Official WarSeer Finecast Poll.

[Gertjan]

The "odd small bubble" is still not acceptable. For the price GW are selling FC at (especially given the big price hikes over and above metal models), they should be perfect.

This, time and again. I simply cannot understand how people accept even the slightest bubbles etc with finecast. It's so damn expensive it should be perfect. Even with the plastic kits I occasionally return them, even there minor mould slip is no longer acceptable. Their kits cost as much/more than the Tamiya kits with far worse detail etc, they should be damn well perfect. GW have reached a price level where anything short of simply perfect non mistcast/misaligned mini's has to be expected.

[loveless]

Checking all Finecast with only a minor bubble? Okay, I'll bite. I'll give it another shot - if it screws up again, it's just a matter of getting another refund.

[Skaven13]

This, time and again. I simply cannot understand how people accept even the slightest bubbles etc with finecast. It's so damn expensive it should be perfect. Even with the plastic kits I occasionally return them, even there minor mould slip is no longer acceptable. Their kits cost as much/more than the Tamiya kits with far worse detail etc, they should be damn well perfect. GW have reached a price level where anything short of simply perfect non mistcast/misaligned mini's has to be expected.

Well said. Expected, and we should hold them to it. They price themselves as an elite product. They even say so themselves, that they produce the best toy soldiers in the world. Given they regard their own product so highly, the quality now must match the value in the price. And it does not. And we need to hold them to that. And make it as public as possible.

Why do people accept this? Because their marketing is brilliant. It really is. They do not hold any punches as far as promoting their product as the best thing since sliced bread, and the release of Finecast being as big an event as, say, the walk on the moon (I believe they even referenced that event as well). It's easy for a typical person who may not know any better (new hobbyists) to accept this as fact when they are told over and over and over again how exceptional this product is.
Even I considered getting into Finecast a couple times, just out of curiosity (they say it's so good, even Jes Goodwin was promiting this stuff, so it can't be THAT bad, and there can't be THAT many bad cases). A constant message of quality works, even if the quality isn't there.

[parthvader]

It's easy for a typical person who may not know any better (new hobbyists) to accept this as fact when they are told over and over and over again how exceptional this product is.
Even I considered getting into Finecast a couple times, just out of curiosity (they say it's so good, even Jes Goodwin was promiting this stuff, so it can't be THAT bad, and there can't be THAT many bad cases). A constant message of quality works, even if the quality isn't there.

If you are going to tell a lie, make it a big one. The bigger the lie, the more people will believe you.

[Bolo-driller]

I was at WHW at the weekend and a staffer told me that the company were now on the 3rd resin mix for the finecast models. The first recipe was obviously a disaster, second wasnt much better. However me and my mate both bought the new necron monkey looking carachter and both our models are flawless. There are no bubbles whatsoever and the resin seems a lot more solid and good quality.

The same could be said about my chaplain that was made on the day. Completely flawless with barely any flash.

Maybe a sign of things to come?

However it did take 6 boxes of flayed ones to cobble together a good enough kit so it will take some time for the new mixture to work through the system I guess.

[EmperorNorton]

Maybe a sign of things to come?

One can only hope.

And wonder why it took them more than a year after bringing out this stuff.

[spaint2k]

Does that mean I can get a new resin mix of my 25th anniversary figure that I foolishly bought?

[paddyalexander]

Even if gwPLC get the resin mix right and start to produce flawless models (like a lot of other resin model manufacturers have been doing for decades) there is still the issue of their premium charge for a model cast in a far cheeper material than metal.

When finecast first came out I was tempted to pick up a model to see if the product matched the hype. Fortunitly I was buying from an indie who had checked the stock and removed any obvious defective products. Unfortunitly for gwPLC the finecast was displayed in the stores' new release section next to some resin ships for Dystopian Wars. I could spend €18 on a single resin space marine or €16 on a 6" long battleship about 4 times its' mass. So I bought 2 battleships and any desire I have for a finecast model is canceled out by the insane pricing long before the serious quality issues become a factor.

