Review of Micro Art Studio ruins bases

Since GW has no model of a generic Orc Captain on Warg and I wanted to give my dwarf heroes ( new favorite if those of you in the group can't tell ) some distinction. So I decided to base them in a unique way.

To that end I purchased some Gale Force 9 snow and some resin bases by Micro Art Studio. Both 25mm and 40 mm from our new FLGS.

To start off, the sculpts are really quite nice. Attention to detail extends to the texture on the rocks. They were also cast very well, no bubbles or deformations that I can make out even in the aformentioned details. They were also sanded flat on the bottom so there is no "lip" on the edges from the casting process.

Funny thing is, I washed one 40mm, scrubbed it with a toothbrush and soap to be exact, dried it with a towel and proceeded to prime it with my usual mix of black gesso and a little white paint. This priming method usually has no problems as far as coverage goes on plastic or metals. However, the MAS base acted very hydrophobic ( the gesso was balling up ) and it was very difficult to cover. At first I thought I had introduced some static electricity with the toothbrush and towel. To test this I grabbed a 25mm base and proceeded to wash it with my hands+soap. Rinsed it well and dried it by dabbing it instead of rubbing. Even went so far as to touch it to some metal on my work light. No dice, still very hydrophobic. I had to do 2 coats to get the entire thing covered. Maybe this is just a property of the resin MAS uses, although I have not run into this property from other resin pieces I have painted.

Overall, minor problem but I don't know how well a spray primer would work on these, so just be prepared to do more than one coat. When I am finally done with the actual painting part I will post a pic.