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Ok since everyone has been talking toy costs and production I've had a question for a while i've been sitting on. I've heard tons about how expensive it is to do tooling for toys especially the molds. Obviously not on the same size scale as most toys but how does the Kinder egg/joy/surprise people do it then? They produce tons of different toys, seasonal ones, and new ones every year and package them with some chocolate and sell them for like 1.50. Those toys still need to be designed and have molds made for them just like my big boy toys.
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Jan 6, 2022 03:38
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Nodosaur posted:Has anyone bought Creative Beasts Studio's Beasts of the Mesozoic figures? I'm thinking of buying a few for my sister and I wanna know what to expect vis a vis quality. Second hand information, but I've only heard glowing reviews. I'm 99% certain you have no experience with Monster-arts, but that's what you should expect if you have had. But since I'm pretty sure you haven't- these are basically made like statues, so the plastic is way more rigid and harder than you're probably used to. Its a very different feeling kind of thing from Transformers or other action figure lines I've tried out. The articulation is, accordingly, not the MOST dynamic, but you can get them to do stuff. But if your sister is younger, might be best to avoid because these things aren't the friendliest to deal with. If that's not an issue, glowing review, have fun with the knowledge that the articulation isn't the best in mind.
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Jan 6, 2022 03:42
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Where the gently caress are my invader Zim figures diamond select !???
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Jan 6, 2022 03:43
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CelticPredator posted:Where the gently caress are my invader Zim figures diamond select !??? I'm not sure they actually make toys anymore
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Jan 6, 2022 03:44
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Burkion posted:Second hand information, but I've only heard glowing reviews. I'm 99% certain you have no experience with Monster-arts, but that's what you should expect if you have had. My sister is in her 20's and I want to get her something more accurate and better sculpted than Schleich and other hardware store brand dinosaur figures. I don't really expect dinosaur figures to be super articulated. It's the sculpt and accuracy I'm after.
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Jan 6, 2022 03:45
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Burkion posted:I'm not sure they actually make toys anymore They’re rereleasing those Tron figures and those lotr figures. Where’s my Zim lol
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Jan 6, 2022 03:47
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Burkion posted:I'm not sure they actually make toys anymore Occasionally they release a new Avatar figure but man, talk about a company that’s stayed perfectly still for the last 10 years while every company around them adapts to the market.
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Jan 6, 2022 03:49
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Nodosaur posted:My sister is in her 20's and I want to get her something more accurate and better sculpted than Schleich and other hardware store brand dinosaur figures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apieov8jX-Q These are absolutely what you want, how you want them. I'm waiting for some things to shift around but I cannot lie, I'm aching for the T-Rexes to come stomping out. CelticPredator posted:They’re rereleasing those Tron figures and those lotr figures. Where’s my Zim lol Diamond Select is this weird zombie toy company since they lost the DC line. I've been waiting on the Venom re-release for a while and God knows when that'll drop.
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Jan 6, 2022 03:49
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Haha oh man, I was helping my folks clear out the basement (they're moving soon) and found Lal my transformers from the animated line. Thought I'd got rid of them ten years ago, but it's nice to see them. Makes me want to track down the ultra magnus I could never find.
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Jan 6, 2022 03:50
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Burkion posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apieov8jX-Q Good then. I decided I'm gonna start her on the Mononychus and Microraptor two pack, since the latter is one of her favorite dinosaurs.
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Jan 6, 2022 03:52
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Burkion posted:Remember when Unicron was like, 50 bucks? If they kept the electronics probably at least 120 to 150, if they gutted those out I could see it being a little bit cheaper Though the price hikes are one of many reasons why I think the franchise's future(at least for the younger leaning lines) will be at smaller scales than the ones they currently focus on(for one thing the compromises to keep things cheaper are more forgivable when the figure is small)
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Jan 6, 2022 04:06
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Burkion posted:Remember when Unicron was like, 50 bucks?
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Jan 6, 2022 04:13
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Kingtheninja posted:Haha oh man, I was helping my folks clear out the basement (they're moving soon) and found Lal my transformers from the animated line. Thought I'd got rid of them ten years ago, but it's nice to see them.
