Tell me about how resin works.

[clibinarium]

For a long time all I knew about resin is that it was a material used for buildings- it was prone to shattering, filed into a nasty dust and often had bubbles in it. The upside I suppose is it was lighter and cheaper than casting in metal.
My only experience with it was painting some Normandy buildings for a client.

But now it seems that it is a material increasingly used for figures themselves. I assume that its resin with a significantly different formulation. I've seen some Reaper resin figures which surprised me with their robustness and flexibility. It appears that its used for the mastering of metal production figures too (I don't mean the use of 3d print figures for masters which are another type of resin)


But I am confused as to its properties and price. I thought perhaps people are switching to it to save costs as the price of metal increases, though that can't be it as they seem pretty expensive (presumably the process of making them is more involved than spinning metals). So if its not cost is it a better quality of detail that makes it attractive? Are the figures as robust as metal ones? I'm asking all this as I couldn't really find a decent explanation of the trend anywhere, so any insight would be welcome.

[N.C.S.E]

In my very limited experience, resin is if anything more expensive than metal. The difference I understand to be postage costs. I recall a conversation I think on Meeples and Miniatures that Firestorm games despite the complaints about their resin material said they simply had to make figures in resin since the alternatives were uneconomical (metal being too heavy on postage costs and plastics being plastics).

Resin does seem to come in a number of flavours however. I'll admit I've not liked the Reaper figures all that much myself, they "feel" cheap (what am I saying? They are!) and suffer from mold lines that seem difficult to remove as well as being easily bent prior to the blisters being opened. Other manufacturers' resins I've had better success with, though they've been more expensive.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

As mentioned above, resin comes in many different varieties with very different properties.

Empress vehicles used to be cast with what appeared to be a resin with a metal filler. The new ones feel similar to Rubicon's.

Rubicon's resin appears almost identical to injection moulded plastic.

Citadel Finecast was rather delicate.

Anvil is quite robust.

Some companies'  products do look like they are offerings from Jatravartid people of Viltvodle VI. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_resin
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_(materials)

[Cait Sidhe]

For miniatures generally resin is capable of finer detail than metal casts (though depends on resin and caster) so is often used by more boutique miniature companies. Resin is also cheaper for smaller limited runs as the moulds are cheaper though the individual casts are more expensive due to it being more labour intensive. The extra labour combined with smaller economies of scale usually mean resin minis are much pricier than metal.

Also as covered for larger miniatures it makes more sense to cast in resin due to weight and I think larger metal parts are more prone to warping.

[clibinarium]

Interesting. So for run of the mill wargames figure production, you might want to get your production masters in resin, but unless you expect a small sales volume (which probably isn't unusual) metal is still cheaper in the long run I guess. I'm surprised to hear that weight for postage would be a sufficient issue to turn to resin over metal.

Are resin figures (as opposed to vehicles) robust enough for handling in games? Plus do we know what the long term stability of rein is like? I wouldn't like my figs to crumble like vampires in sunlight 30 or 40 years from now.

Thanks for the input so far.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

I suspect it depends on the resin.

[mcfonz]

For miniatures generally resin is capable of finer detail than metal casts (though depends on resin and caster) so is often used by more boutique miniature companies. Resin is also cheaper for smaller limited runs as the moulds are cheaper though the individual casts are more expensive due to it being more labour intensive. The extra labour combined with smaller economies of scale usually mean resin minis are much pricier than metal.

Also as covered for larger miniatures it makes more sense to cast in resin due to weight and I think larger metal parts are more prone to warping.

This. It's economy of scale.

A rubber mold for metals depending upon complexity can do up to 1000 spins. A traditional resin mold in a best case scenario can do 30ish. If it's a really simple piece for terrain and can be done with a flat mold, you may get more out of it. It therefore becomes more expensive to do in large quantities. You wouldn't make buildings in metal as you would be pouring rather than spin casting at which point you may as well be doing resin which is cheaper in that size.

Where the game is changing/has changed a bit is resin mixtures that can be spun cast like metals. And the system that Archon/Prodos have used which is able to approach resin as if it were injection molded plastic.

