metals vs plastics

[Protist]

Its funny, I mostly seem to post in the painting/modelling department but thought I'd venture out...

Metal vs Plastic models. Discuss!

Looking just now at a really well painted army of plastic models from recent GW releases and plastics for me are intrinsically linked to a more functional purpose, a playing piece or a counter, whereas metal models seem to have an innately more personal sense attached to them. I think it might be a "maker's mark" sort of thing, when looking at a metal piece you can see where the tools modified the original blob of putty, shaping it and creating form and feature. With plastics you don't see that process.

Plastics are however cheaper, and fulfill the army builder mindset brilliantly, but I just can't seem to love them

 

[Galadrin]

I'm much the same way! I love 90's plastics in principle, but I always end up getting metal instead. Metal models definitely look more characterful and individualistic—even the multipart plastics they have these days end up looking pretty samey.

That said, I have a deep nostalgic commitment to some of the worst plastic offenders, including 90's one-piece Wood Elf archers!

 

[barney_leadhead]

I like the plastic figures and have a good selection from GW, Perry, Fireforge etc. and really enjoy assembling and modifying them much more than with metals.

Metal figures on the other hand are to me better as a collectable item and digging out my original minis from the early/mid 1980s they have stood the test of time well and can easily be stripped and re-painted whereas I only have a few of my original plastic 'Skeleton Horde' in my collection.

So to summarise I prefer playing about with plastics but for long-term ownership metal takes some beating and they are a pleasure to collect regardless of age or source.

 

[dieselmonkey]

I love both, and whilst there has been some utter crap produced over the years, good plastic sets allow the converter to go wild, far moreso than metal figures ever can.

Metal figures allow the sculptor to imbue the model with character, good plastics allow the converter to do that.

 

[Verlox]

Either or. Modeling is a tertiary aspect of this hobby to me (Painting = Secondary, Gaming = Primary) so I never really do a lot of conversions other than a partswap or two on plastic models. Metals make the best characters and heroes though, without a doubt.

 

[Protist]

Some interesting thoughts here already!

Metal figures allow the sculptor to imbue the model with character, good plastics allow the converter to do that.

Didn't consider that earlier. I almost never want to convert metals - I do occasionally and I always have ideas for them but can't normally bring myself to - they already have character!

Plastics I usually feel I have to make a bit more out of so conversions are attempted without second thought. I also find myself trying to get as much variety into the basing height to stop entire units having all the troops equally tall. It looks too strange!

It has also occurred to me that plastic is excellent for clean, modern/future vehicles. I suppose it goes without saying that mass produced techniques suit mass produced subjects perfectly.

 

[weismonsters]

Depends on what kind of contest.

I think metals would beat plastics in a fight, but plastics would beat metals in a race.

 

[mbh]

I will always love metal models but I'm dead sick of dealing with metal after 25 years.

 

[Legiocustodes]

I like resin.... That fucks up your question!!

Seriously either suit me fine, I mainly play rogue trader and I find the rtb-01 plastics are equally good alongisde their metal
Battle Brothers!!

Even some of the crap plastic from down the years (I.e. Second edition boxset monopose marines) I have learned to love!

 

[dieselmonkey]

I almost never want to convert metals - I do occasionally and I always have ideas for them but can't normally bring myself to - they already have character!

I pretty much hack every figure I paint, in some way. It's why it takes me so long to finish anything.

 

[Stormbringer]

I don't really care for the modern, multi-part plastic kits. They are incredibly fiddly and, though more detailed than their predecessors, they lack a certain nostalgic charm.

My favourite Citadel models are the early-to-mid-90s era plastics. I have recently grown to appreciate the metal characters from the same era, though my material of choice is always plastic over metal.

 

[Fimm McCool]

You just can't beat the weight of a metal mini, I remember when I picked up a mini in GW after years away from the hobby and was staggered to find it was plastic and weighed nothing. A nice sculpt, but it just felt like nothing... probably a few washers in the base would've let me appreciate it more! I don't mind plastic minis, or even resin ones, but the ability to bend metal is often quite useful for me in the converting process and I've yet to find a plastic model which captures the hand-made feel of metal as Protist highlights.

