BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
BattleTech Miniatures and Terrain => Iron Wind Metals News and Announcements => Topic started by: Nomad on 04 September 2018, 05:05:00
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Apologies if this question has been asked and answered already. I was wondering if IWM or (if anyone knows) another company does any metal sprue recycling. Given how many minis I have I hate the idea of throwing away all that metal that could be reused. Would it be worth it for IWM to set up a recycling program to collect peoples’ used sprues if they were willing to send them back? Perhaps some kind of incentive/reward system for doing so? Thoughts?
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It would probably be a great idea for cons that IWM attends. I can't see how shipping costs would make it viable via UPS.
Mind you, it may be too much work if you have to sort the sprue to remove lead, old fishing weights, and other metal scrap. You know someone's going to try it on ...
W.
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I'd love to have something like that, but i end up keeping the spurs using them prop my miniatures i buy if they had poses i didn't like.
Given how little metal is recycled depending on the part of world your in. Mine ships stuff to China, right now they're on hold due to not filtering stuff.
Recycling your own way likely best way.
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If you can ever make it to Reapercon, Reaper does do a metal trade-in thing there, and I'm moderately certain IWM is on the list of manufacturers they'll accept metal from.
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I have coworkers in the SCA and they cast coins, and trinkets for their events. I keep some sprues for modding, but the rest I just bag up for them.
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I had read some years ago that IWM will credit the mass of the metal you have towards the weight of mini's you'd like to have cast. (THOUGH, I have yet to actually confirm, or ask about it...)
Considering most small mini's are ~25-30g and larger, about 40-50g, one pound of sprues & scrap would equate to 9-15 mini's...
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Too much of my old scrap pile is lead. I'd hate to try to separate it.
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The stuff does pile up, but I use mine for terrain. Usually just bits of rubble here and there along with cut up plastic sprues from GW boxes.
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Here's a place that does accept recycling:
http://www.tintech.com/materials/
Most of the recyclers that perform their own refining will pay $5-7/lb of pewter (depending on the tin %'s, of course).
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Next time I make a pick-up order I'll have to drag in my pile of old sprues (none are lead) and see if they even want them.
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Heck, i refined sprues and scraps into ingots using an old cast iron pan and muffin tins wonder if those can be traded too.
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I should find a way to get rid of my sprues and stuff
I don;t use the Aero Bases (I magnetize the mini and put on clear stands), don't use the mech 'bases' unless the foot or leg is already attached, and don't use the Hover spikes, preffering instead to just glue to the base.
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I should find a way to get rid of my sprues and stuff
I don;t use the Aero Bases (I magnetize the mini and put on clear stands), don't use the mech 'bases' unless the foot or leg is already attached, and don't use the Hover spikes, preffering instead to just glue to the base.
Looks like 500-600g worth of metal there.
That'd be worthwhile, if the shipping isn't $25-40 from knukleland...
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Thanks for all the useful ideas! Hope IWM can start their own program some time in the future - I’d be willing to send the scraps back for free as long as they weren’t going to waste.
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I should find a way to get rid of my sprues and stuff
I don;t use the Aero Bases (I magnetize the mini and put on clear stands), don't use the mech 'bases' unless the foot or leg is already attached, and don't use the Hover spikes, preffering instead to just glue to the base.
Would you mind bringing a couple of their Aero bases to the next Trumpeters? I've got a couple mechs that need bases that they would be perfect for.
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Would you mind bringing a couple of their Aero bases to the next Trumpeters? I've got a couple mechs that need bases that they would be perfect for.
You want actual MECH bases. I have a whole slew of pewter mech bases too.
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I would actually be in for being able to just send IWM my sprues and get back bases.
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If you can ever make it to Reapercon, Reaper does do a metal trade-in thing there, and I'm moderately certain IWM is on the list of manufacturers they'll accept metal from.
It is.
They don't take lead sprue from the early 'Partha days, and I'm not 100% sure on Ralladium, but they'll take the IWM metal happily.
Note that Reaper does not guarantee that they'll continue the practice from one year to the next, although they haven't canceled it yet. (To my knowledge)
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They don't take lead sprue from the early 'Partha days, and I'm not 100% sure on Ralladium, but they'll take the IWM metal happily.
Note that Reaper does not guarantee that they'll continue the practice from one year to the next, although they haven't canceled it yet. (To my knowledge)
The metal trade table was there this year. If they're going to stop doing it, I would expect them to announce it no more than a month before the next convention.
They say they accept "late production" Ral Partha. Did Ral Partha change their metal base after Ralidium?
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The metal trade table was there this year. If they're going to stop doing it, I would expect them to announce it no more than a month before the next convention.
They say they accept "late production" Ral Partha. Did Ral Partha change their metal base after Ralidium?
You're right; the melt table has been there continuously for years now, they regularly announce that it is not a guaranteed service, so I figured I'd drop in and try to head off the argument, should it arise next year.
Ralladium was definitely a different alloy than the pewter you see in other modern minis, and feels very different when you touch/work it. I don't remember the dates for when it faded into history, but IronWind Metals uses a conventional pewter formula for sure. I *think* RP was using more common pewter towards the end, but I am honestly not sure.
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Ralladium was definitely a different alloy than the pewter you see in other modern minis, and feels very different when you touch/work it.
The only way I can describe it is that it feels "crinkly" when you try to bend an arm/leg. :-\ The term "Very Different" is EXTREMELY apt! :o
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The only way I can describe it is that it feels "crinkly" when you try to bend an arm/leg. :-\ The term "Very Different" is EXTREMELY apt! :o
I'm pretty sure their current alloy is the same... or very same-ish.
Cray could probably chime in *does rain-dance by throwing money into the sky to invoke Cray* with more betterly words than I can English together (so I won't overly-try)...
The crinkly sounds are caused by the crystalline-structure within their alloy breaking against the matrix. As a Tin/Zinc/Antimony alloy, it will be eutectic while heated, but once frozen in-place (solidifying), the Zinc is what you hear being constrained and fractured.