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Jan 6, 2022 04:16
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Blackchamber posted:Ok since everyone has been talking toy costs and production I've had a question for a while i've been sitting on. I've heard tons about how expensive it is to do tooling for toys especially the molds. I'd have to guess the reason is the microscopic volume of the toys. mm3 vs cm3. They also run softer plastic, so might be able to run with lower quality tool steel.
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Jan 6, 2022 04:28
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Plus as far as I know the toys are not very complex. Add to that an absolute batshit amount sold compared to GI Joe or something like a hot toys, and you get the small price.
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Jan 6, 2022 04:32
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I'm going to use the reveal of the second Super7 Simpsons wave to mention my current favorite nerd possession: I've got a buddy who works for the Springfield Thunderbirds in Massachusetts. A couple years ago they had a one-night event where they were rebranded as the Springfield Ice-O-Topes. I used to do a lot of drawing and Photoshop stuff so he had me create a half-dozen player and coach portraits that were printed on card stock and given out to the first X number of attendees. My payment for doing those graphics was...   I love this obnoxious thing
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Jan 6, 2022 04:34
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Holy loving poo poo. Get that in a frame!!!
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Jan 6, 2022 04:42
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Burkion posted:Remember when Unicron was like, 50 bucks? I remember that I got mine on clearance at Target for $12. I just walked up to my mom with a giant toy box and said the price and she bought it no questions asked.
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Jan 6, 2022 04:43
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Vintersorg posted:Holy loving poo poo. Get that in a frame!!! But then how can I wear it?
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Jan 6, 2022 04:44
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Blackchamber posted:Ok since everyone has been talking toy costs and production I've had a question for a while i've been sitting on. I've heard tons about how expensive it is to do tooling for toys especially the molds. I work in corporate retail/product design and toy molds are insane indeed. Depending on the factory it can be around like $500 for a sample temp mold and then if you want to go into production the mold plates can often be like $3,000 each or more, which is why often things are usually the same shape but slightly different designs. We got the Star Wars license a couple years ago and without getting into the weeds, a lot of our entire product line shifted because of tooling costs for different characters. And yeah as also mentioned, something like a Kinder is using lower quality tooling to bang them out. Plus they have the buying power at scale.
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Jan 6, 2022 04:50
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thiccabod posted:I'm going to use the reveal of the second Super7 Simpsons wave to mention my current favorite nerd possession: Years ago I had a Pin Pals bowling shirt and would occasionally wear it when I bowled in league but it was a large and I swam in it (I wear size small) and regret not buying a smaller size when they were readily available. Tim Whatley posted:I work in corporate retail/product design and toy molds are insane indeed. Depending on the factory it can be around like $500 for a sample temp mold and then if you want to go into production the mold plates can often be like $3,000 each or more, which is why often things are usually the same shape but slightly different designs. We got the Star Wars license a couple years ago and without getting into the weeds, a lot of our entire product line shifted because of tooling costs for different characters. And yeah as also mentioned, something like a Kinder is using lower quality tooling to bang them out. Plus they have the buying power at scale. The Marvel Legends team at one point said it cost tens of thousands to create new plates and why it took a while for them to retire certain bucks (Bucky cap mold was the infamous one they used for years), or why they use minimal new parts on a more simple figure as they make up saving money there to spend it on a more unique character. Louisgod fucked around with this message at 05:54 on Jan 6, 2022 |
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Jan 6, 2022 05:51
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Blackchamber posted:Ok since everyone has been talking toy costs and production I've had a question for a while i've been sitting on. I've heard tons about how expensive it is to do tooling for toys especially the molds. The thing is that you can spend a few thousand and do it yourself- there are small injection molds you can buy for your workshop and you can have tiny molds made for you. Crafsman has been trying experiments on how to make home made molds as well. If you are talking about tiny toys that is. Of course it gets expensive on a larger scale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dueHwlQP4Es
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Jan 6, 2022 06:48
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Kinder Egg toys, on top of not being very big, are also really, really simple. They have few if any moving pieces. Production cost for an action figure includes parts count, which is an unfriendly partner to price.
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Jan 6, 2022 07:03
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I follow several guys who make Kenner-style Star Wars figures and have them done in an actual Chinese factory with real tools and good plastic, and the most of the steel molds created for these projects run from $3k-$10k each, depending on complexity and size. And that seems crazy at first, but then they’ll go and make hundreds of figures with that one mold and sell them for $40-$90 each. Star Wars collecting is bonkers and I love it.
