Green Arrow (Eaglemoss DC Chess) -- Review (cont.)

Regrettably, the conclusion of this review is not what I had hoped for. . . 

On the plus side, the quality of the sculpture is superb! As best as I can tell, it is indeed com- prised of 4 pieces + base. This is a significant cost-saving measure afforded by the use of resin, with minimal down-side.

The negative. All the fineness and subtlety of the sculpture is virtually negated by the coarseness of the filler used! So much so that the figure is effectively rendered unusable once the paint is stripped!! Apparently, the production team is either unawares of the nuances of cold-cast metal casting, or are limited by budget constraints. Back in the day, I would have never used an aluminum powder so coarsely ground with the resin they are using--and without a thixotropic medium (read: "stratifier")! What is happening is that the essentially one-piece casting is being poured from the feet, and all the filler metal is settling to the upper body and head. The result is a relatively smooth, albeit virtually metal-free, lower body, and a craggy, coarse upper body. Of course, if you are willing to fill-in the roughness with paint, I don't suppose it really matters; but you are eliminating the repaint option. And even if you elected not to use a stratifier, a finer grade of Al powder would circumvent the problem, but would cut into your profit margin. 

Admittedly, this could have been a fluke. I can tell you with complete and authoritative confidence that it does happen. But if your fallback to a failed casting is a heavy (heavier?) application of paint, then any pretense at quality control during production is disingenuous, if not superfluous. 

I contacted Eaglemoss' CS, and received an immediate and candid response from a charming young lady. To wit, she was not in a position to discuss production issues. When I asked her if she could direct me to the point person on the production team, she replied that she did not have a contact to give me.

And so, my patronage of Eaglemoss has come to an end. The decline in painting quality was merely a symptom of what now lays beneath (HINT: paint is not intended to be used as either a filler or an adhesive!). And I don't need to be wasting my time OR money on an operation whose entire focus now appears to be the latter. CAVEAT EMPTOR!