Guest Post - Games Workshop Past, Present and Future - Part 3

So onto the final part of Mike's discussion about the state of GW  Part 1 Part 2

Games Workshop has tried all sorts of things over the years, but through the ups and downs I have generally been impressed with the quality of the models they have produced. After a spell of selling a few dodgy plastic/metal hybrid kits in the late ‘90s, the quality of the kits (to my mind) has improved again. Some of the recent plastics have been excellent, no doubt about that. And despite my complaint about pricing, the models look great on the table as well. Then we were offered something even better...

 

I was looking forward to GW’s Finecast range when it was first brought out. Forgeworld resin models had been out of my price range for years, and I was keen to see what working with resin would be like. So... I did the proper thing and walked into a GW store (ignoring their sales pitch), and purchased a Finecast Zoanthrope. When I got around to opening the blister pack later that day, I was somewhat surprised. I had assumed, like most people must have done, that my Finecast model was going to be finely cast. Unfortunately as you gradually learn over years, one should never assume anything. It was not a fine model at all. There were some lumpy imperfections on the main body, which annoyed me... not so much because I couldn’t fix those problems (using a file). I was more irritated that a GW employee had gone out of his way to ‘big up’ the quality of what I had bought, just a few hours earlier.

 

 Oh my what a big hole!

 

After construction, the Finecast model never did look quite as nice as my metal Z’s. There was something about its gait that I was never quite happy with. Moreover the thing tended not to stay upright on the gaming board. It was not overbalancing as such, like some of the very old metal kits did. The model just seemed a little bit too top heavy and light for use on a crowded battlefield. The slightest touch sent it toppling. For that reason I sometimes kept it in a box, while it’s supposedly inferior metal brethren graced our games table.

 

When I moved to the big city, my Finecast Z was stored in its own section of a padded metal case. After some months of them not being handled, I unpacked my models. The Finecast model bent when I picked it up (by the base), and it broke off at a point of weakness (Z’s have a thin ‘tail’, connecting to the base). The metal Z’s, which I have owned for years, and have all been dropped a good few times, and are all still in one piece.

 

My first finecast mini - Keith

 

Maybe I had bought a ‘dud’ model, and the quality of Finecast is actually okay? - Perhaps. But it seems that I was not alone. People from my gaming group and various others have reported bubbles in Finecast resin. These faults might be unavoidable in resin, or they may not, I don’t know. Whether it is or not; GW are not afraid to charge a lot of money for Finecast, and to talk up its quality. Without listing the full extent of the horror, until recently GW was asking £15.50 for a single Finecast ripper swarm... (cough) ... mind you, even they realised that one was a complete a giraffe. The product was removed from GW’s website once their new Tyranid range surfaced. These prices, combined with the borderline false advertising associated with Finecast, which has caused me to be annoyed enough to write this short article.

 

So why might I buy Finecast, or even GW’s expensive (but good) plastics over a cheaper set from Mantic’s range? The answer is I no longer do. The Mantic models are almost as nice as GW plastics (some are, some aren't - Keith), and I get a lot more for my money (yes definitely - Keith). My only real complaint about Mantic is that a few of the smaller models are a tiny bit warped/bent near the legs. But hey this is plastic not Finecast, so any relatively experienced modeller can fix the faults with polystyrene cement, I managed it. Let it be known that poly cement is an amazing tool. The folks at GW clearly think so as well, judging by what they charge for the product.

 

The quality of the plastics has definitely gone up.

 

Buying cheaper but slightly dodgier plastics is not something I worry about greatly. To my mind that’s sort of the point of having a lot of plastic units to game with isn’t it? Besides, inexpensive plastics, even single pose ones, are great for kids who are learning to how to make models. No parents in tears when bits break off either, even if minis end up in the bin. We are increasingly offered less of those cheaper, expendable options with GW. That’s because GW isn’t for the average young enthusiast any more – despite the pictures of happy kids holding GW branded tape measures we see churned out by their marketing department. Instead, GW is rapidly becoming a big collectors range. And that said, arguably something of a dodgy collectors range, with Finecast being what it is.

 

I could ramble on further, but I will not. Instead, allow me to conclude with a polite message to the powers that be at Games Workshop.

 

GW - I can forgive the fact that we need more models to play your games these days. The games are quite good. However, please realise that you pricing strategy is driving people away from the hobby. You have some real competitors now, and they know what they’re doing. I can’t help but see that you are too precious to admit this. Please have a good think about your next business moves, because if they aren’t the correct ones, there might not be any Games Workshop stores in a few years.

 

So obviously this is a big topic at the moment and whilst GW don't seem to be in trouble yet they aren't doing as well as they were.  I agree with Mike that the prices are driving customers away, it's frustrating, we don't want GW to do badly, far from it, we love the worlds they have created and this fantastic hobby they introduced us to, but if they continue as they are we simply won't be buying much from them in the future.  Thoughts anyone?

