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Author Topic: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...  (Read 7486 times)

Offline GamesPoet

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #50 on: April 19, 2018, 11:57:33 AM »
Updating!

The Ongoing Tally

Your choice for miniatures ...

1. Metal only.  Chumley
2. Metal and plastic. Artobans, Rowsdower, dougheim, zak
3. Metal and resin.
4. Metal, and plastic, and resin. Zygmund, scrubber
5. Mostly metal and plastic, occasionally resin. GP, Bartolo, 023, Warlord, Xathro, SOF, Midaski, Ale-bbr, Novogord. patsy02, Rogers Kul
6. Mostly plastic and resin, occasionally metal.
7. Mostly metal and resin, occasionally plastic.
8. Mostly metal, occasionally plastic, no resin.
9. Mostly metal occasionally resin, no plastic.
10. Mostly plastic, occasionally metal. no resin. Fidelis, Konrad, JAK, Padre
11. Mostly resin, occasionally metal, no plastic.
12. Mostly plastic, occasionally resin, no metal.
13. Mostly resin, occasionally plastic, no metal.
14. Plastic and resin.
15. Plastic only.
16. Resin only.
17. Mostly plastic, occasionally metal, occasionally resin. Oxycutor, Gankom, Ursa, SKS
18. Mostly metal, occasionally resin, occasionally plastic. Brother Sutek
19. Mostly resin, occasionally plastic, occasionally metal.
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Offline Shadespyre

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #51 on: April 19, 2018, 12:27:55 PM »
For any of us who were gaming in the 80s, I think metal is for miniatures, plastic is for toys, and resin is a strange new idea which has many of the faults of both.

BUT we should all be grateful for the way plastic has revolutionised the hobby - slotta bases, plastic shields, the amazing conversion resources provided by (c. 6th ed) Warhammer kits - are all boons even to those of us who want all our miniatures to be metal.

Also, metal vehicle kits do tend to be be hard work at best - plastic WH40k vehicles are brilliant, and anyone who has painted a large metal dragon must grudgingly agree that it's physically painful at times. Plastic definitely has a place.

Set up costs for metal miniatures mean that resin is the only choice for large, limited run fantasy models. I don't like it but it's where we're at.

As Midaski said above - "I am open minded about the medium depending on the actual sculpt". I'd go further than that. The problem is not so much the medium as with quality control and the entire design of the model.

QC - a badly cast model is a bad model, whether it's misaligned moulds, air bubbles or breakages, in any medium. QC is often slacker on resin compared to metal, because a bad metal mini can go back in the melting pot, a bad resin model is waste. Nowadays you wouldn't accept a metal model in the state which many resin ones are delivered in, with tons of flash and huge chunks of vent material (though back in the 80s we were less fussy about metal, I think).

By design, I don't really mean the sculpt, I mean how the model is posed, broken into parts for casting and so on. I think if people take into account what the final medium will be, the results are generally better, easier to assemble, more robust - just more practical models. Finecast was a mess partly because GW were trying to make models intended to be metal work in resin, I think. Reaper's "Bonesium" illustrates this well - some models translate brilliantly from metal to the soft plastic, some don't work well at all. It's good for large, bulky shapes, and holds reasonable detail, but it isn't good at straight lines and sharp edges like plastic is.

So from my personal experience - I love the weight and feel of a metal model, and have the skills to work with them for conversion etc, but I understand and enjoy the appeal of plastics. Resin can be terrible - I hated working with some Raging Heroes models, Forgeworld has been okay, I haven't really handled Finecast at all - but it can also be great, I've had some lovely models in resin from Heresy Miniatures, and from Scibor, and from Warploque.

Oh, I guess I'm another #5. I'd love to be a #1, but the technology has moved on and there are too many excellent plastic and resin models to ignore. And we all love our bits, right?

Offline Zak

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #52 on: April 19, 2018, 10:21:50 PM »
I agree metal figures but plastic larger models
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Offline ZeroTwentythree

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #53 on: April 19, 2018, 10:49:07 PM »
Oh, I guess I'm another #5. I'd love to be a #1, but the technology has moved on and there are too many excellent plastic and resin models to ignore. And we all love our bits, right?

That's where I'm at.

I've grown tired of assembling rank & file plastic kits. I'd rather have good one-piece metal minis. (Separate weapons are OK.) But there are many plastic kits that are good, inexpensive, or both -- and can't be ignored. Some of the GW undead are great! But honestly, I'm tempted to trade in the remainder of my old 4th ed. Empire plastics that are still on sprues/in boxes for Artizan, Foundry, or other metal landsknechts. They're more likely to get painted. I wan't more halberdiers. But I hate assembling them.

I've still got mixed feelings on resin. I love the Westfalia halflings, and the detail is good, etc. But I'm starting to wish they were metal. I think the largest reason they're not all painted already is dealing with the bendy weapons. I think I'm OK with resin for large, bulky minis (*cough*cough*giants*)  :wink: terrain and maybe an occasional unique model, but not for most human/humanoid figures.

I think it depends on the resin, too. Not sure what the difference is, but when I painted some Warmachine stuff a few years ago, their resin was way different. Much harder, easier to scrape & sand, not as bendy. Then there's the other new materials... Bones, PVC, etc... I appreciate that manufacturers are experimenting. And like Resin, I think Bones is decent for really large, bulky models -- and even cheaper than resin. But there are definite limitations.

