You Say Finecast, I Say Failcast, Lets Call the Whole Thing Off...

Well I finally took the plunge and got myself the new Liche Priest model complete with the new controversial Finecast material. Here is a quick review. I don't know who produced the image I have as the header for this blog but I pinched it off a random forum. It certainly made me chuckle so kudos to the creator on the off-chance he is reading this! As an aside I also purchased the Khalida mini because I thought she would make a better second caster than the old goofy model. I intend to just use her as a Liche Priest rather than the special character although now I have the model I guess the option is always open to me. The advantage of building this at the same time is I got to build a model in the tried and tested metal at the same time as the new fangled finecast which enabled me to make some comparisons.

 

So here is how the chappy looked on the sprue. Remarkably like the title font! Whilst it looks a flash ridden mess this isn't a problem at all. Its certainly true that Khalida had less than 1/10th of the flash but being metal that was harder to get rid of with a modelling knife. The resin on these models is soft...super soft. Your knife will glide through it so I would urge caution when you first approach the stuff! There is a danger of cutting through it so easily you end up lopping extra detail off, or worse one of your fingers! I think however this is just a case of not being used to working this material. After using plastics and metal for so long you become accustomed to the give and the resistance both materials offer. I think in time using this new resin will become second nature.

You will also notice the staff was bent which requires a different approach to that we are normally used to. Khalida's staff was also bent but a simple push and a twist and all was well. For the resin however a quick blast from a nearby fan heater and it bent into position and hardened without issue.

So as for the much flaunted lack of pinning etc how did construction fare? It is indeed handy that the weight of this material is so low as the facilitate easy bonding. So I would at least give that a big thumbs up. I don't think it is a huge problem for a model such as this but for the bigger models I can see it being a huge blessing. And so finally? What about detail? Well I think the detail is stunning. It really is fantastic. But....I'm not sure much more was needed than what we already had in metal (as silly as that might sound). I'll hold my hand up and confess that Games Workshop do one thing well even if they make mistakes everywhere else. They make fantastic looking models. I don't think in the decade and a half of my time in the hobby I've ever thought "If only the metal models looked better". So I am indeed left wondering if much has improved at all or if "marketing" has won me over. And now....for the bad....

What you can't see so easily on this picture is the model is in fact miscast and in quite an annoying way. I gave the model a once and twice over when it was the on sprue and thought all was well with the exception of a bit of flash. Alas however the models left hand (your right from the picture) is actually badly miscast! Annoyingly I didn't realise this until I had it out the blister and glued together making it a bit late to go to GW and request a swap. Perhaps if I pulled it apart and pleaded my case I could but I'd rather avoid the hassle. Its kind of my mistake for not glaring at it hard enough and for also ordering online rather than going into the store (although I'll admit I never had these concerns with metal). Never the less Finecast is going to be here to stay so rather than whine along with the rest of the Internet I'll break out my greenstuff and correct the miscast part of the model as I would do with anything else. This is also one model along with being a very early run of a brand new method of production for Games Workshop. My hope is that errors like this are slipping past their usually excellent quality control due to inexperience and in time things will improve.

So if I had to give Finecast a grade? Lets go 8/10. I don't mind the material too much if I'm honest. I've knocked a point off for the miscast in this case but I expect that to improve. If I can think of one weakness its the softness of the material. I do worry that very fine pieces of the model will just break off if dropped or knocked during the rigours of gaming. But I can't confirm this for sure and only time will tell!

Toina Failcast

If there is a failcast part of this post its my current efforts to cast my own models. I've made several silicone moulds by now and even got the stage of injecting some resin. Through the course of this I have wasted a ton of materials and made mistake after mistake and followed disaster with disaster. Never the less I am actually feeling quite upbeat about the project. I feel I've made enough mistakes now to know how to do things better! Despite the fact that in terms of cost its more expensive than sourcing ready made models and in terms of time a much larger investment I remain undeterred. Part of me is just enjoying the experience! Besides what other hobby lets me wear medical gloves without being kinky....

...until next time folks!

Welcome to the Desert...

So a little time has ticked on since I made my Toina Finecast announcement and for the most part nothing has happened on that front. That is to say I'm still waiting for bits and bobs to arrive. Such as Lego to act an easily modifiable moulding box and syringes to inject the resin. Earlier on in the week I had a game of Fantasy against my friend Sircyn's Empire and got categorically smashed. A combination of poor deployment by me followed by lacklustre movement helped seal things for the most part. The only thing that could have rescued me would have been a decent magic phase which I lacked the entire game rolling no more than 5 for the winds of magic each time. With 2 spells subsequently getting deleted from my Level 4 by the tricksee Empire things weren't exactly going to go well!

