dragon princes recast?

[docdom]

I recently bought a painted unit of dragon princes via ebay. They feel almost twice as heavy as a normal cavalry stand and when I stripped the paint the metal looked very dark like "bolt gun metal" instead of the normal GW whitish "mithril silver". The casting looks ok to me. Maybe a little less detail. They didn't come with the command strip. Only six of the two ordinary types.
Are these proofs for selfmade minis or does GW sometimes change the casting material?

[Dave]

I've had metal go very dark on me when I strip it. Some kind of chemical reaction between the metal, paint and degreaser. Are their two mold lines anywhere?

[jchaos79]

I do not think GW changes the alloy. They are most professionals, maybe a little company like warrior could make lots that hit the streets varying the alloy, but do not think GW do it.

In my humble opinion, that could be a recast. Figures are an alloy of Pb-Sn (lead-tin), sometimes called pewter. Tin are add tostrengh the alloy and is lighter than lead. Also lead is heavier and cheaper than tin, and also in liquid state takes more detail in the mould.

So it seems yoy had a recast. If your alloy is mainly from lead could be easier to bend, but is not likley to break when you  return it to the initial position.

I speak from a theorical point of view more than a practical miniature-caster experience.

-- modify after reading Dave answer --  well if the metal surface etch when stripping the paint, and goes dark to all of you... then I think I was just thinking to hard for a regular phenomena... uuuupps 

[marell le fou]

Could you give us a picture ?

I would say there are two things that led to think they could be recasts. Color of the alloy and the fact there is no command strip. Are all the strips the same ?

Here are the two i know :

[Rolgan]

I tend to agree with Dave on this, I have had GW metals do some wonky things when in the paint remover.

What did you use to remove the paint?  I always get discoloration when I use acetone, which kiss arse removing paint from Metal minis.  Castrol Super Degreaser/Cleaner does not cause the same problem.

We'd need to see photos of the bare strips to determine if quality was less.

Also Marell, those are awesome closes up of the DP Strips, thanks for that.

[docdom]

What did you use to remove the paint?  I always get discoloration when I use aceton.

I've had metal go very dark on me when I strip it. Some kind of chemical reaction between the metal, paint and degreaser.

I used nail polish remover to strip the paint. It works really great. In case that's acetone it could explain the darker colour.

We'd need to see photos of the bare strips to determine if quality was less.

Sorry, they are already primed and painted a little bit. 

Are their two mold lines anywhere?

The mold line looks like the one on regular cavalry miniatures. Nothing unusual as far as I can say.

@marell

Thanks for the great pictures. Mine look the same maybe a little less detail. This can also be because of the black primer. I got both types of strips but no command strip.

I remember someone in this forum said he ordered some knights o t white wolf or panther and received a blister with no command strip but 6 regular strips. So this could be the case for my dragon princes aswell.

The only point which makes me think they are fake is that they feel so heavy.

Is it possible to get almost the same quality in detail with recasts? 

[marell le fou]

Some are really good at recasting... So i suppose it could be possible to obtain approx same details with recasts.

Anyway... i would be you, i would not mind too much. Those figs are so rare anyone would like to have them even if they may be recasts.

And if you paint them, i suppose it's to play with them. So here again, no need to hesitate. Have fun with them

[Brutalrage]

Some are really good at recasting... So i suppose it could be possible to obtain approx same details with recasts.

Anyway... i would be you, i would not mind too much. Those figs are so rare anyone would like to have them even if they may be recasts.

And if you paint them, i suppose it's to play with them. So here again, no need to hesitate. Have fun with them

i fully agree with the statements above

[docdom]

I never saw something like that before so I was curious. Thanks for the help guys.
I'm happy to own this rare unit especially cause I only paid 15 euro on ebay. The only thing that annoys me a little bit is the missing command strip. So anybody wants to sell his or maybe got two? 

[Rolgan]

Nail polish remover is acetone!  It goes a long way towards explaining your discoloration.

As a test take a bare metal strip of say Silverhelms and set it in the acetone overnight, you'll end up with a darker grey color instead of the usual silvery one.

I also have DP's with no command strip (someone must be collecting them)

However I have 3 WW Command strips so go figure...

Regards,

[docdom]

I also have DP's with no command strip (someone must be collecting them)

However I have 3 WW Command strips so go figure...

lol

[Guthwine]

Either all dragon princes where made of different material or I also bought a recast on ebay.

Though mine have a command stand, I only have 5 strips of the first pic shown. They didnt change the color after stripping but the material feel kinda unusal (at least) in comparison with the other units.