i built a few really nicely casted resin figures and now i dont want to build any plastic figures. when i looked at my dragon figures on the sprues i realized how much nicer the resin figures are. i dont want to build any of my plastic figures now, but resin figures are so expensive

i guess i will be building less because the resins are so much money

Mike, you can always try replacing the heads with resin, hornet have some great ones as do ultracast. Seems to me to be the best way to split the difference between cost and quality. Good luck!

for me the uniforms are the biggest difference. the ones i have been working on look great. the plastic ones look flat and boring. i am just goign to stick with what i have for now, but i really like the resin much better

mike im the same ive mainly got resin figures im not really a fan of plastic figures

the price is a massive issue but its worth every penny

Yeah, generally, resin figures are better. But I do usually find the weapons (specifically rifles and pistols) generally come out with better details in plastic then resin. As I cast lots of my own stuff, I always found weapons difficult to cast properly. Well, if youve been bitten by the epoxy bug, and you cant afford to buy lots of figures, I guess its time to take things to the next step and start creating, molding, and casting your own! Welcome to the dark side! LOL

Well, I must admit to be slightly confused by all this. The standard of plastic figures has improved so much in the last couple of years, that 'somehow' Resin are the only alternative, is to my mind fairly ridiculous. There's still a need for using items such as Hornet heads and (frequently) replacement hands, but...

It's obvious that you haven't looked sufficiently closely at what's available in plastic. Some of the GENII sets from DML will give most resin figures a considerable run for their money - dismissing plastic figures is (to put it nicely) extremely short-sighted...

Hi Mike

I think most of us know exactly what you mean but as already said the cost is a real ball breaker.

It does depend on what kits you buy. Dragon's Gen 2 are the best plastic on the market but even they can benefit from a few tweaks. I was pleasantly surprised by the good detail in a few older sets I got off ebay and on the flip side disappointed by the detail on some others I got.

The "Battle of the Hedgerows" set 6025 for example was a big disappointment. I really wanted the set from Ron Volstad's great box artwork but the figures are soft in detail, poorly defined straps, just pretty grim really all round. Okay for twenty years ago but not now. Yet set 6058 German Panzerjagers is much better and I was surprised at the crisp and realistic detail.

You could improve your plastic ones. As already mentioned replacing heads from the excellent Hornet range or maybe try some of the others from Warriors, Verlinden (watch the size) or Legend Productions.

Also I use a Swann & Morton 10A blade scalpel to go round sharpening up the detail. I undercut the jacket around the join at the trousers where this is usually left thick, sometimes cut off the hands hollow out the sleeves and replace the hands after mounting to shaped sprue stubs. Uncut the collars to again give a sense of thin material. All this I do mostly before putting the figures together.

You could replace hands if you wanted, again available from Hornet etc. Gen 2 sets are a good source of weapons to lift a figure.

But at the end of the day you are right, although the gap has closed considerably these few years, superb resin figures of the kind Taesung Harmms at Alpine is producing will look better, and to many paint better, than any of the plastic kits available.

If you counted the hours I spent "cleaning up" my plastic figures, replacement heads, I'd probably "spent" more in real terms than if I'd have brought resin with little or no work required in the first place.

Alan

Hi

One interesting point I'd like to make is you notice that it is the common practise with resin figures to show examples of the finished figure as part of the packaging, the box art, so that when you get the figure all be it in a raw resin or metal state it still looks like the item you saw and brought.

With plastic figures you usually get a nice box art illustration, which depending on the manufacturer looks something like the figures you can make from the parts enclosed but I think, certainly in my experience has led to disappointments.

Certainly when you compare even the Gen 2 stuff from Dragon with the images they show of the assembled figures they still don't look as good in stance and pose as the boxart. They tend to be more "wooden" looking, stiff and lacking the natural curves, bends of the artwork depiction. sure the detail is crisp, the weapons etc. well defined but maybe due to the limitations of the moulding process they still lack the more natural poise of the artwork.

Although the same remark about artwork to kit figure being different could be levelled at the figures from Miniart, whilst maybe not being as crisp in detail to Dragons Gen 2, do exhibit a more natural, lifelike pose to their more animated sets. Again I give them the "treatment" to help lift the detail a bit.

Just my thoughts and observations.

Alan