My Love of FineCast models... Let Me count the ways...

So this holiday season I decided I wanted get some serious hobbying in. These boxes have been sitting on my shelf for quite some time. I bought these boxes some time ago and forgot about the finecast era and all that drama. Speaking of drama I audibly groaned as I saw these models were finecast...

When this stuff came out people were not prepared for the level of modelling skill required to assemble these kits. Only those of us blooded in forge world resin kits were prepared for this material (resin that is). Just look at all those channels and gates for the resin to flow into. I can see why new people hated this stuff. Cleaning one model is going to take some time... which is precious to some.

So here is a couple of tips for those out there still messing with these kits. Firstly it is not entirely necessary to wash these kits before assembly. You can but because of how fragile the material is you're more likely to snap off a part of the model. Secondly try not to clip too close to the model when removing from the sprue (this goes for plastic kits as well). Like pruning a tree or bush go for the thicker portions of the sprue as I've found the force of cutting so close to the model can break or chip details. Cut the thinner branches before cutting the thick branches.

After you've cut the main branches there is still plenty of cleaning to do. But by taking these steps we are making sure we preserve as much of the models details as possible. Again I can see why this stuff got no love from the modelling community.

Aside from the obvious air bubble issue (resin models been dealing with forever) there are little channels for the resin to get to all the details but then it adds to the clean up time. I'm talking about beneath the feet and behind the knee. The problem with this is newer people aren't going to know what is a detail on the model or a channel for flow. I'm sure some out there have cut off details after realizing it was important.

This is the back of the knee after a bit of minor surgery. Now the material is not hard and that makes cutting and shaving the surface easy for the most part. But one has to be very comfortable in their blade handling to cut this and not cut themselves.

Here is an other example... see it? It is attached to the tassels that drape from the forearm. It is a small triangle bit... still don't see it? Well this is were having very sharp blades are important. Again the skill set not to impale yourself is key.

Here is our patient after surgery, see? nothing major! Of course I nit pick these details as I am sort of a nerd like that but for the average collector or modeller... this is a bit of a pain. The resin they use is awesome for details but it is brittle as hell. The really should have just switched to what forge world was doing at the time and not gone for a whole new process.

I have like twelve of these models to do and I don't feel good about it... I don't hate FineCast but I certainly don't love it. It really should have been advertised to the advanced modeller and not the entry people. The material cuts and sands easy enough which is great for the converters out there. But because of the brittle nature of the resin it makes it too easy to snap parts and shave off details.

Alright, enough of this... back to work!