mythicFOX Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 So the new plastics are out and, having flown half way around the world with them, I got my my chance to work with them today so I thought I'd share my experience. I know a lot people, myself included, worry about the plastic as other companies have have had issues in the past. I'm not going to add photos to this article, but there'll be a couple of shots on my twitter feed shortly after this is posted: www.twitter.com/mythicFOX83 I chose to assemble and paint Willie first, mostly because I have a spare, also because he's a small model I could do in a few hours. The plastic has a slightly more gloss look and feel than the GW equivalent*, it is also slightly tougher and when a selection of sprue was put under pressure seemed to bend more than GW before breaking. Normally for metal or resin I would wash the mini, I chose not to in this case. The components clipped out of the sprue easily enough and the detail was as crisp and clear as you would expect of a modern mini. The mould lines were minimal and cleaned up exactly as they would on a GW plastic mini. Assembly was also easy as any GW mini. I haven't worked with plastic regularly in a number of years so I only had superglue to hand, so I can't talk about the effects of using poly ciment. The super glue worked well on the model. Now the most worrying part, paint. As I mentioned the plastic, while not as glossy as Leggo, is still a bit shiny. I opted for my usual MO for priming and base coat: GW Skull White spray followed by airbrushed Vallejo grey primer, then zenithial highlighting to white. This again went well. Now I'm not sure I'd want to hand prime this plastic, I think I'd struggle to get an even coat down thinly enough. Then again I've not hand primed a mini in years, so I'd probably struggle with any material. From there painting proceeded painting as normal. So basically no issues. A few hours gaming will tell how well the paint adheres to the mini but for now all seems well. Thumbs up to the new plastics *For the record the GW plastic I'm comparing with is a several year old sprue of zombies I found in my bits box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daemonkin Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Good report there Mythic! Hope my Rail crew arrives soon to test the plastics myself. D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leggo Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 I would like to say I am not glossy at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Thanks Mythic for this informative post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy in Suit Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 I had quite a bit of fun pulling back Yamaziko's spear and watching it sproing back into place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldManMyke Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Nice work. On the glue question I've been gluing together my Dark Debts with my usual plastic glue, Revell Contacta Liquid which is what I use on GW and Mantic and it seems to work fine. Using plastic glue rather than superglue also has the advantage of gap filling as the pieces gotogether Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 I had quite a bit of fun pulling back Yamaziko's spear and watching it sproing back into place! simple things and all that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clousseau Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Nice work. On the glue question I've been gluing together my Dark Debts with my usual plastic glue, Revell Contacta Liquid which is what I use on GW and Mantic and it seems to work fine. Using plastic glue rather than superglue also has the advantage of gap filling as the pieces gotogether That's good news, as it'll also bond better, and probably set a lot quicker than superglue, especially where the fit is not perfect. Now where's my models to try out (oh yes, still in the warehouse). P.S. good article MF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viruk Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Thanks for sharing your first impressions. After reading them, I can't wait to start working on my plastics. Hopefully Wyrd stuff will deal with shipping quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldManMyke Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Hopefully James wont mind me slightly hijacking his thread. Glued together most of the Dark Debts now and have some early observations The plastic in the smaller sets seems to be a slightly different colour from the actual dark debts and seems to have slightly different properties. Details on the smaller is kits, Graves, tannen etc. is very good and very sharp. However on the main frame for the Dark Debts the detail seems slightly softer. This is most noticable on Hungering Darkness, especially around the maw. This may well still paint up perfectly fine of course but it isnt as sharp as IMO it could be, especially when compared with something like a GW hard plastic kit. More observations as and when Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeth Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 I'm looking forward to trying mine out when they arrive. Sounds like these will be easier to work with than the plastic/resin mix that PP use (which I found a pain to clean up). