An inportant question

Fimm McCool

Member
Recasts done well are hard to spot. There are some pointers-

a) metal. If it was a dark lead preslotta figure and you see one in bright silver 'white' metal it's probably not genuine. HOWEVER some very old models were available from mail order into the white metal period so this isn't guarantee of recasting.

b) rounded details. Especially if the recaster is drop casting (pouring metal into a mould rather than using a spin casting machine) the metal won't flow into all the fine details so sharp edges will become dulled.

c) shrinkage. Every time a mould is made from a miniature it shrinks and the castings come out smaller. Usually when a production mould wears out it is replaced by another made from master castings so the size is preserved. If a production mould has to be made from production minis there will be shrinkage. A recaster will only have access to production minis (usually) so the recasts will be a little smaller. This can be a tiny amount, however, and sometimes GW did make production moulds from production figures, so again no guarantee.

d) multiple mould lines. Each time a mould is made from a figure there will be a line where the halves of the mould join, even with a really good mouldmaker. These should be cleaned off master figures before they go into production moulds so each figure should only have one set of mould lines, if a recaster hasn't bothered to clean well then there will be two or more sets of mould lines in evidence. HOWEVER, GW mouldmakers weren't always careful about this either so you can get genuine miniatures with multiple mould lines.

e) pitting. The temperature of metal, casting style and amount of powder used in casting has an impact on the quality of finish. A 'good' recaster will know this, a bad one won't so if you find figures with pitting marks on the surface this could be an indication. HOWEVER, again GW have gone through a lot of casters and castings and sometimes there was a duff batch so you can find genuine miniatures with less-than-ideal surface finishes.

f) reputation. Is the seller someone who regularly posts the same model for sale? Especially if it's a 'rare' miniature it can be a danger sign if they have a stash of them. HOWEVER, GW employees could buy stuff at metal weight so there are some large collections out there, plus specialist dealers, and it should not be taken as evidence of recasting if they just have very well-stocked miniature collections!

I hope that helps. As you can see it's not easy to tell sometimes. My own rule is that I won't pay stupid money for any figure, however 'rare' and if the miniature is well-cast, the detail level is good and the price is reasonable I don't really care if it is 'genuine' or a well-done recast.
 

ardyer

Member
Also, GW "recast" many of their own models and had an archive service into the 2000s so many legit models pass many of these characteristics.
 
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