market. Im very happy to help with navigating it for any item from the 90s range. Hence getting tagged. Have helped folks in north america, europe, australia. The further from GB you get, the more certainty you can have that it’s a cast. The question then becomes, where do you want it to come from?
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Would be interesting to have a weight charts of old model so to have also scale to refer to.
Thx for the Gb tip.
I’m willing to build a 4th edition army. This is why I’m struggling in this not paying to much for a recast thing. If any other advice comes to your mind I’m here listening on my knees 
gold and silver bullion dealers have handheld XRF machines that test metal content with X-rays would work great for a large miniature dealer like troll trader.
I also had this idea a while ago. For 80s/very early 90s miniatures this may work due to the higher lead content and the shorter production runs (meaning that they were less likely to switch alloys, see my reply on Thom-Thumbs post). Using the water displacement in a graduated cylinder, one could determine the overall density of a certain period alloy which could serve as a reference. However, for everything that is mid-90s and later (so a lead content below 5% to no lead), this would become difficult. The densities of the other metals are similar enough that this would not make a noticeable difference within the margin of error.
Would love to have an XRF gun, sadly even entry level devices are super expensive (10000-20000$). Not sure though if they would be very helpful in identifying recasts. GW itself has experimented a lot with alloys in the 90s, so you may have the same miniature made from different alloys depending on when it was made.
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