[manatic]

Are resin figures (as opposed to vehicles) robust enough for handling in games?

In my experience they are, although, again, it depends on the resin as some are more flexible and others more brittle. Thin pieces can be very, very thin (much thinner than metal), which means they're prone to snapping if handled carelessly. The lighter weight of resin has however meant that some of my resin minis have actually fared better than metal ones if I've been clumsy enough to drop them.

Reaper's Bones offerings do not really fall under "resin" in my view, they're more a softer, flexible plastic akin to PVC or board game figures, so a different beast altogether.

[AWu]

There are classic resins in miniature modelling (used for decades) and new resins (used for around the decade).

Classic resins are mostly very hard and keep  perfect detail. They are super miniature medium differing to metal in two aspects:
They are brittle not bendy so when dropped could break in parts.
Second aspect is they are much more difficult to strip as most stripper agents can wash out some elements of the resin itself and make it gummy (destroy it mainly).

Some parts may by bent but are easily reshaped with use of hot water or hairdryer. This is the kind that produces toxic dust when worked.

Many companies do miniatures from this medium. Some whole - Forge world, some partially - Battlefront.
Great most of mentioned small run and limited run companies, especially in larger scales and bust are made from resin.
Best visible in Hasslefree page - They are offering thei models in metal ad in resin at the same time - better detailed and twice the cost.
https://www.hfminis.co.uk/


Newer kinds are more bendy than brittle. Some miniature companies started to use it with different levels of success.
To be honest GW Finecast was worst kind Ive seen of it.

They are hard to damage but very easy to cut and convert (softer than plastic) - they are kind of plastic resin hubrid.
Minus of this is bendiness - different in different kinds/producers and returning to shape.
When you have warped Finecast miniature and straighten it with hot water or hairdryer it can bent to original warped state by just sun exposition (quite low temperature)..  or just under its own weight

This guy (in the middle) is jumping and touches the base with scabbard only.. Mine will bent to front to an unusable degree after around 4 weens under its own weight.. Whatever I would do.. It always returns to warped shape ( i had to cut him and use heavy pins and GS)

But as I said Finecast was worst kind of neo resin Ive seen so other companies products are better and this effect is visible only on some miniatures - heavy and badly designed with weight support and distribution.

Bones material is kind of this - bendy but usable and worls well. But removal of lines of molding is very difficult due to elastic softness of the material.

All of them are perfectly well usable in gaming but you have to be careful with hard resin as its more delicate than metal or plastic.

[mcfonz]

To be fair AWu it is worth splitting the older resins into two camps.

The much older stuff which is cheaper and takes far longer to cure, hours not minutes, is far, far more toxic. Newer, shall we call them traditional, resins are less so. They are oderless and cure faster. They are also less brittle so to speak. The older ones almost seem like glass when they break.

The much newer stuff we see with the likes of finecast from GW was designed to be spuncast and gives a different texture altogether. More give in the material but tends to lose the sharpness of more traditional resins.

Then there is 'restic' which PP use in warmahordes and mantic uses for their stuff.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Finecast always looked like it had been developed by chemists at Cadbury's as a spin off from the development of the Wispa bar
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wispa
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerated_chocolate


Safety warning: do not eat Finecast figures!
[Edit] damn spell mangler.

[AWu]

In the beginnings it was bordering useless.. whole fragments of miniatures missing and many many bubbles destroying the sculpts.
I stopped buying GW miniatures (non plastic) for 5 years..

But now the miniatures are mostly Ok, dunno if they changed composition or quality control, warping is still a thing though.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Are there any "new" Finecast?

I assumed they were a transition from metal to injection moulded plastic, either reworked masters or the last of the conventional sculpts.

[Condottiere]

Are there any "new" Finecast?

I assumed they were a transition from metal to injection moulded plastic, either reworked masters or the last of the conventional sculpts.

I assumed too, but it looks like Finecast is here to stay...

IMO, it depends on the volume of sale: Darkoath Chieftains in plastic and Slambos in resin.