So thanks to Mike for writing these posts, it's been a successful experiment I think and I'll have to have a look at doing it again some time.

Scibor Sci-Fi Servants

My first ever miniatures from scibor arrived today, a pack of 4 servants in a gothic sci-fi style very similar to what I'm used to with 40K.  The plan is to use them as a display retinue for my chapter master (who admittedly doesn't yet exist).  I like the styling here, although I do feel that the models are a tad short.  Another big plus is the fantastic scenic bases that come with them, so good I don't think I'm going to waste them on these figures!

The figures are made out of resin, which I don't seem to be having much luck with, like my finecast experiences 3 out of the 4 figures I recieved have serious bubble defects, as shown below.  The guy missing the side of his hood is particulary annoying.  I could return them, but frankly I can't be bothered.  Like finecast it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth after the purchase, and it's even more frustrating as the bits without bubbles are well cast and have superb detail.

The White Dwarf - As A Pirate!!!

Today I'm going to take a look at this years White Dwarf subscription model that I've just finished painting.  This year the Grombrindal has found himself a pirate outfit to wear (no doubt inspired by Dreadfleet).  He also comes with a scenic base and for the first time is in citadel finecast.

This is only my second finecast model, after my somewhat disapointing first experience I've been avoiding the medium.  I bought this in the local games workshop emporium and the first one I opened (in store) was appaling, The mould didn't seemed to have been alined properly and he was missing the thumb that was supposed to be holding his pistol.  The second one I opened was a lot better, but as you can see above there are still a couple of bubbles, but I can work with that, and I wanted the model and they didn't have any more in the shop.  I've yet to see a blemish free 'finecast' with my own eyes, and I'm not exactly crying out to buy more.

Finecast issues aside I really like the model, he has a lot of good little pirate touches and a cool parrot, whilst retaining the fact he's clearly a dwarf.  I was tempted to put him on a square base so that I could use hime when playing warhammer, but decided in the end that the scenic base was too good to waste and I have plenty of heroes and lords in my army anyway.

Uncharted Seas - Iron Dwarfs

My latest impulse purchase today, I was taking advantage of Wayland Games halloween Mantic Zombie offer (more on them in a day or two) and couldn't help but to add a few Iron Dwarf ships from Uncharted seas to my basket, I've been eyeing up the spartan games stuff for a while and the 40% off was just too tempting.  I am now the proud owner of a Iron Dwarf battleship and 6 frigates.

These are the first things I've ever bought from Spartan Games and I have to say I'm impressed.  Firstly the sheer size of the battleship, it's a lot bigger than I expected, I shudder to think what certain other companys would charge for a lump of resin that size.  The resin itself is very solid, and detailed, it looks similar to the flames of war resin, but I'm no expert, and it took the paint absolutely fine.  I'm also excited by the fact that I'm impressed by these and I know full well that better more detailed versions are due out soon.

The ships themselves have a very American civil war feel to me with the battleship reminiscent of a casemate ironclad and the frigates with a definate monitor feel.  I also think they don't look out of place next to the Dwarf ship from Dreadfleet, which is always a nice potential bonus for rules fiddling.

Overall £8 well spent, even if it does mean I've gone and started another project (probaly two, as resisting dystopian wars is getting more and more unlikely).

The Great God Pan

I've gone and ordered something I've had my eye on for a while, a limited edition resin Pan from studio mcvey.

It comes in a blister in 6 parts, with a base and a certificate saying it is a limited edition of 750, mine is 371, the certificate isn't much use for anything, but its a nice touch.

The casting is fantastic, its easily the highest quality miniature I've ever bought (makes a mockery of GW's claim that finecast are the worlds greatest minis, although of course they are mass produced whereas these are not) no bubbles, hardly a mould line and fantastic detail.  The price isn't bad either, Pan comes in at a couple of quid more than a single finecast model, but is bigger and comes with a scenic base.  These aren't really designed as gaming pieces though and are fragile.  The resin itself is similar to the forgeworld stuff, though without the bubbles

I'm really chuffed with this model, and its taking pride of place in my collection, I'm going to be keeping a closer eye on studio mcvey from now on.

Mantic Plastic-Resin Wraiths

I've purchased a box of Mantic Games Wraiths to expand my warhammer vampire counts army, these are the first models I've bought that are made out of Mantics plastic-resin material.

They come in the slim Mantic hard plastic case, which I'm a big fan of they're really useful storage boxes.  I actually prefer the slimmer 'small' boxes as they take the models better.

Inside the box you get two bags of 5 wraiths, two pieces of foam (which I PVA to the box to make up the storage solution) 10 square bases and a Mantic point.  Each bag of 5 wraiths includes 3 one piece models, 2 armed with swords and one with a scythe.  The other two in each bag have a couple of arm options, including another scythe, a flail and a mace.

Here is a picture of 5 of the wraiths aseembled, the box contains two each of these.