[-DE-]

Bubbling is but one of the issues with Finecast. Even if they resolve it, there are still the issues of sagging, impossibility of permanent unbending, fragility and snapping of smaller bits, difficulty stripping paint, ill-placed, high-volume vents that destroy detail upon removal... None of these were present in metal. The only upside I see with FC is that it glues easily, but I never really had any trouble gluing even the trickier metal models, so to me it's moot.

With bubbles, FC is the most wretched material currently on the market. Without bubbles, it is simply wretched.

[Aryllon]

I've so far bought a Succubus, Astorath, Shadowseer, 3 harlequin (eBay), wood elf lord and a Dark Angels captain.
Not a single one of them was free of problems, but the scale if the problem varied greatly.

• succubus and harlequin were mostly fine, same with wood elf, few minor holes where tiny details should be and a few bent parts but that's nothing warm water doesn't fix. If this was the extent of the problem, I'd be satisfied.
• Dark angels captain required a lot of cleaning up and holes being filled, not really ok to have to do this much prep work but the end result is still usable
• Shadowseer was completely missing the end of his staff, got a new one sent out free of charge and sold the old one on ebay
• Astorath was a complete nightmare. The rear half of the main body is 1mm lower then the front half. This guy is 100% covered in details, his entire armour is sculpted, so it's completely impossible to 'smooth off' the join or sculpt over it. Especially when it goes over the top of his head, across his shoulder pads, along his forearms, down his thighs and shins... Oh and he has no eyes. Just holes. Which would look AWESOME considering I'm using him as a CSM lord (wings swap), except I can't use the model anyway and more importantly, it's beside the point as the eyes should be there.

Pros: yes the material is much better than metal. Much sharper detail, easier to clean up flash, easier to convert, lighter. Bending is to be expected with resin, but dipping in warm water is a much easier fix than filing off metal flash.

Cons: at least 50% of the time, the casting is so poor that the model is simply unusable. Bubbles are one thing, I don't care if they're on a flat surface which I can fill - but if they're where resin has failed to enter a part of the mould then the missing detail is impossible to sculpt back on. Misaligned moulds are way worse and way more common than with metal. Also, recently my minis have had pink rubbery substance hidden in crevasses, as if the resin liquids have not mixed together properly. I've been picking it out using a pin head, but I found that it goes way into the model and thus things like skull eye sockets become much deeper than they should.

There's no point having great material, if the casting renders the quality of the material irrelevant.

Edit: Finecast is to modelling, what tabletop is to painting... except the standard you paint to is in your own hands (no pun intended!).

[Jericho]

Also, recently my minis have had pink rubbery substance hidden in crevasses, as if the resin liquids have not mixed together properly. I've been picking it out using a pin head, but I found that it goes way into the model and thus things like skull eye sockets become much deeper than they should.

There's no point having great material, if the casting renders the quality of the material irrelevant.

Don't worry, that's just the rubber molds tearing apart.

[Zinge]

@Aryllon - Astorath is not supposed to have eyes I have metal one & the pink stuff is the mould degrading.

[winterdyne]

Astorath's face is a mask. Shouldn't have eyes. Should have a vertical louvre vent in the mouth (Marine mouthgrille style).

[Aryllon]

I don't mean as in real eyes, I mean there are holes in the cast. Simply a deep cavity. The mouth is the same.

Anyways, I actually like it but can't use the model regardless due to the front and back halves not being aligned

[Crazy Harborc]

Well last month there were a couple of positive posts about improved/better models released. After my catchup read, just now.....Is sounds like more of the same....Negative results reported here.

[Skaven13]

Well last month there were a couple of positive posts about improved/better models released. After my catchup read, just now.....Is sounds like more of the same....Negative results reported here.

