Ok so no pictures, will post some this week and talk about what I have been up to in a bit. I bought nearly all my praetorians painted and having stripped loads now I'm in the happy position of getting a load ready for painting. If anybody who follows me bothers to read this! I was really wondering about your thoughts on a couple of things.
The first one is model casting quality, I think the range as a whole has vastly different quality as some models are pristine where as others look like the person got bored sculpting it and just sent it as it was without cleaning or removing unwanted imperfections. This doesn't really bother me as i love the range of models but after stripping plus 50 models and now removing mould lines and imperfections for painting I have to say that there is also a massive difference in some of my models in terms of detail, mould lines and flashing, both of models of the same type and between different models. One of the cleanest moulds i think is the Lieutenant, I have 5 or 6 and they all seem to have very little mould lines. The worst I have found is trooper 4 on Gravis's chart of the original models.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x160/gravisblog/Gravis%20Blog/Misc/Articles/Praetorian%20Miniature%20Range/Trooper4.jpg
I find this model seems to have really bad mould lines and it offers the best example of the difference in details between a good cast and bad, one I picked up today the bayonet handle had no detail and there was a load of crap around the handles base.
I wonder if other people found the same thing? Now I'm sure i have almost a timeline of GW casting quality over the 10 year (?) period as they were all sourced from different places and I must have models from across the lifetime of the range. There's definite difference between some of the very grey models (I presume from higher lead content?) which I think are the oldest and newer shinier ones. I often find the detail is better on the newer but there are worse mould lines and flashing. But then like that random trooper model this morning i find the occasional one in newer metal with appalling casting quality? Have other people found the same thing? A while back an anonymous poster asked me whether I thought any of the miniatures I had got off ebay were fake, I dismissed it at the time but maybe he is right? I said i wouldn't really care as long as they were useable, but I am finding a few in a really poor state.
So, I wonder whether people agree whether some of the models are a bit unfinished anyway? I mean what are those stupid little bits next to the gun on models with their arms and gun close to their chest meant to be!? There not on models not holding there guns there. Also why is there massive lump behind my kneeling guys bayonet?
Do you think the casting quality differs massively across the years?
Do you think some of the models out there are fake casts? Like me would you care if they were useable?
Would be interested to hear others thoughts.
Id say there are differences over the years for sure. up until 2001 (I think it was) GW were casting Praetorians if you ordered them. but they said the casts were degrading to the point they were casting substandard minis so GW stopped. I got a few of these last ones and yeah they are horrible next to my original 97 ones. Your right about the colour change too. Also I have seen differences between the ones I have got from the US and the ones from the UK. Different quality control maybe?
ReplyDeleteAs for the gun bits- I reckon that in the early day with the casting technology it was difficult to cast back into those areas, so the sculptor (Michael and Alan Perry) added those extra bits. they are also on all their other guard minis of that time -I think the Tallarn ones are the worst, at least the Praetorian/Mordian ones look like they could be lights or something.
My worst models are the kneeling ones. I think it may be because they were the extra pose sculpted from scratch while the others were modian re sculpts. I figure they were thinking it would be a limited run and so knocked it up quickly where the mordians were done well to start with. that or possibly that mini got cast more because everyone wants firing lines?
so yeah, I have found the same thing. I don't know why- I'm just guessing. and I no way think they are fake. I doubt the technology was around to do it cheap enough to make fakes. Though Im sure it could be done now if you lived in china.