Metal Minis
Why the hell do people like the pewter guys?!
Sorry, I\'m just frustrated as hell since the three Wraiths I just got in the mail are all bent to hell for no good reason. But I\'d still like to know why we even still have these? Do others really like them? Even if they aren\'t bent up, they\'re hard as hell to repose, they break, and any larger ones virtually always have to be pinned. Thoughts?:cussing:
Actually I like the metal minis better than the plastic. They strip better, you can adjust the pose without cutting and piecing in many cases and I like the weight. But then I\'m old school. The plastic ones just don\'t \"feel\" right.
I\'ve gotten many LOTR metal minis in blister and the sword is bent all the way downward. Hate it when that happens. Just bend the pieces back and try your best to make do.
I\'m with Liz on this one. I like metal more, mostly for the weight issue. I\'m an old school gamer, myself.
I do like plastic a lot though, just for the customizing you can do with it. Plus if you drop a plastic gaming figure, you won\'t have to glue it back together. lol
-Matt
Well the alternatives are resin or plastic. Both more fragile than metal and easier to break. Resin tends to be more expensive and is prone to air bubbles.Plastic while it\'s cheaper is expensive to tool so unless your a large company like GW an expensive undertaking.
Who did you get the miniatures from? were they second hand? Were they packaged poorly? Properly cast miniatures and properly packaged for shipping you shouldn\'t receive anything broken or as you say bent to hell. It sounds like you need to take the damage up with whom ever sold them to you.
Plastic miniatures are a bit rubbish really aren\'t they? If you\'re talking about a really well detailed piece for painting for display, there\'s no competition. Designers have to make too many compromises with the design of figures for plastic production.
Resin is better, but it\'s still a bit lightweight for single figures. Get rid of pewter and you\'ll be left with a mightily piss-poor selection of figures to choose from.
Miniatures=metal
Toys=plastic
Resin and plastic are good for larger kits, but in everything else I prefer metal. Mostly because of weight, durability and better detail. I also think that metal is easier to work with as it can be sanded and bent.
However the metal Gw and most other companies use is a little bit too soft for my liking. I love the hardness and smoothness of Corvus Belli minis. Sanding and pinning them requires a little bit more work but even the thinnest parts are very durable and hard to bend by accident.
My preference really shows in my collection too. I have about 10kg of lead and only a few plastic plastic minis. Those are mostly old Rt era Space marine tanks, beakies and Space Hulk miniatures.
i have to say that i love plastics too. i generally find resin too brittle. i see no reason why all vehicular bits shouldn\'t be all metal. much nicer and lighter
metal has its place, but i am not the biggest fan (cos my little drill has broken and a pin vice it too much like hard work!!)
whilst i do like metal miniatures for most things, resin holds detail so well and for larger pieces it\'s so light you can paint for hours without problems due to the weight.
standard plastic is poo in a very big way. (great for tanks tho, just look at the dragon armour kits)
I\'m firmly on the fence .. I like my toy soldiers in all their forms....
bent weapons are a pain yes but better than the amount of broken ones I\'ve had with resin.. bending is easy enough to straighten out if a pain...
I do prefer resin on larger stuff as GP says easier to handle smaller resin pieces are great too but can be too damn fragile . but plastic metal and resin all have their places I guess it\'s just a case of taste..
The New GW cold ones are amazing plastic pieces as are their recent high elf plastics. and the opportunities for reposes etc far outstrip any previous metal ones ..
the ones you mention are pewter ? not White metal. I have to say pewter bugs me a bit as it is too soft in a lot of cases and cleaning without removing detail can be a real Pain..
I got a couple of busts cast in polystone recently and have to say I do like that stuff...
at the end of the day I don\'t care what they are made of as long as the model is well sculpted and cast in a way that suits the particular material..
I\'m setting fire to demonherald\'s fence...
Metal all the way for me... aside from the rot issue, I\'d have all old school lead :D
But that\'s what I cut my teeth on and in no way has contributed to my brain problems.
Yeah, sorry they\'re White Metal. But I always thought White Metal was Pewter without the lead that gives pewter its gray look... In either case I just call them pewters because that\'s how they behave. And while yes, I do like the overall feel of them, to me it just isn\'t worth it. My Necrons always come deformed in various ways, but I\'ve noticed that while helping a friend with his SMs that they\'re actually cast much better. Maybe it\'s just because mine have more squared off sections like the tip to the Immortals rifle that\'s always cocked up. Or maybe the world just hates Necron players.Originally posted by demonherald
I\'m firmly on the fence .. I like my toy soldiers in all their forms....
bent weapons are a pain yes but better than the amount of broken ones I\'ve had with resin.. bending is easy enough to straighten out if a pain...
I do prefer resin on larger stuff as GP says easier to handle smaller resin pieces are great too but can be too damn fragile . but plastic metal and resin all have their places I guess it\'s just a case of taste..
The New GW cold ones are amazing plastic pieces as are their recent high elf plastics. and the opportunities for reposes etc far outstrip any previous metal ones ..
the ones you mention are pewter ? not White metal. I have to say pewter bugs me a bit as it is too soft in a lot of cases and cleaning without removing detail can be a real Pain..
I got a couple of busts cast in polystone recently and have to say I do like that stuff...
at the end of the day I don\'t care what they are made of as long as the model is well sculpted and cast in a way that suits the particular material..
In either case it isn\'t the bending that I really have that much of a problem with, since like everyone said all you really have to do is bend it back, even though it still really shouldn\'t be in the first place. It\'s more all the mold lines and extra metal that you have to deal with. I might just be a bit of a perfectionist here but it usually takes me about one and a half to two hours just to prep the mini in a way I find appealing... While doing the same to a plastic counterpart only takes about 10 min since I can file them as soon as I take the parts off the spurs.
As for resin, I\'ve only worked with it once or twice and haven\'t noticed too much of a difference between it and standard plastic, other than the price.
I\'m a bit on the fence. I love the weight of metal figures but they are harder to clean and repose. On the other hand every time i try and deal with plastic they break way to easy. Plusa don\'t get me started about the plastic crap that WotC sells and now alot of other companies use. However in the end metal figures win by a hair in my opinion.
For me, it\'s metal. All the way. I\'ve never owned, nor do I want to own, plastic minis. I like the feel of metal. I like the weight. I like the look (even if most of it is hiding in boxes 99.9% of the time).
Also, I never have to worry about my metals melting if they\'re left in a car on a hot day for too long. Unless it\'s REALLY REALLY hot.
The only drawback metal has, in my books, is when I forget that I put that pike-wielding infantryman on my chair... and sit down on it. Luckily, that only happened once.
I love em all for their own aforementioned strengths and weaknesses.
Once their painted nicely it\'s difficult to tell without touching them whether they are plastic, metal, resin, or cheddar cheese.
I always used to be pro-metal, anti-plastic, but the improvements I feel have been made in plastics over the last year or two and the converting ease (which I\'ve begun doing more often lately) have drawn plastics almost equal in my mind. I think both materials have their place now, and it no longer makes much difference to me either way.
For those whose main concern is the weight issue, though, check out these base weights if you\'re using 25mm round bases:
http://www.impactminiatures.com/index.php?option=basing_profile&id=SP_BSWG
(also available discounted in larger quantities)
I play Blood Bowl, for which some of the GW plastic regiments sets are wonderful for converting into BB teams. But I agree that I like to my figures to have a bit more heft when I\'m moving them around the field, and these baseweights are great for that! And for the record, I don\'t have any personal affiliation with the company, other than my personal dealings through which I know them to be good guys running a good business.
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