Mingans Marauders | 25 Sep 2014 6:58 p.m. PST |
Many of us gamers I'm sure have/had a pile of spure just sitting about. Besides the obvious uses as movement trays, terrain, just random muck about the battlefield does any company take them in trade? I'd hate to just bin piles of the stuff. |
Black Cavalier | 25 Sep 2014 7:41 p.m. PST |
If you mean the plastic frame work that the pieces are attached to (sprue), Wargames Factory used to take them, but they stopped that program a while ago. You might want to contact them to see what they used to do with them. |
Winston Smith | 25 Sep 2014 9:25 p.m. PST |
If I were in charge at a manufacturing company I would not. The polymer used by each company is different and would have different properties. GW plastic is different from Airfix, is different from Renrdra etc. It would be a nightmare from a production standpoint. I would need certification that what I used is what I expect it to be. |
Toaster | 25 Sep 2014 11:21 p.m. PST |
The stuff is a godsend for scratchbuilding, if you've got to much of it. Then it's time for a project. Robert |
OSchmidt | 26 Sep 2014 4:53 a.m. PST |
Dear Mingans I never throw sprues away. Toaster is correct. I've made so much out of them, and beyond the obvious things, they are excellent as reinforcement or hidden struts in things that normally would be too fragile or weak to stand on their own! Otto |
Wyatt the Odd | 26 Sep 2014 9:03 a.m. PST |
Check with your local high school or community college district. Some schools have industrial design courses where students get hands-on experience with AutoCAD, SolidWorks and other such programs. My daughter's high school has such a program. And, as part of it, they had a CNC router that could cut simple molds out of left over Corian (manufactured kitchen counter material) and then use a desktop injection molder. I got the local IPMS to donate a large box of sprue to the school because they were constantly short on material. The box should last them three years. Wyatt |
45thdiv | 26 Sep 2014 11:28 a.m. PST |
We can add them to the recycled plastics bin now. Resin still needs to be put in the trash. |
Mingans Marauders | 26 Sep 2014 5:29 p.m. PST |
Winston Smith, Totally agree with that. But I didn't know if WG's had a program for their own spures or GW, etc. I figure plastic is easier to come by and harder to metal down and reuse as the metals might be. But hey, it doesn't hurt to ask. I may give a few of the various companies I have piles of a email just to see. |
Zephyr1 | 29 Sep 2014 7:22 p.m. PST |
You could always build a DIY plastic molding injector (saw a book on it somewhere once) and re-use them that way. Not sure what you could make, though (maybe dice or something…? ;-) |
John the Greater | 30 Sep 2014 6:42 a.m. PST |
I'm with toaster; sprues are great for all manner of projects. If heated and stretched they are great for radio aerials or can be twisted into cables. |