Modelling Materials- Trollcast

This model is Kiki Bulldozer, from Raging Heroes. She was part of the first Toughest Girls in the Galaxy Kickstarter, which is now finally starting to move over to full production. If you want to know more about her, you can find her on my Deviantart.

I'm showing her here because the model had one of those little 'gaming accidents' at the weekend. Whilst putting her back in the foam of my KR case, her staff, to which her 'friend' Little Hans is tied, snapped at the weak spot where it meets her hand. I thought that it might be an idea to take the opportunity to talk about the material involved, Trollcast, which is a type of Spincast Resin.

Firstly, overall Trollcast is an excellent material, for example, look at this model:

That's Mad Nurse Bernadette, from the same Kickstarter. When I was building her, those two fingers really worried me, but they've survived building, painting, and gaming with the model no problem. Despite being very light and hard enough to hold very fine detail, Trollcast is also pretty damn tough. Several models have survived drops, other models falling on them, etc. It also takes superglue very well indeed, as well as drilling for pins, so Kiki was simple, if a little nerve-wracking, to fix. There are, however, two 'buts' and one of them is as big as Kiki's.

But #1: Trollcast is an utter, utter git to prepare. Raging Heroes recommend washing it with 'dishwashing liquid' and warm water before painting, but I've had some models which took four or more attempts to get paint to stick to, most notably the models I ended up calling Squad Sisyphus. The good news is that I seem to have found a solution, which is to scrub the models down after washing with Brush Soap. This must be rinsed off thoroughly, but usually does the trick. Any stubborn spots can be scrubbed during the painting process with an old paintbrush and a little more soap.

But #2: Though tough, Trollcast seems rather brittle. Kiki is the first model I've had snap, but during building I've had several weapons, especially the TGG version of lasguns, snap whilst I've been trying to straighten them. The usual hot water method still works, but you have to be extremely careful with it.

I wouldn't let either of these deter you from getting some of these wonderful models, but be aware of the pitfalls of the material, and bear in mind that most of the Heroines are also available in metal. For what it's worth, I'll stick with Trollcast.