Going back a good few years a company called Hornet made some great figures. They also made lots of character replacement heads to personalize figures too. Then all of a sudden Hornet stopped making figures and a new company emerged called “Wolf” with only heads now being manufactured under the Hornet brand. A few years after that Wolf disappeared to be replaced by a company called Sovereign 2000. Still with me? Good.
So why mention all of this? Well the figures produced by Hornet and then subsequently by Wolf were all white metal so when I purchased this Sovereign 2000 figure I anticipated the same. What I got was a resin figure. Even though the website I purchased the figure from (Historex Agents) didn’t specify resin or white metal the fault rests with me, I should and could have clarified. As the saying goes, if you “Assume” then you make an “Ass” out of “U” and “Me”.
Now I’ve no desire to open up the whole debate of Resin/Plastic versus White Metal as it’s been discussed on numerous occasions. I’ll just say “I hate fucking resin figures” and leave it at that. OK, OK I’ll offer a basic explanation.
Firstly, let me say right up front the problem is me. The detail of resin figures is excellent. If you are into conversions like IRO for example then I would imagine adapting and modifying a resin figure using a hobby knife is much better, placing the emphasis on creativity rather than engineering. The figures are also much lighter and just as straight forward to paint but having said all of that I still don’t like them that much. I’m sure they have other virtues as well.
So what’s not to like?
Oddly one of the things I don’t like is the amount of fine detail. A weird thing to say I grant you but, as was the case with this model, the finer parts such as the gun are so easily broken. The detail is great but if it breaks there is little chance of a decent repair leaving the figure essentially useless. I concede that white metal figures break too but in my experience they typically bend first and can be straightened out. My other issue, which is pretty much the same issue in fact, is that they come on sprues or with lumps of residue resin all of which needs to be cut away. A delicate operation which I struggle with. It’s me as I say but I don’t much care for resin given the choice. Having said all that I received 5 resin figures for Christmas so for all my moaning I’m going to have to get used to it. Who knows, by the time I’ve completed them I may have been converted.
Let’s move on to the figure itself.
I needed a WW2 Normandy Landings type figure or two for the Plymouth Model Club display later this year and simply took a shine to this one. I liked the thumbs up pose. He was painted using a combination of acrylics and oils. The base was a simple affair but, surprisingly now that I come to think about it, the first time I’ve used plaster board to make anything, in this instance the wall. I’m sure many of you have used it but if not then I would seriously recommend it. It’s not even something you have to buy, I picked out a few decent pieces from a builders skip! Easily carved but solid enough as well. It’s nicely textured once backing paper is removed and as it absorbs a varied colour shift can be achieved with next to no effort.
Not much else to say other than a few images below, all of which make the model look darker than it actually is.
TIM
The Imperfect Modeller 
Nice work. By the way I hate resin too and I would never buy a resin figure, only things like crates barrels or other terrain, maybe a vehicle.
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I think resin is probably better suited to something’s like you say. I grew up with white metal and just find it more tactile which is not much of a reason I guess. These things are personal at the end of the day.
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Yep, resin is a bit poop with regards to bits snapping off, my colonial Marines ‘Smart gunner’ is losing the front of his barrel, perhaps acidic alien blood got to it? My gravestones are resin, the broken ones are on the top of the hill, if they snap (an easy place to get caught) then they are the old broken ones anyway.
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Resin has it’s pluses and the sharpness of detail can be stunning but some bits are to delicate for my liking. Doesn’t help that I’m heavy handed as well on occasions!
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Forgot to add, I like the miniature 😁
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Thank you.
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Nice work mate, but I’m with you on the metal/resin/plastic debate… resin sucks, plastic is more durable, and is ace for vehicles & conversions, but I just love the ‘heft’ of metal… can’t beat it imo.
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Non metal stuff has it’s place but I was brought up on metal so I guess I’m biased towards it. It’s more tactile to my mind but these things are personal. Still it’s nice to know I’m not alone 😊
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Very nice – the model, the painting, the setting! I tend to love/hate various materials, since they all have advantages/disadvantages to some extent but, if I really want a specific item and it’s only available in one type of material or format then I’ll go for it. I’d like to think I’m material-neutral!
