Nemesor Zahndrekh and Finecast Experience

So I decided I was going to give Nemesor Zahndrekh a go.  His ability grants push good shooting into great shooting.  And various abuses of Hit and Run and Furious Charge can make some of the more aggressive units in my lists much more potent.  Issue though, there is no model for him.

So I look at rumor mills for the supposed Feb 2012 Second wave and I don't see him in it.  Not even hinted at it.  So taking the next step I looked at various models on line and decided I would take the Stormlord as my conversion body.

He didn't need much work.  Head swap, a cut and flip of the staff head.  A ball of green stuff for a ress orb and enter my Counts-as Nemesor Zahndrekh for the Taodark Dynasty.



This was my first use of Finecast models and I have to say, I am not one bit pleased with the material.  To start the staff for Stormlord came bent.  So I tried the various hot water tricks to get it to bend and even after a 20 min steam soak it still wasn't completely straight.  I thought about taking it back but figured since the staff was long I would just "glue it in place" to the base I would finally put it on (resin bases inc.).  So I started with the work and flipped the head of the staff to get something more akin to what the picture in the book had.  Grabbed my small drill bit and was going to bore holes for the paperclip I would use to support the conversion of staff head flip (always better to give a paperclip backbone to a conversion on a staff least it fall apart with just glue).  Sad part is the staff is so small radius wise that I couldn't.  The drill bit, my smallest, was bigger then the staff.  So I did a simple bubble of glue and called it a day. 

So I primer it and move on to painting.  A couple starter coats of color own and my next experience of Finecast happens.  As I am holding the model turning it in my hand as I paint, I hear the faintest pop.......the bottom of the staff snapped.  Not because of some great amount of pressure I was putting on it.  Not because it was dropped.  Not even cause I had weakened the material with any sort of cutting.  The bottom just popped off.  Great! #^@^&*(@  Just Great!!!  Now instead of a Lightning Staff he is holding a Lightning Scepter.  *shrugs* Already got glue and primer on the model, can't take it back now.

Frankly I find the material less then spectacular.  The cloak is weak as hell I fully expect part of it to snap off through transport or game play.  I'm not sure how much longer the staff conversion will survive and the model just feels really REALLY brittle.  I fear for the day and time to come to see this model take a tumble off my tray at a tournament or off a table from the dead pile every gamer always leaves teetering on the edge.  If give the choice I would rather have metal back, but since those days are gone all I can say is I think the only finecast models I am going to be buying from now on are stocky solid frames models.  Nothing with lithe small or thin pieces, just way to risky.