As much as I like metal, it's good to see experimentation & adaptation to create better models or cheaper models where possible. Not that it always works out for the best.  :wink:

Offline Zygmund

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #54 on: April 20, 2018, 06:32:53 AM »
Resins and alternative plastics (bones, restic) vary a lot. In practice, you have to see and feel in your hands what the material from each manufacturer is.

Photos help a lot, but the medium might still surprise.

I'm regularly changing soft resin and bones swords etc. into hard plastic ones. More controlled & reliable than bending in hot water.

With metals - and especially older and not in vogue metals - I've found a different problem: the example photos often show badly painted miniatures. Thus you cannot judge from the photos if the sculpt is decent or not. Recently, I took my chance with some 15/18mm fantasy models, and was very positively surprised.

-Z
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Offline Drakenhof

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #55 on: April 20, 2018, 02:45:50 PM »
My choice:

#2

Pointing that I have used resin and I might buy something again of this material if I like the mini, but my past experiences have been generally bad, regardless of finecast, forgeworld or other caster. In my case would be more probable to buy bits from this material than entire miniatures (thinking about stuff coming from Kromlech, Victoria, Miniatures, and so).

Offline GamesPoet

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #56 on: April 22, 2018, 12:07:12 PM »
Updating ...

The Ongoing Tally

Your choice for miniatures ...

1. Metal only.  Chumley
2. Metal and plastic. Artobans, Rowsdower, dougheim, zak, Drakenhof
3. Metal and resin.
4. Metal, and plastic, and resin. Zygmund, scrubber
5. Mostly metal and plastic, occasionally resin. GP, Bartolo, 023, Warlord, Xathro, SOF, Midaski, Ale-bbr, Novogord. patsy02, Rogers Kul, Shadespyre
6. Mostly plastic and resin, occasionally metal.
7. Mostly metal and resin, occasionally plastic.
8. Mostly metal, occasionally plastic, no resin.
9. Mostly metal occasionally resin, no plastic.
10. Mostly plastic, occasionally metal. no resin. Fidelis, Konrad, JAK, Padre
11. Mostly resin, occasionally metal, no plastic.
12. Mostly plastic, occasionally resin, no metal.
13. Mostly resin, occasionally plastic, no metal.
14. Plastic and resin.
15. Plastic only.
16. Resin only.
17. Mostly plastic, occasionally metal, occasionally resin. Oxycutor, Gankom, Ursa, SKS
18. Mostly metal, occasionally resin, occasionally plastic. Brother Sutek
19. Mostly resin, occasionally plastic, occasionally metal.
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Offline hamster

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #57 on: April 22, 2018, 02:47:03 PM »
guess i'd belong to #8
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Offline GamesPoet

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #58 on: April 22, 2018, 06:11:22 PM »
Updating ...

The Ongoing Tally

Your choice for miniatures ...

1. Metal only.  Chumley
2. Metal and plastic. Artobans, Rowsdower, dougheim, zak, Drakenhof
3. Metal and resin.
4. Metal, and plastic, and resin. Zygmund, scrubber
5. Mostly metal and plastic, occasionally resin. GP, Bartolo, 023, Warlord, Xathro, SOF, Midaski, Ale-bbr, Novogord. patsy02, Rogers Kul, Shadespyre
6. Mostly plastic and resin, occasionally metal.
7. Mostly metal and resin, occasionally plastic.
8. Mostly metal, occasionally plastic, no resin. hamster
9. Mostly metal occasionally resin, no plastic.
10. Mostly plastic, occasionally metal. no resin. Fidelis, Konrad, JAK, Padre
11. Mostly resin, occasionally metal, no plastic.
12. Mostly plastic, occasionally resin, no metal.
13. Mostly resin, occasionally plastic, no metal.
14. Plastic and resin.
15. Plastic only.
16. Resin only.
17. Mostly plastic, occasionally metal, occasionally resin. Oxycutor, Gankom, Ursa, SKS
18. Mostly metal, occasionally resin, occasionally plastic. Brother Sutek
19. Mostly resin, occasionally plastic, occasionally metal.
[/quote]
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Offline phillyt

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #59 on: April 24, 2018, 12:49:04 PM »
I like my character models in metal and my larger models in plastic.  I hated trying to keep old pewter models together.
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Offline wissenlander

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #60 on: April 24, 2018, 01:37:57 PM »
I guess I'm at 2.  I've not been collecting since resin set in so I haven't even had the chance.  I like metal and plastic models though, depending on what the model is.
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Offline FaantBoy501

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #61 on: April 24, 2018, 02:43:41 PM »
1# Metal all the way  :biggriin: Got two classic full metal armies.
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Offline Gankom

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #62 on: April 24, 2018, 04:14:49 PM »
I love metal characters, but I absolutely hate any of the large metal stuff. I've never (successfully) done pinning, so it was always a massive problem trying to glue the monsters or machines together. Even with good glue it would take forever and frequently break. I also much prefer plastic for the troops. Maybe not the special choices, I far prefer the metal ironbreakers or greatswords to the plastic.

Offline Warlord

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Re: A poll ... metal, plastic, resin ...
« Reply #63 on: May 03, 2018, 08:54:16 PM »
1# Metal all the way  :biggriin: Got two classic full metal armies.

What are they? Love to see them!
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