| balticbattles | 17 Apr 2013 11:43 a.m. PST |
Hi, A slightly unusual question: how sustainable is wargaming? How long till we run out of suitable metals? Will plastic run out with oil? Where does resin come from, and is it a viable alternative? Will we be reduced to plaster of Paris? Thanks! |
| The Tin Dictator | 17 Apr 2013 11:55 a.m. PST |
There's always something we can melt to make a toy soldier.
Metal, plastic, whatever. I wouldn't worry too much about it. |
| wminsing | 17 Apr 2013 11:58 a.m. PST |
Bio-plastics, already on the market, albeit not for wargaming. So long as someone is growing plants we are all set. -Will |
| RexMcL | 17 Apr 2013 12:23 p.m. PST |
If it can't be grown on a farm, you have to mine it somewhere. China is the top producer of the metals used in miniatures:
Sn: link
Zn: link
Pb: link |
| Mako11 | 17 Apr 2013 12:29 p.m. PST |
Oil will not be running out, anytime in the next 300 years, or so, despite the propaganda to the contrary, by some, trying to drive up its price. Metals are recyclable, and I suspect the above applies to them as well, but probably even more of it may be available. No doubt, other materials will be developed in the future too, including, as mentioned, bio-plastic materials too. |
| timlillig | 17 Apr 2013 1:01 p.m. PST |
Being cheap, easily cast, and holding detail are basically the things that determine the metal chosen for miniatures. Cheap means they are plentiful and/or not sought after for other uses. So, probably metals more important to your life will become unavailable first. Resin is usually a petrochemical. I believe resin can be made from plant oils, but I have not looked into that. Any resin miniatures on the market are probably not made from plants. Thermoplastic miniatures are made out of several different materials. I think the ones with 9, 6, and 3 in the recycling triangle are probably the most popular. Plaster is a mineral, so is not particularly sustainable. I think it can be recycled, but I don't know if anyone is bothering to do so. Failing all of those materials, miniatures can be made out of paper, either flats or 3D. Plastics made from plants, milk, and animals are available too. You can make a simple caesin from skim milk and vinegar in your kitchen and try to make miniatures with it if you want to. |
| GarrisonMiniatures | 17 Apr 2013 2:06 p.m. PST |
One problem with recycled metals is purity. As this will not be a critical factor for wargames figures, the supply of available 'impure' recycled metal might even increase….. This is called wishful thinking of course. |
| Zephyr1 | 17 Apr 2013 2:24 p.m. PST |
The problem with using plastics isn't availability; The landfills are full of it. It's the machinery to form it that is the expense. |
| Mako11 | 17 Apr 2013 5:48 p.m. PST |
I think most casting resins are petrochemical based. If we do happen to ever run low on metal, which I doubt, they'll just start catching asteroids to fill that niche. Apparently, NASA already has a plan to do so, for study, but the concept works well for miniatures, since a large portion of those are metal based. Gold, or platinum miniatures anyone, at really low, low prices? |
| Whatisitgood4atwork | 17 Apr 2013 7:03 p.m. PST |
If gold was cheap enough to use to cast minis, we would get some really great detail. Would be particularly impressive on sub 6mm sizes. How hard can it be to turn base metals into gold? You'd think someone would have tried to do that already. |
| RexMcL | 17 Apr 2013 8:51 p.m. PST |
timlillig: Gypsum (such as in plaster of paris) is a byproduct of air pollution scrubbers at powerplants and the like. It's also really abundant naturally. As far as I understand it, the powerplants just about can't give the stuff away. Mako11- I've read that ironically, if someone were to do this, it would flood the market with such a large volume of platinum group elements, the scheme wouldn't be economically viable. Whatisitgood4atwork- You can do it through neutron bombardment, but it's not cheap and the resulting gold will generally be radioactive. |
| streetline | 18 Apr 2013 5:48 a.m. PST |
What's the worse case scenario if we run out of metal? For manufacturers it's an issue (to put it mildly) but for most of us, I suspect we have enough unpainted to get by… |
| Dr Mike Salwey | 18 Apr 2013 7:04 a.m. PST |
:-) indeed I was just musing the other evening whether my lead/plastic mountain is now of a size that it will outlive me. |
| random55 | 25 Apr 2013 9:22 a.m. PST |
Aluminium is the third most abundant thing on earth. Lack of flexible moulding material prevents it being used. But couldn't it be injection moulded? If all else fails there's Starch based Bio-plastics, or PLA, PCL etc. |