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I think you make a very good point John. If the model or figure looks the part and you want to own it then you get on with it regardless. I’ll have to bare that in mind when I do the others that I’ve got. Feel free to remind me as and when I lose the plot! Material-neutral, great phrase. 😊
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I can’t have been paying attention, but I’d assumed we’d both already lost the plot! 🙂
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Neither of us can lose what neither of us had in the first place! 😉
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Very nice, love the pose and the cheerful character of him. The plasterboard walls are a clever idea as well, straightforwards but very convincing. I’d quite forgotten about it until now but I did something similar myself back when I was starting out. I couldn’t afford any terrain so I used a load of plasterboard from a skip to make bombed out buildings. Not sure how well they’d hold up next to something like this but to my young eye they looked very convincing!
As for resin yes it can be a real drag (cleaning it, dealing with warped parts, cutting off the flash, watching it shatter when it’s dropped…). That said I do quite like it as a medium, but I’ve spent enough time muttering dog’s abuse at it to confirm it’s definitely not just you!
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Plaseterboard was a pleasent surprise, very versatile stuff. Why it didn’t occur to me light years ago I’ll never know but I expect I’ll be using it again from time to time.
To be fare I’ve cursed metal too. I think sometimes it has more to do with my mood and the patience I have at the time I’m modelling. Resin has it’s place and I do like a lot of the stuff. These things are personal at the end of the day.
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Love him. You managed to get a nice effect of sadness in his eyes.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Thanks Pete. He might be resin and I might have sworn a fair bit but I do like the figure.
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Great looking Tommy, he’ll do well I’m sure at the show. You know I’m a metal guy too, even casting the dreaded lead with tin. Resin is different for sure, and prepping it is a challenge, Still, this guy has a wonderful face (or maybe you just painted it so well). One of my favorites – love soldiers having been one I guess.
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Cheers Mark. I don’t think my painting is too bad but it always looks better when starting with a quality cast figure and face. Bit like my hand writing. It’s OK in Biro or pencil but looks so much better when I use a fountain pen.
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I can’t read my own handwriting, I have to print and even then it’s horrible. 😁
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This figure gets a thumbs up back from me, mate!
On the plastic vs resin vs metal, I’m generally a metal or plastic guy, but I do have a lot of resin models at this stage. Resin’s at it’s best and worst when it comes to fine detail – so embossed bits of armour or the like are great, while things that can snap off or be slightly miscast are pretty terrible. It’s actually pretty decent for large, chunky things, though the weight can sometimes be an issue there!
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Thank you. As for the various mediums I guess they all have there uses along with there pros and cons.
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Yep. I like being open to all of them. Nothing makes me shake my head as much as seeing (younger) gamers completely swear off metal as they clearly have no idea of what they’re talking about.
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Heh, I wonder if it’s because it’s “old”, and therefore “sucks”?
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Good job Dave ! I’m a plastic man as most 1/72 comes that way so fine for boiling and changing poses and that’s good for the variation I desire but get paint to stick is a bastard and all seems to come of after sticking the bloody figure on the dio . Metal I received a whole bunch of Valdemar medieval figures from the team for Christmas and I can’t stop raving about how good they !, I have had a few resin guys but they are to fragile for this rough old guy ! .
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Looking forward to seeing what you do with the Valdemar figures.
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For the less bendy ones, I’m finding that a Shellac-based spray primer does the trick beautifully.
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I mean, it works for bendy ones, but if they bend too much it can still flake off.
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Nice work, really like the cloth on the uniform. The pose makes me wonder. He seems smiling a bit, and is obviously giving a (positive) thumbs up. We don’t usually attribute positive feelings with war, so it makes me wonder what’s going on. Perhaps posing for a picture?
Resin vs metal, much has been said. I can’t say that assembly/prepwork is my favorite thing in general. I get too impatient with it, and often view it a as hinderance to me getting a mini painted. If resin/plastic could be easily sub-assembled without prepwork, then I might prefer it over metal. Well, except for weight, as I end up weighting the bases of all my plastic/resin minis, so they will have that nice heft that metal minis do. Yep, I’m crazy.
Wait, so you used plasterboard …this stuff?
Isn’t it really chalky and crumbly
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I think there was a fare bit of humour in the war from what I’ve been told, it was one way that they kept their sanity. He could be giving a thumbs up for the end of the war perhaps? Like you I find prep a pain from start to finish but alas it is important to the end result. Yep, that’s the plaster board, didn’t need that much though! Much to my surprise it was ideal to work with.
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Ok, I will have to keep plasterboard in mind then. I (probably like a lot of us) make a few trips to the hardware store now and then, so I’ll keep an eye out for some scraps to play with.
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