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Jan 6, 2022 07:14
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Is that $3-$10K for the whole figure or for each part? So 6 like pieces in a 5 POA fig.
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Jan 6, 2022 15:25
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Captain Invictus posted:I only ever got a couple animated figures when they came out and they were awesome, if you're going to get rid of them and they're in good shape/complete, I'd probably be interested. I couldn't bring them back with me, but they'll be here in a couple of weeks, I'll go through them and let you know.
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Jan 6, 2022 15:26
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Just look at the prices of various PLA for 3D printing. Printing and casting is something I've been interested in for a while but I could see those hobbies getting wildly out of control as well.
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Jan 6, 2022 15:50
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Rhyno posted:Just look at the prices of various PLA for 3D printing. Printing and casting is something I've been interested in for a while but I could see those hobbies getting wildly out of control as well. PLA for toys really isn't the best option, SLA (Resin) is the better option. It has become really affordable now with good printers in the $200 range. There are more steps and some chemical danger with it but the results are stunning. And real injection molding for toy manufacturing is WAY cheaper than it was in the 60-00s but it isn't cheap for something like a modern action figure. Molds in the 80s and 90s for example ran between 50-200k a piece, which is why you saw so many reuses in things and very simple molds. It is also why they were reused for years and years before being retired. Now stuff as said you can get done between 3-5k but for a figure that has between 21 and 65 individual pieces that can still be very expensive.
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Jan 6, 2022 16:29
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Nodosaur posted:Has anyone bought Creative Beasts Studio's Beasts of the Mesozoic figures? I'm thinking of buying a few for my sister and I wanna know what to expect vis a vis quality. I have their GITD triceratops and it's not bad. Solidly built, but the range of motion in the neck and jaw isn't as much as I'd like. It can only look slightly side-to-side (up/down movement is about right) and the jaw is barely movable, so it's stuck with a half open mouth. Shiftypenguin fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Jan 6, 2022 |
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Jan 6, 2022 17:17
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Mezco Conan back in stock at BBTS for $200. https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/114405 I missed it the first time so I made sure to grab one.
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Jan 6, 2022 19:42
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S.W.O.R.D. Agent posted:Is that $3-$10K for the whole figure or for each part? So 6 like pieces in a 5 POA fig. Not 100% sure, but I think for Stan Solo in particular he has them cast multiple parts on a single mold to keep costs down. The $10k mold was for a big Kenner-style Bantha.
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Jan 6, 2022 19:53
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Grant DaNasty posted:Mezco Conan back in stock at BBTS for $200. Wow a $110 markup but still $50 cheaper than what it looks like it’s going for on eBay. It’s a great figure but personally I wouldn’t pay that much for it. It might just be easy for me to say that because I got it at the original price.
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Jan 6, 2022 20:05
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Big Mean Jerk posted:Not 100% sure, but I think for Stan Solo in particular he has them cast multiple parts on a single mold to keep costs down. The $10k mold was for a big Kenner-style Bantha. Gotcha, that makes sense. Edit: tough price for Conan, but easily one of the top 5 figs I got last year.
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Jan 6, 2022 20:11
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Book of Boba spoiler:
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Jan 6, 2022 21:56
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 That's solid.
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Jan 6, 2022 22:12
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Fuzz posted:Book of Boba spoiler: Had a good lol at that. Watching the show I can't help but think about which characters are clearly designed to be toy-etic. There's one in this week's episode that as soon as they stepped on screen it was obvious they were designed for action figures. That said, I do want a Matt Barry bot to go with my Ayoade bot from Mando.
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Jan 6, 2022 22:14
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Fuzz posted:Book of Boba spoiler: 
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Jan 6, 2022 22:16
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Shiftypenguin posted:Had a good lol at that. He’s been in the comics.
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Jan 7, 2022 00:58
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Fuzz posted:Book of Boba spoiler: 
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Jan 7, 2022 01:04
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Got a bunch of gift cards for Christmas, went to Target to grab one of the half off Fakers and of course they're not on sale anymore!
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Jan 7, 2022 02:08
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