Finecast the truth - Please reply

[chaptermasters]

I have recently decided to stop buying Finecast and just returned my unopened clamp packs in exchange for plastic goodness. After talking with my local store manger, who said he really hadn't had many returns lately. I'm wondering if I've over reacted?

 

I've only bought 5 Finecast models, of the 3 I opened, 1 was Great 1 was OK and 1 had a major defect and should have been taken back. What I want to know is how good has it been to people? The question is simple.

 

"How many Finecast models should/have you exchanged due to major defects and how many have been OK or great?" No horror stories and pictures please. There are lots of other threads with this in.If you have had to exchange the same model multiple time. Please count each time as a separate model (so you might have to say 9 out of 9 exchanged). I'm just after a response of

 

"Needed to exchange 1 of 3 models.

 

Exchanged model was a Hive guard which had a defect on his neck from lack of mould release."

 

Thanks Jon

[Herald of Ultramar]

I've bought a finecast Captain Sicarius, Chaos Hero, and a box of Sternguard Veterans. Of those, I returned three of the Veterans; the Sergeant's power fist was full of bubbles, one of the Veterans had a badly miscast leg where the halves hadn't lined up, and one had a broken bolter scope. I could have returned Sicarius, as there were cracks down both sides of his helmet, but chose not to.

 

The Chaos Exalted Hero had no problems whatsoever beyond a tiny bubble on his boot that was easily repaired with greenstuff.

[T14]

Zero bought.

Zero exchanged.

 

win-win situation :ph34r:

- T14

[WingsOfTheFalcon]

I'd also bear in mind the higher propensity for unsatisfied customers to make noise than satisfied customers, which will skew your perceptions if you read a lot of online forums and haven't bought any of the kits.

 

I've only had to exchange one mini in finecast, which was Queek. Not due to casting defects, but a packing error as they had packed two body sprues and no weapons sprue!

 

I do think they should give away liquid GS free with larger kits though, just to rectify the inevitable casting issues their new production method is throwing up.

[crazychib]

I'm on my 3rd Imotekh the Stormlord model. The first model had a bad mold slip and alot of details obscured by bubbles. The second had holes in the cloak, broken legs and missing finger. Both were poorly cast. The third was hand-picked and checked before GW sent it out to me. It still had a few problems, but they can be fixed.

 

That first experience put me off Finecast, but I could not resist buying the anniversary marine. He has some problems with bubbles, but nothing too serious.

 

I expect Finecast to be (at least) as good as their metal and plastic models, but the quality is so hit or miss. If GW can sort out their Quality Control I would be alot happier buying Finecast, until then, I will be avoiding it.

[winterdyne]

9 Captain Sterns; None Acceptable - please see my blog for a full work through of one.

1 Emperor's Champion; Acceptable but warped sword requiring a lot of work to re-train to be straight. Didn't quite take. Please see my blog for the end result.

So far 3 25th Anniversary Captains; None Acceptable.

 

Flaws typically warping (parts being off shape - in particular things that should be circular), mould slip, bubbling destroying detail which would need fixing, thinning of parts (harder to explain but if you imagine that the resin pulls 'in' when setting you get the idea).

 

In short sorry, the majority of the horror stories are true and not exaggerated.

 

Expect to do a lot of work (pre-paint) on a Finecast mini, including several returns / replacements.

[dswanick]

My backlog of work on old minis has kept me from buying Finecast. I have, however, seen all the problems others in my group have had. My perception : Finecast is junk and I won't drop a cent on it.

[Montuhotep]

It seems to be very much hit and miss / pot luck with Finecast even after almost a year since initial release, which is confusing as they've had plenty of time to iron out the kinks in the system by now. After all, a subsidiary of theirs - Forgeworld - has been casting stuff in resin, both big and small, for almost ten years now, so you figure GW might have asked them to provide the expertise.

 

The general rule of thumb seems to be that it is far better to buy Finecast in a store and check it (ideally before purchase) than do mail order or somesuch - after all, Finecast bought from a third party (FLGS OR other retailer like Battlewagon et al) might not be accepted back by GW; they sold it so any flaws should have been reported then, they can disclaim responsibility to a certain degree.

 

Personally, I've bought three Finecast minis, one of which was okay, one slightly dodgy but could be fixed, and one that was atrocious. It really does seem to be bad luck. Although one wonders why these miscasts were not pulled at the manufacturing stage, given that there are so many reports of them.

