But my next thought was to ask what the quality was like. The internet was full of stories of how bad the quality was and I wondered whether his was a disappointment (other than the sculpt itself). Buddha (Tom Damin) had posted a review of the same model on WAU where there were some obvious deficiencies in the casting which resulted in gaps, pitting and mis-sculpts.
Charlie said he went in with some trepidation after reading Tom’s review. However the one he picked up – at the princely sum of $94 NZD = $75 USD – was in pristine condition. Some flash was evident apparently, but no major defects.
So the quality even among castings of the same model is patchy. My advice would be to wait, if you can (and I could wait a very long time for Canis Wolfborn), and let GW sort out their quality control problems. However, if you need to buy a model then you should take advantage of the new clampack packaging and check the model yourself. If, by chance, you get a miscasting I’m sure the good folks at GW will give you a replacement.
The internet being what it is though, stories must be exaggerated. From one UK blog last week, a story of the bending of one of three models in the sun rapidly developed into a model melting into a pile of goo. The blogger in question had to publish a disclaimer after being told by a stranger at a tournament how he had “heard” about the extent of the blogger’s problem. Given a week I’m sure GW would have been responsible for the Gulf oil spill.
Love to hear your experiences of Finecast. Generally positive? Negative?
P.S. BTW you may have picked up that I don’t particularly like Space Wolves. Nothing to do with the codex – except that it was published – and more to with a strong distaste for the Powder Blue-ness of them. I also think it is very strange that a group of jacked guys hang out on Fenris covering themselves in animal pelts. I’m not sure the Chapter isn’t a front for a “Furry Convention”.
Haha, I did come across one blog somewhere where someone had stuck a forgeworld mini in the window next to a finecast, and found that the finecast had started to melt, but it turned out that the forgeworld model itself wasn't fine either; both suffered quite badly under the effects of the direct sun magnified by the glass, and the heat in general.
ReplyDeleteI think its blown out of proportion though, the reality is if it had been a human baby sitting on that window sill it would be dead long before any minis had started to show signs of damage. Moral of the story is simply don't be retarded with your models - if they had stuck them anywhere else in the house it would be fine.
Reminds me of someone driving to a tourney in Aus with an eldar titan on the back window tray. By the time they got to their destination, it had a rather bad case of brewers droop on its legs and barrels.
WHO THE HELL LEAVES A MODEL UP THERE WHILE DRIVING THROUGH AN AUSTRALIAN DESERT?!!?
Yeah, there are a lot of horror stories out there about Finecast.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to know what to believe, frankly.
The poll I put up on my site listed a lot of people not happy with their finecast. Even assuming that unhappy people are more likely to find and vote in the poll I guess that a 1 in 5 unacceptable miscast rate with the current finecast. Some people get great minis, a fair amount get good minis but way to many get bad minis. I am not going to risk it right now.
ReplyDeleteApparently there have been a grand total of 3 complaints with models in the local GW store, all of which were instantly replaced and the replacement was satisfactory.
ReplyDeleteI think people let the Internet-Hyperbole get a bit out of hand sometimes.
Miscasts and quality control will get better with time, its clearly worse than it should have been (particularly given they jacked the prices up at the same time) but problems are expected in the first few months of a new production process. It not a major issue in any case because GW have a very good returns policy, I have always been able to go in and swap miscasts or kits with stuff missing for a new one no questions asked.
ReplyDeleteMy main concern is the material itself, even ignoring the possible issues with high temperature (they are probably exaggerated, need to see over a longer term) I have seen plenty of reports which suggest that the material is dangerously soft. Models which bend easily even without being heated and can be cut, snapped or dented very easily are not going to stand up to the rigours of repeated tabletop gaming very well.
So far, it feels no different to forgeworld resin tbh.
ReplyDeleteThe only difference I expect, is that it will be harder to chip, and more catastrophic if I drop it on the floor.
Note to self, do not drop on floor!
Yep, I had a bad experience, some others have not. My particular case was complicated as I bought the mini from an online retailer here in Australia, so I could not have just opened it at the store and asked for a replacement immediately.
ReplyDelete$94 Kiwi is absolutely ridiculous, however, what is even more ridiculous, is that it is $10 CHEAPER to buy it in NZ with the exchange rate currently than in Aus at our retail.
94 NZD = 74 AUD
Currenty AUD Retail for Canis = 83
Goodness me indeed.
Anyway, I will get around to putting together a letter to GW about my bad Canis experience and let you know the results of said letter.