Resin V White metal.

[housecarl]

Thanks again for the input chaps. If I really like a figure I will buy it regardless of the material, but if it's a choice. I'd go with the resin, purely for the reasons that have been stated. Although I do appreciate the reasons for white metal usage, i.e. re-using casting plugs and duds.
Carl.

 

[Jeff]

We choose to produce Kings Road figures in metal for a few reasons. We got all the equipment to do so for about the same price as we would have for a nice resin set up. We actually have a small resin casting set up to produce masters.

I have done a lot of casting over the years as a model maker in the film and TV industries. I hate how wasteful the process is. You have cups for mixing and stir sticks gloves lot of extra materials going in the trash. for production the molds give out very quickly compared to the molds used in metal casting. A bad metal casting can simply be re melted and recast so there is little wast in metal casting. I love that. The number of figures you can get out of a mold is no contest. You can get tear out in resin molds in as little as ten to fifteen castings. I can get hundreds of castings out of a vulcanized rubber metal mold. I have gotten good results with resin molds But I think the most parts I ever got out of a resin mold that was not a two part mold which is rare for what we do was about 65 castings and it was really babying the molds to get the last few usable parts. For small parts you do some times need to add extra large casting plugs to get the material to flow under pressure in resin molds. So you end up using double the material for each casting. Even small parts. in metal can have very small gates in the mold and even small parts come out of the mold with little or no flash. For resin casting for small parts I have built in a halo of flash with super thin plastic to get good flow to the part such as a hand with splayed fingers. That is unnecessary in metal casting.

I have heard people talk about repairing figures after a fall and have heard resin is better but no one has talked about the fact that resin can shatter and fracture like glass if it hits just right. I have repaired both types of figures after falls or run-ins with TSA agents. Neither repair was easy. I was able to bring both types back to life. It takes a fall onto a hard surface to flatten out a modern metal figure, they are made of harder metal now then in the old days when they had a lot of lead in them. Small parts can bounce even on concrete I have had heads drop on the shop floor and show no signs of damage. It is my policy to throw those back in the pot even if I do not see damage just to be safe.

Bottom line for me is if you are carful you can get good results with both materials. Fine detail and good quality come from both materials. All that being said I do like the tradition of metal.

As far as "Resin dust from cured resin is inert" I think you are fooling yourself if you think that. I know several experts on this board that could debate that with you at length. Some of our far less volatile plastics we use very day have been shown to be much more harmful then previously thought. A short search of the net looking or epoxy resin dust will reveal that most manufactures of the materials themeless warn of exposure to resin dust. You will find loads of information that says that it is not inert.

 

[stu]

For me it is resin.

As a manufacturer of figures esp 120mm and 1/9th busts resin is a no brainer, it has to be used. The weight alone is a major factor, but also distortion in the castings.

Everybody always goes on about the dust, what about the harmfull stuff in white metal !, nobody ever seams to say this anymore.

Resin is most harmfull in its mixed state, just as it sets, thats the bit that's bad. Cleaning up a figure shouldn't involve that much dust that fine that you are going to kill youself. Using a dremel for conversions etc is a different matter.

The strange thing that has occured recently is that there is a greater acceptance of resin figures. Resins have improved so much (more costly) that there is virtually nothing I cant cast now, the only thing I have to do is work out how. Resin figures should come desprued in the main with only the remainder to remove, some fine parts are left on there sprues to protect them.

Costs is a weird one, never worked out why metal is so expensive and why some resin kits mimmic these prices. My 120mm figures retail for £35 my 75mm for £30 and busts £38. The different costs are only due to the amount of rubber and resin used. Infact the bust should be more as the bigger the piece the more heat on setting and so more damage to the rubber, hence less castings per mould.

Carl thanks for the thread

Stu

 

[MCPWilk]

I supose this is down to personal preference. I prefer large figures in resin, small in white metal. Small detailed and fragile parts (swords, bayonets etc.) I also prefer in white metal. With converting and scratch building I tend to use many different media: resin parts, wire, plasticard, modelling putties, etc.

What hasn't been discussed so far is longevity. Old predominantly lead white metal figures used to suffer from lead disease, but with more tin in the mix, this seems less of a problem. How long do resin figures last?

Happy modelling,

Mike

 

[housecarl]

Thanks again for the input. It's enlightening to get it from a sculptor, manufacturer, and scratch building perspective.
As for the longevity of resin, I can only surmise, a very long time. As it's inert.
Cheers,
Carl.

 

[Ventress]

Resin every time. Metal cannot provide the crisp detail and looking some recent open box reviews this is supported by photographic evidence.