First Impressions with Finecast

With another tournament looming I picked up 2 of the new TK characters, the Necrotect and the Liche Priest.  I opened up the Necrotect and after admiring the crisp detail on the model I cut out a piece of spure and then bent it between my figures.  Unfortunately it snapped pretty easily under only modest pressure.  It' did snap cleanly, but it really makes me concerned that the whip will eventually break if not handled with kid gloves.  Next I looked at the model closely and did find some of the tell-tale signs that everyone has been screaming about.  Fortunately, the model didn't have anything deal breaking issues and I will be able to make the necessary repairs. 

 

I've worked with resin quite a bit and I think there are two basic types of defects, both of which are showing up on the fine cast models.  First is where excess resin protrudes off the model.  This is not so bad if it happens on the edge on on a flat surface as it can be easily clean up.  But if this happens near a detail on the model some portion of the detail will be missing and you typical lose any remaining detail in the process of cleaning up the model.  The other type of defect is the incomplete fill.  This shows up as a portion of the model simply missing or bubbles in the model.  This can sometimes be fixed depending on how bad the problem is.  Simple bubbles can be filled with green stuff.  But if whole portions of the model are missing, say the tip of the sword, there is no way to fix that short of re-sculpting.

 

I removed the Necrotect from the sprue with hobby clippers.  I was concerned that the delicate portions of the model might break, like near the tip of the whip.  Fortunately that didn't happen.  I also very quickly removed the flashing from the model with the hobby clippers.  Next I was able to clean up the Necrotect model in a matter of minutes with only a hobby knife.  Historically, a metal model would have taken considerable longer and usually required the use of files in addition to the hobby knife.  Finally, I attached his arm and mounted him to the base with regular CA glue (as opposed to plastics glue).

 

My overall first impressions of Finecast are positive, but it should be taken with a grain of salt as I've specifically avoided the larger, multi piece kits that would be more susceptible defects.  I'm really happy with how the Necrotect turned out so far and I'm looking forward to getting him painted up this weekend.  Also, he does look a lot better than my "custom" Necrotect using parts from the bitz box!