[Subtle Discord]

None purchased, thus no returns.

 

That said, it is not because I'm 'avoiding' Finecast due to horror stories, I'm just forcing myself to actually complete some of the kits I already own.

 

The main point I wanted to make;

 

Do not take horror stories to be any kind of comment on resin casting in general. Resin casting is a mature and very viable process that can produce top quality product, almost every time, if care is taken during the process. Resin casting for gaming miniatures is successful, and here to stay.

 

The problems GW is facing with Finecast are strictly Quality Control (If the cast is crap, it must go in the garbage, period. Do not ship it to make quota!), and a lack of skill in the workers. Resin casting can be tricky (Both making the moulds and pouring the resin), and it takes a certain 'knack' to do it really well. Reports of perfect product prove that some of their staff have the needed 'knack'.

 

I may not totally agree with some choices made by GW, but I really do like the company and their product - I've bought enough of it over the years. While I am disappointed with how GW is handling Finecast, I believe they will improve their QC over (hopefully less) time. Otherwise they will face a backlash of lower sales and maybe even counterfeiting of their older products.

[StrayCatt]

3 finecast purchases, 3 good to great models.

 

I have purchased a decent amount of resin models over the years, from various sources including FW and military/sci-fi model manufacturers. The quality has ranged from workable to unbelievably awesome. Most have had some issues, ranging from warping to incomplete casting. In this, finecast is not unique. While I realize that resin casting has improved leaps and bounds in the last decade, it is still an inexact method. The problem GW appears to be struggling with, IMO, is definitely quality control. The same issue they have had with metal castings. Having seen the spincasting room, and the casters, at the US Headquarters back in the day, I am not surprised. Quality control back then was definitely hit or miss, and was often overlooked due to the volume of metal being cast. The dissappointing bit for me, is that they are now casting less, but have failed to step up the quality control, instead seeming to rely on the customers to perform their quality control for them. Considering the relative modeling inexperience of a large part of their customer base, I am not surprised they have chosen to half-ass the quality control, but I am definitely dissappointed.

 

Other manufacturers, such McVey, cater to a more experienced crowd, so are more on the ball with quality control.

 

-Adam

[Grotsmasha]

2 bought, 0 exchanges/returns; Astorath the Grim, 25th Ann Captain. Astorath was "Perfect", nothing wrong, small bubble on PP shoulder for 25th, I figured thats as good as I'm gunna get.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Seahawk]

5 purchased, all had defects (but I kept them).

 

This is wrong. Subtle Discord got it right; none of these should have left the factory except in the garbage. It's about a complete failure of Quality Control.

[Stolid Fox]

I've purchased only 2 models -- a techmarine and a 25th anniversary model. Both had some minor problems here and there, but nothing like the pics I've seen all over the net; overall I'm satisfied but not much more with them, I love the fact it is easy to cut for conversion but otherwise I tend to avoid it due to price and the issues I've seen from others.

[killersquid]

The only finecast models I've bought was a woodelf spellsinger and Dante. Both were in fantastic condition and so far I'm quite impressed with them. I actually hope that the Sanguinor comes out in Finecast at some point so I can replace the top heavy pewter model.

[Araziel]

7 finecast Nurgle Daemon Princes.

I sent 6 back due to a variety of problems, the 7th cast I was sent was flawless.

 

Proves that it can be done, they just need to work on quality control as others have said.

[Spinsanity]

7 finecast Nurgle Daemon Princes.

I sent 6 back due to a variety of problems, the 7th cast I was sent was flawless.

 

Proves that it can be done, they just need to work on quality control as others have said.

That was to be expected, the 7th was Nurgle-blessed, of course! :lol:

 

On my end, I've bought 4 so far, and although I've only built two, I did take a close look at the other two and they all looked stellar.

[Araziel]

That was to be expected, the 7th was Nurgle-blessed, of course! :)

 

I knew somebody would spot the irony <_<

[CommissarStone]

Why would anyone be willing to pay good money for a product they then ended to invest additional time, effort and resources in restoring to the pristine condition it should have been in when it was purchased???

 

All these "1 perfect, 3 good, 1 returned, so I think Finecast is great" comments ought to have been "1 acceptable and 4 unacceptable."