IF there is a new mixture of resin being used, and IF there are fixes being introduced, then we may not see the results on a regular basis for a decent amount of time, and you can be sure GW is not going to announce that they are changing things. That would indicate that there IS a problem, and if GW did that, you can be sure the floodgates would open for additional refund requests. I think they are going to play the silent game, and introduce any fixes slowly, not letting anyone know about it. It's probably the safest way for them to do it, as a company, without getting on the rooftops and yelling "HEY! Yes we launched a subpar product and tried to push it off as one of the best inventions in the world! We upped our prices, robbed you blind, and gave you garbage in return! We are fixing it! We are SORRY!"

I've honestly never been more embarassed of a company since Finecast came out.

[Myrmidon616]

To date I've bought three finecast models: Queek Headtaker (on the day of release), Deathmaster Snikch and Krell.

It was only after having finished assembling Queek that I noticed all the miscasts, such as the fact that his face is lopsided and that two of the rats on his base are missing limbs, as well as a few bubbles. I assembled it in store and whilst in the process of doing so, one of the regulars stopped by and had a look and noticing some of the imperfections, asked a nearby staff member if I could replace it, to which he said no (which is galling seeing as I think I had the right to, although I was too ignorant and meek at the time to argue it). A couple of weeks back, his sword broke off, albeit whilst being carried around in a box but then again, none of my other models have broke under similar conditions.

Deathmaster Snikch was almost perfect, apart from a bubble on his cloak. Recently, the end of one of his blades inexplicably broke off, even though I only ever keep him on a shelf or in my carry case, which is even more annoying considering he's painted. I picked up Krell a few weeks back and I'm kind of regretting it now that I've had a bit more experience with the foibles of finecast.

[Jonahmaul]

To date I've bought three finecast models: Queek Headtaker (on the day of release), Deathmaster Snikch and Krell.

It was only after having finished assembling Queek that I noticed all the miscasts, such as the fact that his face is lopsided and that two of the rats on his base are missing limbs, as well as a few bubbles. I assembled it in store and whilst in the process of doing so, one of the regulars stopped by and had a look and noticing some of the imperfections, asked a nearby staff member if I could replace it, to which he said no (which is galling seeing as I think I had the right to, although I was too ignorant and meek at the time to argue it).

I picked up Krell a few weeks back and I'm kind of regretting it now that I've had a bit more experience with the foibles of finecast.

You should have asked for a replacement, even if it wasn't you that noticed the imperfections originally. If the item is faulty the staff member has absolutely no right to refuse a refund or replacement. It's likely that this regular may have pointed out imperfections on other miniatures which has cheesed off staff members. Bit late to change now seeing as it was so long ago but if your Krell has issues go and change it or get a refund. They are legally obliged to offer you these if the product is faulty (if it's unopened and you've just decided you don't want it anymore then they'll probably let you exchange it for something else).

[Myrmidon616]

You should have asked for a replacement, even if it wasn't you that noticed the imperfections originally. If the item is faulty the staff member has absolutely no right to refuse a refund or replacement. It's likely that this regular may have pointed out imperfections on other miniatures which has cheesed off staff members. Bit late to change now seeing as it was so long ago but if your Krell has issues go and change it or get a refund. They are legally obliged to offer you these if the product is faulty (if it's unopened and you've just decided you don't want it anymore then they'll probably let you exchange it for something else).

Even if I've fully glued it together? (Which was the case with Queek when the regular pointed it out).

[Jonahmaul]

If you've just changed your mind and decided you didn't want it any more then you wouldn't be able to exchange it. However, if there are faults (air bubbles obscuring detail, mold slip etc.) on it then you should be able to exchange it even if it has been glued together as it's perfectly reasonable that you may not have noticed issues until it came to glueing it. You would be unlikely to get offered a refund in this situation but a fault is still a fault and they shouldn't be putting them back on sale anyway so you should be offered a new one that doesn't have defects. GW are legally obliged to sell things that are fit for purpose just like any other company so they have to let you exchange it if it isn't.