 

[Count Von Bruno]

I'll just get it out there and confess that Heroquest/Space Crusade/monopose 90's plastics are a guilty pleasure of mine, as are the (nicer) Rogue Trader plastics.
Fully agree with Fimm when he said "You just can't beat the weight of a metal mini" though, my brother handed me a plastic Marine Dreadnought the other day and it was so light it was just wrong!

The only thing I can say against metals is that they can be a bit of a pain for me to lug around on public transport, and that's probably more my fault for being a bum without wheels

 

[Stormbringer]

I'll just get it out there and confess that Heroquest/Space Crusade/monopose 90's plastics are a guilty pleasure of mine

Yes, this exactly. I particularly love the monopose 90s plastics.

 

[MagpieJono]

A good question certainly.
Like others have said, metal minis feel so much better when you pick them up having a kind of wholesome quality. They also feel more personal and hand made than plastic ones. Modern plastic minis feel a bit nothingy sometimes.
However plastic is so much easier to convert (and I like converting). I'll also agree that some of the modern plastics are a bit on the fiddly side and if anything maybe a bit too detailed.
Bring back the skeleton horde I say! Who wants skeletons covered in armour and bits of cloth when you can have naked skeletons lined up. Perfect for scenery too.

Favourite plastic mini of all time... Must be the goblin archer from the fantasy regiments boxed set.

 

[Schrumpfkopf]

The weight is really what mostly makes a metal miniature superior to me. I like a lot of the modern sculpts even tho the old Citadel and Grenadier stuff is really taking me back to the happy days of my childhood.

 

[Zhu Bajie]

I no longer own any plastic miniatures, apart from enoug hbits to make one RTB01 marine (the nostalgic sole survivor of a grim and distant war) Metal or nothing. I do have 2 large resin figures, but find the lightness and brittleness really weird.

Oh. Forgot, I';ve got Advanced Heroquest and Adeptus Titanicus, full of plastic tat. Both need getting rid of...

 

[Aiteal]

Back in the day, a friend and occasional opponent would pick up his minis and throw them at the wall when losing, he lost mostly to his younger brother's wood elf 'army' of two boxes of Skarlocs and a war wain/attack chariot, he himself had one box of Ruglud's and a goblin king chariot (hardly a fair match all in all points wise)
Plastic minis just don't create the same dents in a plasterboard wall.

Speaking for myself, as an 'oldhammerer', one who came back to the hobby many years later, I still associate most plastic minis with inferior sculpts/casts due to the technological limitations of the time. Despite seeing the awesome and very personalised minis that later converts to the hobby have created with plastic kits, (some of the lead adventure plastic perry minis projects in particular are superb), lead will always reign supreme for me.
I'll never be grabbed by a painting blog/article entitled Light Plastic!

 

[jon_1066]

I think both have their place. You can't beat plastic for large figures, vehicles, dragons, huge wing spans, etc.

In the early 90's plastic was definitely inferior in detail and suffered from monopose sculpts. Nowadays the great advantage of plastic kits is the almost infinite possibilities they offer in terms of poses, weapons, heads, interchanging between kits, kit bashing, etc.

So if you want a regiment of heavily armoured orcs marching in step then the old Mother Crushers look great. If you want a peasant rabble who think drill is for planting crops then plastic is awesome. If you want to build an Empire Army without breaking your bank balance then three boxes of Perry Plastics war of the roses gives you a great starting force for less than £60.

My one worry about plastic is durability. Metal had to be compact to come out of the mould, plastic can have all sorts of appendages and bits sticking out and are very easy to break. Are they really suited to a wargaming environment - especially one where you are not using movement trays so have to repeatedly handle the individual models?

 

[Jeff McC]

In the metal-plastic debate, while I like and use both, I'm always reminded of the model train shop that I would go to with my dad when I was a kid. In addition to the usual hobby shop fare, they had 3 huge glass display cases filled with fine scale brass models, with very impressive price tags and a sign that read "The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys". Metal has always felt more like models for a gentleman's hobby, whereas plastics have felt more like toys. A bit silly I know, but there it is.