Discontinuation
On a day when Citadel Miniatures have discontinued swathes of Fantasy models, it seems fitting to look at why models get discontinued. There are multiple reasons, so I'll take them step by step. Wear and tear Most models, and most mass-produced items, rely on cast components. To have a cast component that is precisely shaped how it should be requires high-quality moulds. For metal or resin, these moulds are soft, made of vulcanised rubber or silicone, which allows for significant traps (places where the mould goes behind a protruding element like a rifle). For plastic, the moulds, or tools, are made from steel blocks, which cannot tolerate traps, either necessitating filling, where the forward element has been merged into the details behind, multiple components, or complex tools with strangely articulated elements. Soft moulds are, comparatively cheap to produce, but they are soft and wear out quickly (depending on the quality after 25-250 castings in most cases). Thus moulds n...