I like them, they appear floating and ghostlike, I like the variety of weapons, but I would have liked another scythe option as it is the seminal weapon associated with this troop type.  Another thing is that they are very much tied into the Kings of War range with scuplting links to the Revenants in particular.  The plastic-resin material that the models are made from is odd and wasn't what I was expecting.  It is a hard resin very different to the new Citadel Finecast, and it doesn't have the same sharpness nor the flexibilty.  Having said that I think this resin is designed for making troops not single extremly high quality characters as Mantic are still releasing such models in metal.  It needs superglue to stick together and took the glue well, and like finecast will take dropping a lot better than a metal model.

Here are the first 5 painted:

And now moving on to the comparison bit......

For comparision here is my unit of GW Wraiths painitng in a similar scheme.  Which ones are better? I think its really close, but I come down slightly on the side of the GW ones, I think its the cowled heads.  That is until you look at the price, the retail price of the box of 10 Mantic wraiths is £14, GW ones cost £7.20 each which means 10 would cost you a whopping £72!!! that means the GW ones cost nearly 5 times as much, I'm aware that they're made from metal which will inevitably increase the price, but still.  And I do prefer the new resins coming out as a material than metal, I game with my models and the do get dropped, so being more resiliant to this is a massive plus in my book.

Overall another great product from Mantic at a great price, Highly recommended.

My Finecast Review

I popped into my local GW on my way home from work yesterday and picked up my first 'finecast' miniature.  Now I've not been as sceptical bout this as a lot a people, I have no particular attachment to metal and see no problem with change if its for the better (I've seen alot of changes in this hobby over the last 19 years and I think it's in a brilliant place now with a huge variety of awesome figures and games), but I've also been a bit dubious of the hype that GW have tried to surround the launch with.  Anyway without further ado here is the blister (sorry clampack) of my new wood elf highborn with great weapon.

I like the new packaging, the pretty pic of the painted model on the front and the fact you can turn it over and still have a look at the product, this covers both bases and I have no issues with it at all.  I think it just looks better and more modern somehow compared to the old packaging.

One of the first things to note is that these 'finecast' models come on little sprues like plastic kits.  Mine contains a lot of flash as well and took some triming to get it all sorted, the bit in the middle between the tree and his groin was a particular pain.  Now we come to the big problem with this change though, quality control.

Theres a big hole in the base on my sword, no amount of filling with superglue (as suggested in this months white dwarf) is going to fix that, I had been warned about bubbles in resin, but thats the first time I've seen it and boy is it annoying.  From reading around the internet this seems to be a very common problem that a lot of poeple seem to be having.

This is him stuck together. The resin does have a lot of positives compared with metal, first and formost the detail is definately far crisper than anything I've ever seen on a metal model, its also very light which will make painting easier, especially for the larger models.  It's also very flexible and cuts very easily and will be good for conversions.  It took the glue very well, and I did a test drop from a metre high with no discernable effects, this is a big plus we've all dropped a model at some point (in my case normally my newly painted metal character) and the added chance of survival in a gaming piece is a great plus to the material.

And here is the finished painted model.  It came out really well I feel the extra crispness really does add to the finished effect, however I feel that damage to the sword will be winding me up for years to come.  

Overall a big meh, nice crisper detail runied by the worry of bubbles and price rises that are never welcome. I won't be going out of my way to particulary buy finecast miniatures until they get their quality control issues sorted, which is a shame as I feel there is a lot of potential here.

Adeptus Mechanicus & Resin

With the news out of GW last week about the switch to resin it made me look again at what resin models I currently have, and well to be honest, there aren't many.  In fact I have 6 (and one of them is a floating skull) all from forgeworld and all from the Adeptus Mechanicus.

So here we have a tech preist and a servitor

These are from the Death Korps of Krieg Quatermaster set but I felt added in well to my adeptus mechanicus squad

and finally a servo-skull and a cherub.

So is resin any good? yes it is all these models have a crispness of deatil far beyond what I see on GW metal models, the lightness of the material is good as well and they take being knocked over (it happens to the best of us) far better than lead.  There are downsides however, parts need supergluing, but I found it didn't take the superglue that well and the dust from it is carcinogenic, so not suitable for kids (although I woundn't be suprised if the new wonder resin doesn't have this property, we'll have to wait and see).  I haven't tried any models made out the resin-plastic used by mantic and privateer press, I'm waiting for the mantic wraiths to be rereleased.  Do I think resin is worth paying more for?  Hmmmm I think if the quailty is improved, like it is on these figures then yes it is worth a bit more, if it turns out to be the same figures in a cheaper material, then no and I'll be annoyed that they tried to con us, I'm still hoping for a positive outcome on this though.
Whilst we're at it I may as well show the rest of my adeptus mechanicus squad:

An Eginseer flanked by two lex-mechainics. 

And finally a collection of servitors, of particular note is the squat servitor on the left.