Hey all

I didn't really know where to put this, so I hope it's ok in here. The purpose of this thread is to get your opinions on a certain matter. A couple of years ago I was really into the lotr hobby, but then with school and other various things I drifted out of it. Well now, I'm back The idea I have now is that I would like a range of armies spanning all the different areas of lotr, e.g. from Gondor, Rohan and Lothlorien to Mordor, Isengard, Moria and The Fallen Realms. Due to the price of GW models nowadays, I've spent some time planning the armies, mostly to a standard of 500pts (SBG) with a few exceptions, e.g. I have a Nazgul army planned of 5 winged nazgul, 4 on foot and the mouth of Sauron mounted which is approx. 1300pts. A lot of these armies are collecting/display based, as I absolutely love painting, but it also means I'll have a variety of good 500pt armies to game with.

Now as I'm trying to plan my purchases, my real question here is what to you think GW will do with all the models that are currently still metal? For example models like Faramir and Damrod, Grimbold, Gorbag and Shagrat, Sharku etc. Do you think these will just be faded out, and if so, when? Or will GW convert them to Finecast? I'm going to email GW with this question anyway, just to see what (or if) they reply.

Please offer your opinions

Thanks

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My WIP thread viewtopic.php?f=50&t=23324

Virtually every metal model will be going into Finecast, generally only the ones that are already OOP will not be FC. Eg Shagrat, captain of Cirith Ungol model will not be re-released, but Shagrat, War Leader of Cirith Ungol will.

GW hardly ever reply to anyone, especially not if it concerns their business plans, something they tend to like kept secret.

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"I am the Flying Spagetti Monster. Thou shall have no other monsters before me"
-FSM.

Thanks for the reply I'm really looking for some reassurance, because I don't want to be mid army and find out some models I cant get Also, do you happen to know if the boxed sets 'Ambush at Amon Hen' and 'In the clutches of Shelob' are still available? The GW site says they are, and are available to order, but I've heard rumours that they're not
Thanks

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My WIP thread viewtopic.php?f=50&t=23324

In the Clutches of Shelob most certainly is, and is the nly way you can buy Shelob, so it ill probably end up in Finecast fairly soon. Ambush at Amon Hen is one of the few box sets of its type that still remains, but I don't expect it to end up in Finecast.

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"I am the Flying Spagetti Monster. Thou shall have no other monsters before me"
-FSM.

I also doubt you'll get that. GW would rather you pay them now so they can reduce their inventory. They're relying on their customer's impatience, and/or fear of missing out to spur them into buying NOW.

Frankly though, I'd prefer the metals for quality. I like working with finecast better (I actually hate working with metals) but I'm not impressed with its durability nor warping. I bought the Minas Tirith command set to get the Knight. His blade was curved into a U. With hot water and patience I was able to de-curl it and get it perfectly straight, and it stayed that way for some time. However, over the months it has started to re-curl ever so gently. I have other models which are ever-so-slightly warped. I didn't really notice before, but somehow a layer of paint reveals every flaw.

Personally I too would prefer metals. I've never bought or worked with Finecast yet, but judging from what everyone says about it, it's.....not so good I like the weight and durability of the metals. I don't particularly want the metals to go to Finecast, but I know GW are phasing out all their metal models, so I'd rather they convert them to finecast then stop producing them, if you get me

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My WIP thread viewtopic.php?f=50&t=23324

I am sorry to say that time and gravity will over come. I have some older models plastic/resin models that have simply collapsed or fallen apart from the effects of oxygen, heat, and gravity. I have even lost a few to lead rot. The maternal used in fine cast is the worst I have ever come across. The hot tap water de-curl should be all the evidence any one should need to under stand that a moderately hot day and gravity will deform it. Now as for the effects of time, I don't think any of these fine cast models will be around when most of you are my age.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

GW will probaly be bust or taken over by the time im your age

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'Though my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior'
-John Newton

Aye, and that's exactly why GW no longer care how long their products last for.

