Unfortunatley most are resin but most things should be bendable under a but of heat, so dipping in hot water or a hair dryer. Its a bit of a chore but mostly annoying to have to do. One "good" thing though is that a lot of elite units that are resin are usually only one or two pieces which makes it a lot more tolerable since you don't have to glue a bunch of pieces that barely fit.
Boil some water, put it in a little pot. When it's cool enough to put fingers in it, hold the resin under for a few seconds and very gently bend it, it'll cool off so you'll have to dunk again. If it has no bend hold it in for longer and repeat
You can practice with some resin sprue but be mindful that the resin will be much thicker on the sprue so the actual model you'll need to heat for less time
There is a difference between Resin and Finecast. I dont know exactly what the chemical difference is, but Resin can, and does make beautiful, crisp sculpts and it's a hard, rigid material. Working with Resin is fine. Finecast is GW-Brand Bullshit, it's Resin, mixed with some garbage to make it soft, floopy, easily affected by heat and its just terrible. GW isn't using Finecast on new sculpts anymore and if you can avoid it, you should. Unfortunately lake town is heavy on Finecrap, as are many Hobbit armies. It gets really weird when you play Woodland Realm and you are supposed to buy Finecast standard warriors but Rangers and Palace Guard are Plastic lol
On a related note: Is there a list of what is and isn’t finecast somewhere?
I’ve been told to avoid it but unless I can see the sculpt it’s difficult to tell.
The GW web site will guide you. Most product description pages say if the model is metal, resin or plastic (or, rarely, a mixture).
If it says resin and "expert kit" it was originally under the ForgeWorld marque and the resin is very good quality. If it doesn't, then it is "finecast".
On their website:
Resin = Finecast
15+ Resin = Forgeworld Resin (good but can have flaws, but they’ll replace it for you if it’s bad)
Most things in Resin that aren’t Hobbit-era (or War Horn-bearing Warrior sculpts) used to be in Metal and those versions hold up well.
Forgeworld stuff is also recognizable by the previews having a certain style to the paint and sculpts, the sculpts are very detailed while the example paint jobs are generally exceptional. For good examples look at the 15+ Lórien, Shire or Isengard (technically Dunland but they’re not sorted under that) kits and you’ll see what I mean.
Just horrible. I ended up chopping them off the miniatures, drilling holes in the hands and replacing the shaft with plastic rod 1.5mm. I just chopped the spear part off and sticking them back in the new shaft
They've stopped using it for new sculpts, but old ones can't be converted to plastic easily as the whole casting process is different, needs the sprues to be designed differently, from the beginning
Email games workshop customer service. I've emailed them about resin bubbles and they have just sent out replacements, they may do the same for you because this is silly bendy. I'm sure with hot water you can get most of the way but it'll likely still have a bend
Most Hobbit-era kits suffer from being released at the height of Finecast.
Unfortunatley most are resin but most things should be bendable under a but of heat, so dipping in hot water or a hair dryer. Its a bit of a chore but mostly annoying to have to do. One "good" thing though is that a lot of elite units that are resin are usually only one or two pieces which makes it a lot more tolerable since you don't have to glue a bunch of pieces that barely fit.
How hot should the water be? Im afraid to use lighter and melt the piece
Don’t use a lighter !
Too late - he dead
I didn't use lighter, I think on hot water?
You just want water that feels hot to the touch, doesn't have to be boiling, maybe around 80°C. Alternatively, a hair dryer would also work.
Just boil some water, works well
Boil some water, put it in a little pot. When it's cool enough to put fingers in it, hold the resin under for a few seconds and very gently bend it, it'll cool off so you'll have to dunk again. If it has no bend hold it in for longer and repeat You can practice with some resin sprue but be mindful that the resin will be much thicker on the sprue so the actual model you'll need to heat for less time
It worked! To a degree, now bendy part is not visible if you dont look to closely. Still, finecast is awful.
There is a difference between Resin and Finecast. I dont know exactly what the chemical difference is, but Resin can, and does make beautiful, crisp sculpts and it's a hard, rigid material. Working with Resin is fine. Finecast is GW-Brand Bullshit, it's Resin, mixed with some garbage to make it soft, floopy, easily affected by heat and its just terrible. GW isn't using Finecast on new sculpts anymore and if you can avoid it, you should. Unfortunately lake town is heavy on Finecrap, as are many Hobbit armies. It gets really weird when you play Woodland Realm and you are supposed to buy Finecast standard warriors but Rangers and Palace Guard are Plastic lol
On a related note: Is there a list of what is and isn’t finecast somewhere? I’ve been told to avoid it but unless I can see the sculpt it’s difficult to tell.
The GW web site will guide you. Most product description pages say if the model is metal, resin or plastic (or, rarely, a mixture). If it says resin and "expert kit" it was originally under the ForgeWorld marque and the resin is very good quality. If it doesn't, then it is "finecast".
In the gw webstore (and most other) it's written in the product description. If you are not sure...
On their website: Resin = Finecast 15+ Resin = Forgeworld Resin (good but can have flaws, but they’ll replace it for you if it’s bad) Most things in Resin that aren’t Hobbit-era (or War Horn-bearing Warrior sculpts) used to be in Metal and those versions hold up well. Forgeworld stuff is also recognizable by the previews having a certain style to the paint and sculpts, the sculpts are very detailed while the example paint jobs are generally exceptional. For good examples look at the 15+ Lórien, Shire or Isengard (technically Dunland but they’re not sorted under that) kits and you’ll see what I mean.
Just horrible. I ended up chopping them off the miniatures, drilling holes in the hands and replacing the shaft with plastic rod 1.5mm. I just chopped the spear part off and sticking them back in the new shaft
Medbury miniatures makes some really nice proxies.
Oh, tell me more, they have laketown guards?
[I'll let you be the judge of that](https://www.myminifactory.com/users/Medbury%20Miniatures/collection/torgorod)
It's more 'Dale-like' than Laketown I feel but with the right paint job and maybe some conversions anything is possible.
They've stopped using it for new sculpts, but old ones can't be converted to plastic easily as the whole casting process is different, needs the sprues to be designed differently, from the beginning
Use a hair dryer. I found it much easier then hot water. Hold it on there for a few seconds then lightly bend it back.
Email games workshop customer service. I've emailed them about resin bubbles and they have just sent out replacements, they may do the same for you because this is silly bendy. I'm sure with hot water you can get most of the way but it'll likely still have a bend
Can I do it even if I bought it from a non- gw store?