Citadel Finecast

So I succumbed to the pressure and bought a new resin Chaplain today.

Clamshell Front

Sharpness of detail not quite captured here

To be fair, whether you agree with GW's hyperbolic PR over the past fortnight or not, the models do seem to be sharper in detail than their metal predecessors, even if they're from the same moulds. I didn't get a chance at seeing a Coteaz figure - having just painted one made of metal, a direct comparison seemed in order. Croydon's GW had sold out by this afternoon, though.

I would like to see side-by-side photos of various models - metal and resin versions - bare and primed. This would show off the differences quite nicely. The current state of the GW website doesn't help with comparisons at all. The photos of painted Finecast kits are (mostly) the same photos used for the previous metal kits.

Finecast:

Metal:

I'm also not sure if I agree with the price hikes, though - no-one likes paying more for new stuff that isn't really new, and if you were to take the stance that resin is a cheaper material than white metal, than it looks like GW is ripping us all off in true style. If, however, you look at the costs involved in setting up a production-line almost from scratch, and the R&D costs of this particular recipe of resin (that apparently is safer to work with than traditional resins), then you could account for the increase in price. £2-3 on a single figure is a bit steep, by all accounts. I still have some 15 year-old lead blister packs with £3 on the sticker!

It remains to be seen how easy these new figures are to work with - there are new modelling techniques many hobbyists will have to get used to. I've worked with resin for many years - garage kits, commercially available kits, and casting from my own moulds. Every resin is slightly different, and   there's something to be said for experience - knowing how to fix certain things; how to shape and bend the material, and how to treat it correctly when painting. I'm going to have to get used to this resin type, too, and hopefully my experience will get me through the learning curve quickly.

Chaplain WIP coming soon, then...