20110601

Open Discussion: Resin


Not to open a full out can of worms today with all of the Finecast talk, but it's hard to get around the topic right now with the internet being so abuzz with talk about the new move to resin by Games-Workshop.  Even RealGenius has posted a few of his first thoughts after picking up a model.  But this open forum won't be just about Finecast.  I want to talk about resin in general.  The things you like about it, the things you hate.  What are your best techniques for dealing with pits, warps and miscasts. 

From my own experience, I've only dealt with a handful of resin models and products.  The first of those being Forgeworld models.  The first of those being my Sons of Medusa Venerable Dreadnought Perseus.  I knew it was a different material to what I had been used to for so long when I bought the model, but I had hoped to be able to get away with many of the same methods I had been using up to that point.  In the end, that's exactly what happened.  I didn't find myself completely out of my element, the only change being that I had to give my models a short bath!  I used a sturdy super glue, cross hatched contact points, and generally went about things the exact same way as with metal models, with a touch more hold time for things to make a good connection when gluing.  The benefits of working with resin for me is the ability to cut, chop and convert an otherwise impossibly hard to work with metal model.  There won't be any more power drill head removals just waiting to glance off if it caught wrong and plunge into my wrist sending me screaming all the way to the hospital.  No slipping hobby knives punching their way through my thumb and leaving me with the odd bandage that's hard to explain to people outside of the hobby. 

This won't be the end of my work with metal models though.  I have a huge backlog.  I want to play new games that still produce metal pieces.  There is a ton of second hand stuff out there.  But I won't be going out of my way to buy the metal piece instead, especially when there is a conversion in mind.  More resin is only good for my hobby, which is why I see myself buying more Forgeworld every year! 

I want to hear your thoughts on working with resin!  Leave a comment, reply to someone with helpful links you've had stored away, or just put up your awesome links all on their own!  Share your knowledge and ask questions if you're new to the medium!  The floor is yours Corpsmen!