Chinese recasts of miniatures

Important announcement. 

I've received a lot of comments asking for the site that I used to buy this model. While I have happily supplied that information (and will do so in the future) to anybody who asks, please note that as of now, THERE ARE NO MORE WARHAMMER RELATED ITEMS ON THE SITE.

Now on to the article:

Today we're taking a look at a Chinese resin recast of a Warhammer miniature: Be'lakor, the First Daemon Prince of Chaos.

The first notifiable difference compared to an original miniature is the boxing. While GW (and other, high-budget companies) offer a nice packaging (a cardboard box with artwork on it), the recast arrived in a rough cardboard box, wrapped in bubble wrap. Simple, pragmatic, nothing fancy.

Assembly instructions included: none, whereas official miniatures include them in the box. Thankfully, this is a relatively simple model (there are no customization options, you can only assemble it in one way), so there's no way to get lost. Still, I wouldn't start assembling a, let's say, Flaming Chariot without some instructions.
Casting quality: depends on what we compare it to. GW plastic is much better, however, that's an unfair comparison, as this is a finecast model. I've never unboxed one, but here's a post about it from a fellow blogger: A painting chaos: Warriors of Chaos Be'lakor Daemon Prince (Finecast) unboxing

So unlike plastic, there are a lot of miscast remnants - a lot more than on the finecast model as seen above.

That being said, it was easy to cut the pieces off the sprue - they mostly broke off by themselves when touched, and only a wingtip got damaged.
I should also mention that the wings have holes in them, where the resin is really thin. This is the only thing that shows bad casting quality. Everything else, including fine details such as the chain mail, is perfect.

Spares: I got 2 sets of spare wings and 2 extra tails. No idea why - not like I'm complaining. So the broken wing tip does not count. I'm thinking of doing a conversion later on. Stick the wings on a unit champion or something.
Cleaning: went easily. It's a much lighter material than plastic, I was able to cut away bits and pieces easily with a hobby knife. Almost damaged it in some places though.
Assembly: the pieces fit perfectly and super glue worked on the material.

Painting: I only applied an acrylic white spray paint so far, but it looks OK, with adherence level comparable to GW resin/plastic.

... and finally, the price: 36% of the original! I have to admit that I caught some holiday deal and it isn't always this cheap. Also, shipping was around 7 weeks, and there was the hassle of going to the post office since I chose free shipping. But that's still around 1/3 of the original price!

Conclusion: if you're a purist, or have the means, or your local gaming community/shop forbids unofficial miniatures, etc then by all means, buy original miniatures. An original shop/manufacturer offers the best quality, not to mention complete security.
However, recasts seem like a viable option if you're willing to take a risk.