So in the aftermath of that game I was left with a sunny afternoon and all my toys already out on the table. Now in actual fact I do possess a rather nicely done Realm of Battle board but chose to use my flat boards (sprayed black for games of Battlefleet Gothic) because frankly they take 30 seconds to set up rather than 15-20 minutes like the Battleboard. It is a shame that such a lovely kit is simply too much of a pain in the arse to set up. In response to that I decided to take my BFG boards outside and sand the back of them to give me an easier option for terrain when I play my games. I followed it up with a quick spray of paint and a spray of varnish to tack everything down. I found out the day after this hadn't quite worked so I then covered it in more watered down PVA. Once this had set things STILL weren't quite tacked down enough so I gave them another coat of varnish. Yet again however there were still some bits and pieces that would likely get lifted up so I finally bit the bullet and covered boards in neat PVA. I'm normally not one to squander my hobby resources like that but needs must. My hope is when things finally set the sand on the board will be utterly secure (save attacking it with implements!) which will help it survive the rigours of gaming and storage.

That's it for now! Not a particularly exciting update but an achievement none the less!

Toina Finecast......well if Citadel can do it.....

Those of you who collect Games Workshop models are probably all too aware about the recent fanfare surrounding their switch to Finecast. Games Workshop are chopping out their metal range and replacing it with a new resin that isn't a health risk and captures even more detail. Hurray! No more pinning! No more hacking for weeks on end against metal! No more chipped minis! Oh wait is that a price rise I smell? Oh well you can't win 'em all.

No matter what you think about the politics of it all the end result remains the same. Games Workshop have switched their range and the price is going up. Essentially the words "deal with it" have never felt so apt. In fairness on the Finecast front I haven't actually seen a mini in the flesh yet so my judgement is well and truly reserved. I'm intending to buy the new Liche Priest model (below) when I can muster the pennies to use as my Hierophant as I need a second caster model and the old Liche Priest on foot looks kinda goofy imo. I'll still use the old model but it will simply become my level 2.

There has been a fair bit of hate about this model on the Tomb King community ranging from suggesting he looks more like a vampire to more extreme comments saying he looks like he really needs to go take a piss. Frankly if I'd been asleep in a Tomb for a thousand years I think I'd need to go pee as well. Despite the hate I think its a cracking model and I'm looking forward to getting it. It will certainly be my first "finecast" model when I can finally afford it.

While talking about affording things here is another picture to look at:

Those of you in the know will recognise this as the latest intelligence handbook for the North African campaign for Flames of War. This can only mean one thing...I'm digging out the British 8th Army.

A little enthusiasm from watching "The World At War" while painting my Tomb Kings (which I still need to post!) and Sircyn getting re motivated to play led me to grabbing the book at a nice discount from Amazon. While I waited for it to arrive I reacquainted myself with the Flames of War rules and got pretty excited to see the new army list. When I finally got my hands on North Africa it was a bit of a mixed reaction however.

On the one hand the new book is gorgeous. Its hardback and is much better to look at. In addition the layout of the lists is nothing short of intuitive and far easier to use the the "Afrika" book which was its predecessor. The Italians have also been massively changed for the better which will no doubt please Sircyn who fields the plucky little Romans. On the negative? Sweeping changes have come in for the British which makes my army list unworkable. It should be a positive since the British now have access to MUCH more choice than before (now properly stretching their options across the entire commonwealth) but since I already have a British 8th Army Motor Company this choice doesn't affect me in the short term one jot other than to hinder me. My lorries and carriers have been wiped from the list which means I need to find no fewer than 14 transports.

I was mentioning the recent GW price rise and how some people have reacted to it. My reaction is to effectively stop buying so much stuff. Not out of some form of protest but simply because I can longer sustain spending on this plastic crack any more as I have to achieve everything else I need in my life. I have plenty of Games Workshop models still awaiting building as well as revamping to see me through for a few years so this isn't a problem. With the enthusiasm to start Flames of War again I figured since I already had an army it would be ready for me to build or repair and hit the field without spending a penny! Alas this is not the case...

So as I've been engaging in ever more ambitious and new projects lately here is another to add to my list. I'm going to experiment with my own resin casting! I will make my own truck (obviously it wouldn't be legal to use Battlefront minis for this purpose) and then I will cast it into resin. If this is successful it shouldn't be too difficult to knock out a few more clones and there we have it! Truth be told this is not a money saving endeavour as it will cost me more to make the trucks than it would have to just buy them. Why bother then? Well partly for the challenge but also because who says I'm going to stop at trucks? I worked out if I extend my approach into creating lots of models for different things I can effective build a few more companies for my Brits at very low cost to myself. It needn't stop there either as obviously once I go back into Warhammer 40k or Fantasy there is an option to create my own scratch builds but this time duplicate them in resin. This is thus an experiment and investment in my own models future. Fingers crossed it all goes well!