Pewter VS. Plastic

[Flikfutch87]

I'm just curious what the collective opinion on this board is regarding the eternal debate of whether plastic or metal models are preferred. I've had some folks I know prefer plastic because they're cheaper and some also say they're easier to paint. Others prefer pewter because they feel they allow more detail and customization, and those people feel painting metal is easier anyway.

Malifaux is a metal game so I imagine most people's opinions will prefer metal (As I do), but I'm interested in hearing the reasons why or why not.

[EricJ]

I personally like metal, as it just feels like you have something of a bit more substance, and the molds allow for more detail and a certain amount of undercuts in the sculpt.

That said, I think plastic certainly has it's place, and is much better for many larger or multi-piece models and in game systems which encourage conversions for WYSIWYG rules. I do think however that since plastic doesn't dent the same way metal does, in a lot of ways the paint jobs on plastic tend to be somewhat more durable.

[Monkey]

For a game like malifaux metal all the way.

But if im doing a force in wfb for empire with over 150 men.... pllastics are loking good.

I pick both :decision:

[Q'iq'el]

I think some of the modern plastics are just as detailed as the metal figures, though I don't know if one can do everything that way.

The way I see it:

A huuuge drawback of any metal is so easily it chips. I hate putting thick coats of varnish over my painting, so I try to do with just 2~3 thin layers. It's enough to protect the paint from hand touch and humidity, I think, but if I ever topple a miniature, or even worse, two metal minis hit each other... there usually are chippings. (And I of course do take care to prime the minis with the proper primer).

Necessity to deal with flush is a bit of an annoyance as far as plastic goes, but in Malifaux case the figures are few so it wouldn't be all that frustrating.

On the other hand, I'm not sure if some of the more fragile designs, such as punk zmobies, would do in plastic. Having figures snap easily would be even more annoying than chipping paint.

[Astray]

I prefer the feel of metal and the weight it brings, but plastic is better for mass troops. They're easier to clean up but sadly they also have more to clean up.

[Flikfutch87]

I know what you mean about fragile plastic, Q'iq'el. One of the reasons I prefer metal is that occasionally I have a pretty difficult time even gluing models together. With pewter you can bend things around to make them fit, or change things altogether. Even if something goes wrong, you can almost always glue back the damage. That's a lot more difficult to do with plastic.

[nilus]

Like others have said. Metal is good for small skirmish games but Plastic is nice for larger army style games where customization comes in play more.

I also like Plastic for big Mech style models as they tend to come together easier.

All that being said I like Plastic when its cheaper. If a company moves from Metal to plastic but doesn't increase value or decrease cost then I feel like I am getting ripped off.

[WEiRD sKeTCH]

As long as the sculpts are nice, I like both.

[Joona]

I prefer metal. Though metal has its problems like chipping paint etc. I think it's easier to paint for some reason and like EricJ said, there aren't as many undercuts. I really despise those. For some reason I also like converting metal models more. There's just something about working the metal...

GW did some fine work with the Space Hulk Terminators though.

[Poko]

My primary concern is sculpt quality. When and if wargaming plastics will meet the quality of Malifaux, Infinity, helldorado or Dark Age metals, I'll consider them. As of today, it still isn't the case. Beyond that, I have no real dislike of plastics, I freely admit it's more durable and easier to put together.

[nightgaunt98c]

I am indifferent, as long as the model fits together well, and looks nice. I'm not much of a modeler or painter though.

[Kagelong]

I'm with the imaginary bear on this one. I don't really care what the models are made of so long as I'm having fun.

I do hate it when one model has pieces of both though... It's just irritating.

[islyfe]

I prefer working with plastic, Its makes building and converting easier for me.

[Iron Man]

GW did some fine work with the Space Hulk Terminators though.

if you look at the back leg of the terminator kneeling down you will see why they would have been better in metal.

i prefer metal because you know it has been sculpted by hand, rather than made up on a CAD program, with bits copied and pasted in a 3d virtual world.

I would disagree that metal is bad value. i have a ww2 american force, 10 men from westwind or crusader are £10, in metal. how much is a 10 man plastic GW regiment or squad? And look at those new GW character plastic sprues. £9 for one man? that is very very very bad value for money.

Im a metal man all the way, i think plastic has its uses, as does resin, but id pay an extra 50p per man to have them in metal rather than plastic.

Also its bad luck to have an army led by a plastic general.

[kbdrand]

I prefer metal for skirmish, but hard plastic (like 40k) for larger armies, games. I normally don't like soft plastic models (ala Descent) but the new Space Hulk soft plastic models are pretty nice.

For Malifaux I can't imagine ever going plastic, unless it was for things like mindless zombies, etc where you need a lot of models.

[Flikfutch87]

And even then "a lot" is still smaller than a typical squad in many other games (Like, half a dozen).