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dookieagain Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Hopefully James wont mind me slightly hijacking his thread. Glued together most of the Dark Debts now and have some early observations The plastic in the smaller sets seems to be a slightly different colour from the actual dark debts and seems to have slightly different properties. Details on the smaller is kits, Graves, tannen etc. is very good and very sharp. However on the main frame for the Dark Debts the detail seems slightly softer. This is most noticable on Hungering Darkness, especially around the maw. This may well still paint up perfectly fine of course but it isnt as sharp as IMO it could be, especially when compared with something like a GW hard plastic kit. More observations as and when I didn't really notice any difference between the two. I started painting a depleted from a small box and an illuminated from the starter and they have similar corsetry and dresses and the detail seemed consistent between them. As well Jacob in particular has a lot of small but accentuated details in his clothing and face, and the same is true of the mutations on the illuminated. The totem does seem a bit less detailed than other large models, but I think it's more because he's kind of a glowing blob with teeth and the concept art than the plastic between the two kits. The main issues I've had with the plastichas been with fitting them together. The Hungering Darkness has a giant seem right down the middle, and unfortunately my primer kept getting grainy over the green stuff I used to fill it. My beckoner with cane ended up also taking a lot of bending to get to fit and now she has some nasty white stretch marks and upper shoulder glue scars. Also the crossed arm tentacle leg depleted just would not fit his arms no matter how I massaged them, and I'm currently building a green stuff upper arm to fill the gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldManMyke Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 Hopefully some pics to illustrate the point I am trying to make - again this isn't some witchhunt, its just open honest feedback. Difference in plastic colour and sharpness with Graves and Lynch Again great detail on Tannens face vs. a lot softer mushiness on the illuminated General softness (which may be intentional of course, though not sure give the softness in Lynch and illuminated) of Hungering Darkness. Its certainly not as sharp as the render would suggest, unlike the renders on the smaller boxes which seem pretty much spot on. Hope that is still all helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Mathonwy Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 Sheesh, that looks pretty bad. The contrast between the sharp and the soft models is huge and Hungerin Darkness looks really bad. I wonder if that's a legitimate defect and that you could get them changed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daemonkin Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 I ca really see the difference in Lynch. Hopefully it's a minor defect in your production run. If my Mei Feng comes out like that it will be straight onto Customer Service. Now, if there was a way you could voice your opinion.... some kind of podcast perhaps? :Hiding_Puppet: D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaehl Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 Wow thanks so much this clears up so many of my worries and concerns. I'm pretty happy thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nix Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 The main issues I've had with the plastic has been with fitting them together. The Hungering Darkness has a giant seem right down the middle, and unfortunately my primer kept getting grainy over the green stuff I used to fill it. My beckoner with cane ended up also taking a lot of bending to get to fit and now she has some nasty white stretch marks and upper shoulder glue scars. Also the crossed arm tentacle leg depleted just would not fit his arms no matter how I massaged them, and I'm currently building a green stuff upper arm to fill the gap. I started out very very unhappy about the plastics. The first night I sat down to build them I found out that my plastic glue had dried up in the long time since I had to glue together a plastic model. I clipped out Huggy, Lynch, and an Illuminated and glued them together with Super Glue. I had just finished gluing together a blister of Ronin and 10T Brothers, so had an immediate comparison. I was miserable and very very unhappy with the plastic. Then I went out and picked up some plastic glue and talked to a couple guys in my local group. None of them had the same issues with the plastics (aside from the Huggy issue I will detail later) and they had all used plastic glue.I have been really looking forward to these models as I love the sculpts, and went back to try again. As a note, I used the Testors Model Master liquid cement for Plastic Models. (http://www.testors.com/product/136942/8872C/_/Liquid_Cement_For_Plastic). Once I had plastic glue the remainder of the models went together like a dream. Very easy, very clean lines, and no issues putting them together. I assembled Tannen, Graves, my 2 remaining Illuminated, and all 3 depleted. I also assembled the three hanging trees and Santana. The applicator on the glue I used made it easy to put the right amount of glue where it needed to go. The glue set quickly and the models look great. At this point my biggest issues are with Huggy and the Large NE Hanging Tree. There are tremendous gaps on both of these models where