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"I am the Flying Spagetti Monster. Thou shall have no other monsters before me"
-FSM.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

I expect all metal models that are still available will become finecast at some point (and with a higher pricetag to boot). I'm also distrustful of finecast, I've never actually bought any finecast but from the various pictures I've seen I think it looks quite poor quality. If there are some metals you want and you have the money for them I would recommend just getting them while you can, certainly get metal before plastic. I'm currently debating whether to pick up some more metals myself (Ambush at Amon Hen was among those things) but I've got loads of old stuff to repaint already so I can't decide what to do

History has a way of repeating it self. The way these things usually go, a company will have a license for a limited time and then the product will disappear with out notice as the license expires.I always try to pick up what I think I will need as it comes out. Sometimes I buy stuff for trade as well. The GW license has lasted way longer than I ever expected. I would suggest that you budget what you can afford and try to get the metal you need before it disappears and you have to pay collector prices for it.
Fine cast collection? May be you can invest in a refrigerator to keep it in.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

I get most of my Lord of the Rings models from Ebay. There are a lot of metal models available much more cheaply than GW. Ugluk for example runs ~$10 from GW ($20 in a blister with Vrasku) but a quick check shows him in "Buy it Now" for $4. The shipping would be another $4, but if you buy a couple figures the shipping cuts down to not much (and GW will charge you shipping as well).

In addition to price, it is also a haven for metal models. Dunk metal in paint stripper and its good as new, dunk resin in paint stripper and it melts. I just got the Pellanor Theoden in metal for example (which GW now only does in Finecast) and a mounted Gandalf the Grey (which GW no longer does at all).

IN the UK, shipping is free for over £10, not that its any consolation to you.

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"I am the Flying Spagetti Monster. Thou shall have no other monsters before me"
-FSM.

Yeah, the US rate is less generous. For free shipping you need $50 worth of order (maybe £35? I don't know the exchange rate). GW is still a fine place to get models, but there is no need to despair if something you liked but couldn't afford goes out of print. The models are still out there in the market and they'll show up sooner or later on Ebay.

I expect I'll be ok in truth as I don't feel the need to have the complete collection and I already own almost every character that features in the films and most from the books (with the exception of Treebeard, Celeborn, Shelob and a couple of other quite minor characters). I like sets like the Ambush at Amon Hen one but if it were to vanish tomorrow then I do at least already have all those characters in at least one other pose. The amount we get for our money isn't far off collector's prices already

well, lo and behold, I got a reply from GW:

"Many thanks for your email. All the models on the website are currently being produced and are avalible to order, the type of material the model is currently being procuded in is stated in the product description. Models are tranisitioning into Finecast, however we do not know which models will be making the transition next and when that will be the best place to find out about new releases would be on the Games Workshop website or in the pages of White Dwarf.

Both 'In the clutches of Shelob' and also 'Ambush at Amon Hen' are on the website and are available to order."

That's the contents of the email reply. Very reassuring....at least it was intended to be. Although when I asked in my local GW a few weeks ago about the future of the lotr range, they said "I can't see us ever getting rid of it"

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My WIP thread viewtopic.php?f=50&t=23324

You actually got a reply? Strange...

I assme your local GW don't like LotR, how very biased, then again one of the guys in my GW says that LotR is his favourite, so what cna you do?

If you looked on the site you could see that both of those are still available, though I strongly recommend that if you want the Amon Hen bow, to buy it because, unlike Shelob, I do not expect it to make into Finecast. Shelob will be fine however.

It does sound like a typical GW response though.

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"I am the Flying Spagetti Monster. Thou shall have no other monsters before me"
-FSM.

So true, so true... I had my Uruk Berserkers with every single sword in both the packs warped, I bent them all straight, and now they have warped again, the paint comes off because the shape changes, and when I try to repair them they break. I'm over to the finecast camp .

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

I have to say I dislike everything about finecast. The models just feel so fragile and I find them a right pain to paint. Metal all the way. My advice? An indication that GW are going to FC a metal model is a change in the lead time of the model. Prior to the last release (sourcebooks etc) all the metal commands went from 'within 24 hours' to 'expected 2-3 weeks' and then taken down completely. Buy what you want sooner rather than later because most of it will be finecast.
Also, my white knight has a U sword than just refuses to straighten so I gave up.

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12th GBHL 2013.
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