[RitualNet]

I always found that I paint better on metal figures, however I believe it's more psychological. "this figure cost me so much, if I slip up...."

Plastics however, would be great for scenery, tokens, maybe even base inserts (or at least resin), which means lower prices.

[Talishko]

hardly any talk of resin...

I like metal because of the weight it has, it feels more then a plastic piece. But quality wise I'd prefer resin. I have a few resin pieces and they all have a lot more details then any metals, little to none areas that need cleaning up, they are easy to cut/convert. The only drawback is the price, but some companies sell metal just as expensive. Also, some metal pieces are worse then any plastic I've ever seen, but they still sell just because they are metal and people assume that it's good quality.

[Flikfutch87]

What games even use resin as the primary substance?

[Major_Gilbear]

What games even use resin as the primary substance?

I believe Smart Max do MAUSER EARTH and SMOG in resin, and Uncle Mike's Worldwide does Strange Aeons in resin too.

I prefer metal - always have. It permits greater undercuts and detail than plastics (and I don't care what people say, the best plastics are not as detailed as the best metals in either my opinion or experience), and it also allows me strip a model totally clean if I want to regardless of what it was painted with or when.

Plastics are okay if I have no other choice, but in those cases I'd probably go and find a different game with metal models.

Resin I'm on the fence about. It holds detail even better than metal, and is easy enough to work with. However, it is hard to strip resin, and often many resins have physical drawbacks (like being brittle, or bending if left somewhere even vaguely warm for example).

As for the "feel" of a model's material... Well I weight my bases with lead, so that should further indicate my preference!

[Iron Man]

I believe Smart Max do MAUSER EARTH and SMOG in resin, and Uncle Mike's Worldwide does Strange Aeons in resin too.

I prefer metal - always have. It permits greater undercuts and detail than plastics (and I don't care what people say, the best plastics are not as detailed as the best metals in either my opinion or experience), and it also allows me strip a model totally clean if I want to regardless of what it was painted with or when.

Plastics are okay if I have no other choice, but in those cases I'd probably go and find a different game with metal models.

Resin I'm on the fence about. It holds detail even better than metal, and is easy enough to work with. However, it is hard to strip resin, and often many resins have physical drawbacks (like being brittle, or bending if left somewhere even vaguely warm for example).

As for the "feel" of a model's material... Well I weight my bases with lead, so that should further indicate my preference!

i think im in the same frame of mind as you are. i used to buy plastics for gaming because they were cheaper, but they arent anymore unless you are comparing them with GW metals, not anyone elses.

Resin is nice to work with in some instances. Ive used it for casting things ive sculpted myself, usually simple things like bases and terrain such as treasure chests, but also small scale ships and full 28mm figures. It is a great material for a begginer to mold and cast, but, you have to get the right resin as they are all very different. I also race slot cars (scalextric cars if you dont know) and a lot of kits are resin, and it certainly works for the bigger smooth flat areas.

The other thing i hate about multi part plastics is that the poses are never done artistically. whereas a 1 peice metal model will be sculpted so it looks good, has a nice balance and just looks right, most multi parts plastics are a generic legs with generic body and generic arms and head and despite the fact they are all angled differently, they always still look kinda the same unless you really go to town with the converting.

[Wandering Guy]

I indifferent working with both,

Plastic and metal has its ups and downs I find (keep in mind I'm taking this from a person that does a lot of conversation)

Plastic Its too light!, I like working something heavy,

Pinning models in plastic is easy,and not always necessary

much easier to do modding figure that are plastic, but easy to get carried away with plastic. easier to fix screw ups on plastic figs. also plastic is cheaper more money to do more conversions.

Metal, it pending the quality of metal, over all, I like working with something heavy but its not always easy working with something heavy.

Pinning is a pain to do on metal figs and most of the time it's recommended.

PAIN IN THE ASS TO MAKE Modifications with on figures, You screw up converting a model, it'll take a while to fix.

metal on the plus side is sturdy

Paint wise, its called primer it makes all painting models easy.

[republics fury]

Metal...won't use plastics

[Draig]

I do like the heft of metal models. If I have plastics for a skirmish game, or something like Blood Bowl, I tend to weight the bases with lead. That said, as an avid converter, there is no comparison between the two. Plastic is just so much easier to work with and I use almost exclusively plastic if I can. Oddly enough though, I don't feel much of an urge to convert my Malifaux models as I tend to like the majority of the sculpts, as is.

[Captain.Danger]

Pushing the pewter around is more to my liking than plastic. Well, at least with small to mid-sized tabletop games like Malifaux or Warmachine. All metal armies in games like Warhammer get to be annoying to move around, not to mention transport.

Gotta agree with you Iron Man, the artistic value of plastics isn't anywhere near that of a metal fig.

My vote will always be with Heavy Metal.

-Captain Danger