they just do not fit together well. I used liberal applications of greenstuff to fill the gaps and try to smooth it into the sculpted parts of the models. Outside of those problems, I strongly recommend grabbing some plastic glue for gluing together the models as it made a world of difference. On the Illuminated, I took a second look at mine and was not unhappy with a lack of detail. The specific model that Mike took a picture of looks a bit soft around the eyes for me as well (on mine) but I chalked that up to the mandibles that need to be attached. Once I attached the mandibles the detail popped out a bit. I saw the same with Santana, who looks a bit funny until you fit her hat on and then the face sharpens up nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TekDekay Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Then I went out and picked up some plastic glue and talked to a couple guys in my local group. None of them had the same issues with the plastics (aside from the Huggy issue I will detail later) and they had all used plastic glue.I have been really looking forward to these models as I love the sculpts, and went back to try again. As a note, I used the Testors Model Master liquid cement for Plastic Models. (http://www.testors.com/product/136942/8872C/_/Liquid_Cement_For_Plastic). Once I had plastic glue the remainder of the models went together like a dream. Very easy, very clean lines, and no issues putting them together. I assembled Tannen, Graves, my 2 remaining Illuminated, and all 3 depleted. I also assembled the three hanging trees and Santana. The applicator on the glue I used made it easy to put the right amount of glue where it needed to go. The glue set quickly and the models look great. Seeing this relieves my worst fears about the models I just bought so thanks. I had the same initial experience as you but I have not been able to get to a store to acquire some plastic glue and so have been putting off assembling a bunch of stuff I bought at gencon because I had such a hard time assembling miss-terrious and a few other models using super glue. Gluing the flat to flat surface areas between two pieces with super glue can be quite frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldManMyke Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Glad your set is better Nix, can you post some photos so I can see what it should have looked like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nix Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 I can post some post primer pictures, I will grab them tonight. Not sure that will help to be honest, as the primer is what it is..... I will take pictures of the big tree as I have not primed that yet. The joins on some of the models are very strange. One of my locals looked at Santana and swore her face/hair/hat was 3 separate pieces. I was worried until I dropped her hat on and everything went right together. It was almost like looking at one of those pictures where you have to focus a certain way to see the sailboat (or whatever). Very very strange experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yazza Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 i used the tamiya extra thin cement on my metal gamin and rail golem, very clean. it has a very fine brush and very thin fast cement only problem i saw was of my own doing, to much cement, it got pushed out and when i pressed down my fingerprint got set in the plastic, not hard to buff out. i work in a modelstore, selling modelkits so i'm pretty wel versed with all things plastic. the tamiya cement works sweet on the plastic, the parts are attached to the sprues in inginious ways so when you cut it out, your cut part is hidden in the glue seams. (at least in abaout 90% of the cuts). wich i have never seen before, and i must have seen the insides of 100's of pro model kits) the only thing i missed (not for me but with younger players in mind) is some of them are a bit puzzling to assemble, a little cheat sheet would be nice, or put pictures how to assemble them on the site to minimize costs afterwards i assembled another metal mini and i have to say i was minning the plastics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhellion Posted August 30, 2012 Report Share Posted August 30, 2012 I just wanted to add to this thread. I received my first Gen Con order yesterday. I opened up the Dark Debts box to check it out, especially after this thread. I did not have the same issues with my box. Maybe it was just an error in the early runs that were at Gen Con. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daemonkin Posted August 30, 2012 Report Share Posted August 30, 2012 An updated pic of your stuff would be appreciated. D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhellion Posted August 30, 2012 Report Share Posted August 30, 2012 I'll be assembling it tonight after work and will take pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Caroland Posted August 30, 2012 Report Share Posted August 30, 2012 If you get one that is soft on details or 'smells' very heavy of chemicals, odds are you got one that just got some extra funk and didn't finish up properly. We found a Willie last week like that and he was all shiny and had a peculiar odor to him, where as the rest of the sets where matte finished and high in detail. We've taught the warehouse what to look out for now that we ourselves know about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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