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Schmapdi wrote:Looking very good. A lot of progress in not a lot of time.

I'm confused about the release though - I thought these were going to be metal? But I keep seeing components and the term "sprue" being bandied about.

Metal or Resin:

mad robot wrote:Thanks guys, appreciate the responses so far.

Just to clarify: These will not be plastic. They'll either be made from resin or metal.

Do you have an expected release date? These look fantastic and I will have to own some.

Sorry for not clarifying sooner. These will be resin. We have more sets planned and all of our sets willcbe interchangeable with each other. Resin will allow folks to customize these much easier.

I can't give a specific release date yet but it will be soon; possibly March.

I'd be interested in a loose gun frame, at least. They look pretty nice.

Need some opinions on Heavy Weapons. Seems like folks are looking for some prone gunners, as opposed to kneeling. Assuming I only did or the other, which do you prefer?

Kneeling or Prone?

Prone is cool but not everyone's cup of tea. Maybe have a ratio of sitting/kneeling/squatting and prone? Or are you looking for only one to two pairs of legs?

If you're only doing one, I would go with kneeling as it's more adaptable for different games. Prone looks cool, but has LOS issues in some games (40K specifically).

insaniak wrote: Prone looks cool, but has LOS issues in some games (40K specifically).

Yea thats why out of all the heavy weapon teams gw made, only two are prone. Its harder to hit guys on their bellies!

At this point it's looking like kneeling but I figured I'd see if there was any interest in something else.

Any chance of you selling the third head style separately?

I would love the chance to get my hand on a fair few of these for use with my troops.

kenshin620 wrote:Yea thats why out of all the heavy weapon teams gw made, only two are prone. Its harder to hit guys on their bellies!

In 40K, the problem is more that it's harder for prone figures to draw LOS to anything, since every little obstacle gets in the way.

insaniak wrote:

kenshin620 wrote:Yea thats why out of all the heavy weapon teams gw made, only two are prone. Its harder to hit guys on their bellies!

In 40K, the problem is more that it's harder for prone figures to draw LOS to anything, since every little obstacle gets in the way.

Thats true too

Fenriswulf wrote:Any chance of you selling the third head style separately?

Once I can get the main set out to people, I may go back and make some separate sets of the heads and guns.

Just a quick update to say the final test model is at the printers and I expect him back in the next week. I'll post pictures ASAP and as long as everything looks good, we'll have the full kit in molds by the end of this month.

Cheers!

Received the first of what should be the final 3D prints on the Greatcoats today! There are adjustments to be made on the weapons to make them a little beefier but the final masters should be in hand in another week or 2 and then it's off to the casters!

I've also decided to cast these in metal. Given the size of some of these pieces, there's too much potential for things to break.

Metal? Really? Wow. I didn't see that coming.

Eric

Looking pretty damn good to me.I could use them as a chaos guard force mmmnnnn.............

mad robot wrote:
I've also decided to cast these in metal.

Another Indie miniature company making guardsmen I won't buy.

MagickalMemories wrote:Metal? Really? Wow. I didn't see that coming.

poipo32 wrote:Another Indie miniature company making guardsmen I won't buy.

Resin really means that much to people? My concerns are about the brittle nature of resin, especially with the smaller pieces I'll be making. The last thing I want is to have to lose money on a release because the small parts keep breaking or are too fragile. Metal also allows for quicker production times. Those kinds of issues are genuine concerns for a small company like Mad Robot.

Resin would be my personal preference but it seems to be an issue where there are equal people on both sides. No decision is written in stone however. If people think these should be in resin, I'm willing to listen to your reasoning.

That flamer canister looks like it's going to snap off regardless of metal or resin. There's not much holding it in place.

mad robot wrote:Resin really means that much to people?

Just call it Finecast and people will buy the metal version

The only argument for Resin I can see is for weapon-swaps. Your model's gun is attached to the right hand. Removing that gun will take some work.

I'm also confused about what those two gun parts are in the top right.

Otherwise, I simply prefer metal.

Resin is a lot easier for hobbyists to work with, but tends to be harder for casters.

I don't know how interchangeable the molds are, but if you can try it out in resin, it would probably be better if that works: resin is cheaper, lighter (shipping costs) and easier to work with.

Personally, I'm really liking resin, but a good mini and I don't really care what it's made of.

For me, the preference is:
1) Plastic
2) Resin
3) metal
10) hybrid combination

You may enter almost anything between 3 & 10. LOL

Metal isn't a deal breaker for me. I just don't like working with it. Take that flamer canister, for example. As has already been said, it looks like it'll snap off easily, regardless of material. It'll be a HECK of a lot easier to drill out & pin in plastic or resin than in metal.

As long as the models look good and don't cost too much, I'm willing to consider them when I have a need. Those are the most important things.

Eric


Automatically Appended Next Post:
For me, the preference is:
1) Plastic
2) Resin
3) metal
10) hybrid combination

You may enter almost anything between 3 & 10. LOL

Metal isn't a deal breaker for me. I just don't like working with it. Take that flamer canister, for example. As has already been said, it looks like it'll snap off easily, regardless of material. It'll be a HECK of a lot easier to drill out & pin in plastic or resin than in metal.

As long as the models look good and don't cost too much, I'm willing to consider them when I have a need. Those are the most important things.

Eric

MagickalMemories wrote:Take that flamer canister, for example. As has already been said, it looks like it'll snap off easily, regardless of material.

Yep, that's one of the changes being made the make the weapons beefier.

poipo32 wrote:

mad robot wrote:
I've also decided to cast these in metal.

Another Indie miniature company making guardsmen I won't buy.

The Chinese recasters wil have them in resin...

I'd take some of those heads in either metal or resin. It doesn't bother me at all.

Overall, you're the manufacturer, you've got to be happy with how things turn out as well as the consumer. If you don't have the tool for vacuum degassing and molding resin correctly, you could try to farm it out. If you want to keep it all in house, go with whatever you think is best.

If you reckon you can do metal at a price point which is competitive with other manufacturers who offer plastic or resin, I don't see why to not use metal. Honestly I find it just as easy to work with as resin.

Don't you have a choice in casting resins? I know some types are brittle, but others are quite flexible - e.g. for all the complaints about GW's Finecast casting quaility, they do seem to have got the flexibility aspect right.

Clang wrote:Don't you have a choice in casting resins?

There are options, for sure. However, besides the breakage factor, most of my concerns lie with costs. Compared to metal, resin molds are more expensive, have a much shorter life, and it takes much longer to produce each cast. For smaller projects, like a single sprue of heads or weapons, resin doesn't present as many issues.

mad robot wrote:Resin really means that much to people?

For me, it's not so much that I'm attached to resin as that multi-part metal models are a pain.