Help! Resin or metal? Which is better?

JuliusCaesar

New member
Resin or metal? Thats the question I need help with. What do you guys prefer? I cant decide on one, and I need to know for when I buy my next project. Thanks!-JC
 

Zab

New member
I vote Metal. Resin is tough if not done right by experts at high quality. i regret my choice of resin with the TGG KS. I recently sold them all because the resin was so brittle and the release agent so weird that not even super glue would stick after repeated soaks and scrubs.
 

supervike

Super Moderator
Resin is an awesome material that gives super detail on sculpts.

That being said, I'd take metal every day of the week, and twice on sunday.

The heft of metal alone is worth it to me. For some reason to me, resin still makes the minature feel like a toy. Metal makes it feel like something worth collecting.

But, it's just my humble opinion....
 

MAXXxxx

Well-known member
I'll go with resin because the possibility of details, but I always fear the fragility of it.

to tell the truth, the material doesn't really matter for me. As long as the mini looks good.
 

Splurch

New member
Depends on the purpose imo. If it's going to be used or handled I've always disliked how easy it is to accidentally take paint off of a metal mini through a drop, rough handling or whatever, seems to just scratch straight down to the metal easily in a way that resin/plastic doesn't. If you're just doing it for display/practice/fun then I think metal is a better choice, detail can be very good and you don't have to deal with any of the extra steps regarding resin dust.
 

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
There is no clear answer to your question.
Metal can be tougher to deal with, heavier to hold long term but can give you flexibility to convert with greater ease.
Resin can give you much better detail, some incredible figures and is rapidly becoming the medium of choice for busts and larger scale figures.

Quality is in the majority better in resin, with the noted exception of one leading Game company's offshoot, to the point that flaws are becoming minimal. Just this weekend I had the delight of working on FeR's Athena which had two tiny sets of moulding lines easily removed by the point of a scalpel.
View attachment 53115
And yes I had the pleasure of holding this very Box Art piece in my hands........without shaking.
 

Sicks

Active member
I find it depends alot on manufacturer, some companies have very little difference in terms of the details in their resin and metal models, i tend to prefer metal because if I decide to strip the paint in the future it is less likely to break, it will usually bend first which is a good indication of too much pressure before it snaps, really it comes down to personal preference, i like the weight of metal minis more
 

Pygmalion

New member
I vote Metal. Resin is tough if not done right by experts at high quality. i regret my choice of resin with the TGG KS. I recently sold them all because the resin was so brittle and the release agent so weird that not even super glue would stick after repeated soaks and scrubs.

Ouch. Sorry to hear that about the TGG minis.

I'm old-fashioned in my tastes. I prefer metal because it's a friendly material that is likely to last over the long haul.

I have a few resin pieces I am cautious about and a lot of plastic miniatures which I treat as knockabout gaming toys.

But overall I prefer metal.
 

SkelettetS

New member
as i travel around pretty much with my minis i like resin a lot more. the only few minis that have ever broke in transit have been metal ones.
not applicable on GW finecast resin though lol
 

Revanchist

New member
I would say resin. Speaking from my experience, resin is far easier to work with, it retains paint somewhat better and it is lighter and thus more durable when the miniature falls.
 

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Doubling my vote for Resin as this arrived yesterday from Jérémie Treboul Bonamont (Figone)
32mm and a beautiful piece of casting.

View attachment 53852

My fingers are itching to work on him, but really need a good backdrop to set him in.
(oh and I may end up getting a second copy for an alternate colour scheme.)
 

eyeayen

New member
I'm new back into the hobby and finecast is alien to me, I've worked with both Metal and Resin and don't have an issue with either. I've done a little bit of casting with resin too which was really easy and for that reason I'd say resin. However 2 points I need to make here, I've never tried to cast metal but can't imagine working with it is easy and if you're models are designed to have lots of sticky out bits that could break if they're dropped which could in turn cause your customers to dislike the pieces perhaps it's something to add into your equation of which to use.

And, without meaning to derail this thread and also cause all the hate to flow can someone please explain to me why finecast is hated so much. I've purchased a few pieces, they are a bit of a nightmare to clean up as there seem to be so many joins pieces that need to be removed but I'd put that down to the mould making person rather than the material. It glues together fine, I'm wondering why it is hated so much though ?
 

BloodASmedium

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Thir are too many bubbles when the matter is pumped and blown into the cast. If your a sculptor or converter you can get these models done to a point of adequate but it's still a nightmare , it breaks easy and is also poisonous to eirk with when filing etc. GW stopped doing this for a reason. It was a cheap way to get the most use out of their casts that were on their way out. Resin from other companies I prefer over metal because if dropped they don't break and destroy the hard work that one has done. So resin it is it has minimal clean up and very consistent details to the original sculpt. Again resin over metal with the exception if GW lousy cast , fail cast, foul rust etc. out of everything I prefer plastic from GW. Everything else resin!!!
 

eyeayen

New member
Thanks for the heads up BloodASmedium. I wasn't aware it was poisonous when filing ? I've just bought a few pieces to work with before I get myself onto the new plastics. Just to get my eye back into it... I'll have to see how bad they are when I get into them.
 

Splurch

New member
Thanks for the heads up BloodASmedium. I wasn't aware it was poisonous when filing ? I've just bought a few pieces to work with before I get myself onto the new plastics. Just to get my eye back into it... I'll have to see how bad they are when I get into them.

I didn't know this either until one of the pieces I got (forget which company) had a warning with it about the dust. Specifically the danger is the fine particles getting in your lungs when you clean/file the mini. If you want to be safe use a respirator when filing/sawing resin and clean up the area with a damp cloth afterwards.
 
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