 

I just can't fathom why anything less than a perfect cast would be something a customer would settle for. It's not the customer's job to forgive the company, the product, or the difficulties encountered in the manufacturing process; it is the customer's role to simply purchase the product. It is the company's responsibility to provide high quality products at a competitive price, free of defects and with equally high-quality customer service. If GW is failing at that, accepting sub-standard product certainly does not encourage them to change their approach...

[Res Ipsa Loquitur]

Bought two, returned none. Astorath was perfect, Dante had slight miscasts on his backpack's intakes and his axe was badly bent. Both easily fixable.

[Spinsanity]

Why would anyone be willing to pay good money for a product they then ended to invest additional time, effort and resources in restoring to the pristine condition it should have been in when it was purchased???

What some seem to forget is that metal, although apparently better, was not perfect either... I've had my share of bent models, even some that came in with fragile parts twisted beyond repair. Larger models were/are (where they remain) a PITA (the Hellcanon being the worst I tried).

 

Sure enough, Finecast isn't perfect, but I can live with its faults and will wait for a replacement when I eventually need one.

[Subtle Discord]

I just can't fathom why anything less than a perfect cast would be something a customer would settle for. It's not the customer's job to forgive the company, the product, or the difficulties encountered in the manufacturing process; it is the customer's role to simply purchase the product. It is the company's responsibility to provide high quality products at a competitive price, free of defects and with equally high-quality customer service. If GW is failing at that, accepting sub-standard product certainly does not encourage them to change their approach...

While I can understand where you're coming from, and agree completely, there needs to be modest (key word) room for error. I really don't want to come off as being 'snobbish', but until you've tried casting (I've done both metal and resin) it can be hard see just how fickle the process can be. Having only done 'hobby level' casting, I can only imagine what it must be like to do it on a commercial level on the scope of GW. Some bubbles, mould slip, flash, and other minor errors are unavoidable. Otherwise costs would be astronomical, compared to already being high.

 

That said, there also needs to be an acceptable level of Quality Control. A company must accept a certain level of waste, and do what they can to avoid it in the first place. The price point that GW has their Finecast product at demands better Quality Control then what they have been providing up to this point. On that we can agree.

[winterdyne]

I agree with you mostly but I think mould slip is a no-no. REALLY shouldn't happen with properly made and closed moulds. Nor should shape-warping (round things not being round, straight things not being straight), with very few exceptions (for things that are very easily fixed).

[Warbringer]

I've had 8 models and exchanged 3.

 

The last one i brought was the Wolf Lord and Thunderwolf Mount and was perfect, probably the best i've had except for a backpack which had a whole in the top I rang the Customer service department and asked for a replacement as i certainly do not want to return the whole model as i've finished all the GS'ing etc.

[Brother Caedrius]

So far I've bought:

 

DE Archon - good cast but soft and wobbly, left foot broke off and so did horns on helmet, all I did was hold him! but glued and held well using superglue

Urien Rakarth - again a soft cast but good detail, a piece off the top pincer arm, but was reattached easily and no probs since

Succubus - warped power weapon arm and missing piece of agoniser, nothing a smidgen of GS and a hair dryer couldnt resolve

Medusae - covered in a horrendous greasy film but a great cast

Haemonculous - soft, wobbly and seriously warped, heated him up got him stabilised but very weak joint, arms were a bugger to attach and had to be pinned to stop them falling off

Eldar Rangers - great casts, no problems and good quality resin, almost felt like a FW piece

Eldar Autarch - good cast but again soft resin, bit too bendy

Lelith Hesperax - good cast, soft resin, covered in greasy film stuff

Incubi - mixed bag, some good some terrible, also incorrect figures to match the sword sprue, took them back and got the pick of 2 boxes + good originals and some spare swords! Win

Wood Elf windseer chick - great looking cast, still in clamshell

 

and another Haemonculous - best cast I've had, really good quality, no bubbles or missing parts, and amazing quality resin, felt like a mix between a plastic sprue piece and a FW piece - most recent purchase and just wish/hope this new mix was not just a one off as it was amazing! If they were able to hit that every time there'd be no cause for concern.

 

As it is, seems some of the casts are still covered in the mold release agent, which is also a pain in the posterior with some of the softer, more flexible models as I'm petrified of cleaning them and breaking bits off as they are quite fragile!

[AGPO]

Seven bought, all had issues of which only one was fixable.