The Colonel's Second Finecast Foray (Part 2)

I am a GW Fanboy. I am not a Total Fanboy, but, GW, and all it was, has helped carry me through a number of dark times, in my life. I am also an honest and fair guy, who will always give everyone a 'fair crack of the whip'.

As we know, we can now get many ranges, at reduced prices, thanks to the Internet and other marketing avenues; if I am 'buying big', I will go that route. Not being well-off, anything else would be very odd.

The thing is, sometimes, the little boy hiding inside of me surfaces, and I want something and ache to enjoy the delight, wonder and sheer joy of rushing to the shop and buying it, even at full price; now-and-then, it is an urge which must be quenched.

Bearing all that in mind, here is my review, of the Warhammer 40k Space Marine Librarian in Terminator Armour (clicky for biggy) ...

Sprue A: Right Arm, Hand and Combi-Plasma

No bubbles to speak of, no edge-loss, excellent cast. Curve on staff/arm, which although looks a little bad, it is nothing hot water will not cure ... just 10/10, for the whole sprue.

Sprue B: Body, Storm Bolter and Banner

Body; No bubbles to speak of, no edge-loss to speak of, excellently-detailed cast ... 9/10.
Storm Bolter; 4, tiny, edge-loss bubbles, easy to fill ... 8/10.
Banner; Oh dear ....

The clue is in the whole sprue. Look at the distortion, in the banner region ... something went wrong and should have been noticed by GW QC. This resulted in a wafer-thin banner, with a number of gaps and holes. More problematic, was that when the banner was desprued (and I am very careful), the nubbings were faulty (i.e. one skull with a bubble) and the two 'Maltese Crosses' went flying-off, into my dusty, floor, storage area; I retrieved one, to no avail. The resin attachment points were tiny. The nubbings and intact banner can be seen in the BoW video review ...

My guess, is, that the sprue was removed with force and/or the resin had not yet hardened, sufficiently, and the subsequent stresses led to the fragility. I have seen this in another Finecast piece, on a smaller scale ... x/10, where x is a low integer.

A 40 mm base was included, and flash and mould lines were all within acceptable limits, for a resin cast. Bubble count was very 'good'.

So, GW disappointed my little boy (at Xmas !!!) and spoiled his day out. GW Customer Service will now be emailed, with my address, cast batch number, place of purchase and a link to this review. I am sure that GW will act in an appropriate and festive manner, which will allow that little boy to feel that he is able to go out, on a shopping adventure, once again.

Thank you ... I expect there will be a Part 3 and a happy ending.

(Mention in... Wargaming Tradecraft from N++ Weekly Update).