Thursday, March 21, 2013

Fixing Finecast Necron HQs with Plastic Parts




It's no secret that Fine Cast has some issues and when it comes to tiny, thin or otherwise fiddly bits, the issues really come to light. In this case, I am talking about Necron weapons on their HQ models. Here is the Traveler (left) and Nemesor Zahn (or Nemesauce as I like to call him, on the right). I really like both models and bought them in Fine Cast knowing full well that I would have to fix them. With that being said, this isn't a post in which I cry about the injustice of a product, but rather one, where I put my big boy pants on and overcame the issue with simple solutions.

The Traveler's Warcythe was the issue with his model and since it come on its own, arm included, I just took a arm from one of the spare plastic lords I have (you end up with these when you build gun barges), drilled out the area the arm would fit into and bam, instant fix! Nemesauce on the other hand ... not so simple. What I did was take another plastic lord arm and cut it at the elbow to fit the place where Nemesauce's original arm was. Before glueing it into place, I cut off the warscythe blade and drilled a hole down deep into the shaft. I then cut up a Lychguard blade for the little Guass-ish peice and also diced up Nemesauce's staff (I really like his staff of light, but I need to add structural integrity). I drilled through all of those parts and pinned them together with a peice of brass and some trusty superglue.


Next, I addressed a small issue I have always has with the Zahn model: Where the hell is his resorb? I took the fiddly little hand and wrist from the original model and just cut  them off. I then found the plastic lord fram again and pinned that plastic resorb into place!


Then I smoothed it all out with a little Green Stuff.


That's it really; a ten minute solution to stop me from having a lifetime of problems with my models.

Let's face it, Finecast has it's issues and there really is no sense in turning this into a bitchfest, rather, let's discuss and share some links to how you have overcome issues with the material or how you have found interesting ways to build conversions using stuff you have laying around. Any takers?

11 comments:

  1. My issues that were similar to this but not using fine cast involved warmachine models. Iron fang pikemen and bane knights. Same issue long pewter spears and halberd and would bend and break over time. Simple fix was just cutting the pikes/halberd, drilling through the models hand and replacing the main part of the weapon with a brass rod of the same size and fitting the ends of the weapons back on with the pin going right into the weapons ends. Simple easy fix for the models and I would assume it would work for many fantasy models that are still in pewter as well. Also for those players without the extra necron bits, do you think the substitution of just straight brass rod might work if they don't have ready access to the bits you were using? Or would it be too much loss of detail?

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  2. Yeah, I would think so, but I would add either some plasticard tube (really small) to add some fancy bands to it here and there and preserve the little "power supply" looking part to add on as well. That would make it still look like a Necron weapon. Otherwise, yeah, that's how I would fix just about any kind of weak resin pole or shaft (I am sure there is a joke here) - just replace parts with rod and call it a day.

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  3. Should I expect to see these painted up at the next tournament in Greenville?

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    Replies
    1. Do you have meth for Tj to be able to go without sleep to paint all these models in a day? Lol

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    2. Nik, I can say that is certain! You will see these and more! I plan to paint these, three wraiths, an additional lord and some necron warriors by Saturday for the GT at Dropzone Games ... So yeah, do you have any meth I could borrow, or at least a HUGE coffee?

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    3. http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Energy-Drink-16-Ounce-Cans/dp/B006IMBHVU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363880544&sr=8-2&keywords=monster+energy

      Case of 24 at a time. That might do the trick. I am excited to see it all.

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  4. A nice approach, I hadn't realised how nice those two models were, and I can imagine those fixes will stand the test of time. Looking forward to seeing them all painted up.

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    1. I hope so Andy. I made sure that I replaced parts at the areas where the model would feel the most stress from transport and from just heat and gravity.

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  5. Ack! Fcast. Sorry chocking on my own rage there. Nice solution to a problem you didn't create. I had some work to do on my 'crons as well, better than the DE though but fcast is still too inconsistent for my liking. I try to avoid it unless I REALLY love the mini. Great work again.

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  6. My Necron characters sit unpainted with broken and bent staffs, broken arms, etc. This has given me the inspiration to attempt some repairs. Thanks!

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