"What is the metal material used is casting figure?" Topic

I'm trying to figure it out but got several answers.

I compared GW and warlord and some other brand, I found GW have a much more brightness surface.Basically i know the material is mixed with some lead and tin, GW said their products do not contains lead any more.

i use only tin to do a test it was too soft after casting.can't make figures only with tin. so does any one can tell me what is it anyway?

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sorry in casting not is casting

As far as I understand it, casting white metal is usually an alloy of lead and tin. Lead is used for the low melting point, tin for hardness (lead on it's own is very soft). I'm slightly puzzled that you say a tin only cast was soft …
Some alloys include other metals such as copper, antimony and bismuth giving a form of pewter:

Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and sometimes, less commonly today, lead.

I'm not an expert though. Maybe others can give you more detail.

pretty much everybody has switched to a lead free pewter these days…

Most common is tin, antimony and a little copper, but there are all manner of tin-based alloys. Tin-lead mixes are less common nowadays.

MajorB is spot-on.

Almost all manufacturers use pewter now, because of the toxic & pollutant nature of lead.
Different manufacturer's blends of pewter may vary – but not by much.

Prince August – the market leader in home-casting metals – supplies three different alloys for casting:

Their 'standard' (economy) alloy is 65% lead, 33% tin, 2% antimony. This is as close as you will find to an old fashioned, 'traditional toy soldier' material.

Their 'model' (general purpose) alloy is 54% lead, 35% bismuth, 11% tin.

And their '5 star' (premium) alloy is a lead-free pewter.

Pewter is slightly harder to cast than lead-based alloys.
Manufacturers using industrial-grade equipment have no problem with it but for home casting, lead alloys are much easier.

The only thing I would add to the above is that brightness is largely a function of the surface condition, not the alloy content. The "brighter" looking pieces will have a smoother finish.

avoid bismuth, it increases the flow rate but oxidizes easilly and your figures will develope "lead rot".
ymmv,
RC

Some companies have a proprietary alloy blend as well.

Shininess is relative but generally due to the tin. Some companies use some silver in their mix which would also contribute to it.

Generally, the harder the metal the more tin in the alloy.

The one I used was basically 50:50 tin/lead with a bit of antimony.

I'm trying to figure it out but got several answers

That's because there are several different options.

pretty much everybody has switched to a lead free pewter these days

No they haven't. :-) A panic in New York led to the myth that all lead had to be banned, but it was over turned many years ago. Lead free materials are more expensive and harder, making them more brittle/likely to snap rather than bend, and harder to modify. Some larger companies remain entirely lead free – you can tell by the 'tinny' sound and, if they are bent, very hard to bend back without breaking. The (very) old GW figures were easier to convert.

A lot of them call it 'pewter' or 'white metal' these days to get around the negative publicity of lead, but it's still got some lead content which improves the flow. Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and sometimes, less commonly today, lead so the term 'pewter' does not exclusively mean lead-free.

Tiranti metals: link

Note the price difference between lead free pewter (£33/kg) and a low melt lead based metal (£16/kg)…

I'm not sure if "most everyone" has switched, but when you go to your gaming shop it does seem that most figs are made of a "lead free pewter".

There may be more individual casters using lead, but non-lead pewter does seem to be the majority of figs.

thanks, all of you.
I'll try lead again