WHAT IS A “RECAST”?
Its an unauthorized copy of a kit. The copies are usually made of resin, but some well-financed re-casters (especially in Asia) are capable of making vinyl copies. In simple terms, recasting happens when unscrupulous individuals obtain an original of a kit and use it as a master to make their own mold and produce cheap knock-offs. These copies are referred to as “recasts.” Recasts are ALWAYS inferior to the original kit. Just as a photocopy of photocopy is worse than a photocopy of an original, a recast of a kit is necessarily worse than a casting that comes from a mold made using the original prototype. Detail and crispness is always lost. Add to that the fact that re-casters dont really care about the modeler, but only making a quick buck, and therefore do things like: use cheap materials (e.g., brittle, bad-smelling resin); do slip shod quickly casting jobs (e.g., resulting in offset seams, pin holes, and uncured spots); use molds that are worn out (silicone molds start to break dow
A recast is an illegal copy of an original garage kit. You can find these pretty easily and they are much cheaper. But, just as the price suggests, they are cheaper in quality too. Many of these recasts are Thai recasts, which are notorious for being even worse. However, some recasts (like certain Hong Kong recasts) can be decent and some artists believe if done properly, a recast can even turn out better than an original if the original’s casting was poor to begin with and was prepped and fixed up before recasting it.
