Plastic mold machine and packaging???
 

Trying to think of things to do when I retire other than drinking beer and watching TV.

I have see a lot of silly action figures selling lately, how do you do that?

I presume you hand carve the figure, make a mold, get a plastic injection machine and crank them out?

Then you would need to make a blister pack, do up some graphics for the package and print them out.

I know I could just google it or look it up on youtube but thought it would be fun to see what you guys come up with.

I ask because I saw a ad for a "stupid penguin" figure, nothing more that a 3 inch penguin with an angry look on his face. I was going to buy one because one of the guys in the shop is nicknamed penguin... $50 and sold out!

Do the art work, Copyright the design and Trade Mark the names, logos and overall packaging theme. Then find a factory that will produce your work.

OK, now you have a garage full of angry pelicans so what gets them from you to the buyer? Well, you can do this one-at-a-time on the Bay, Etsy, Pinterest, FB and countless other one-by-one sales.

Or you could get a rep and he/she will get you deals to stock stores. That can get sticky too because the money doesn't flow well.

In any case, you need to take your wares to the trade show that is most representative of your product.

The bottom line is that if you know what you are doing and have enough money to last a year out of pocket, you might make some real dough. Otherwise spend a few days out at the swap meet and barely break even.

OK, I'm not done. Why don't you buy an injection machine? Machines don't know what mold is in the platen but machines should know (or you) that they need to run 24 /7 doing everything and anything. So what do you want to be, a businessman who owns a factory, or an artist that owns a design? The overhead factor is the key.

Those plastic figures sell for that based on perceived scarcity. You will need product from a known artist or be tied with bands/brands like Supreme etc... Tell the kids there are only 100 of them in red and BOOM you sell your plastic figure for $50.

Where would I look for a factory that does that kind of work, what name should I google?

And what about packaging, is that seperate company to do up a blister pack?

Really? Normally I'd get paid for all that advice. Yes to separate packaging and you will probably need the services of a packaging designer.

Wanna be my rep? :D

When I was working on Jingle All The Way my buddy was the main sculptor and he made all the Turbo man action figures and accessories including packaging.

Believe me, it was a huge job and he outsourced much of it to the prop manufacturers here in LA. Those guys are not cheap. I would think you would first have to sculpt the figure then shop it around for injection molding, then hire a package designer and finally someone to do the packaging.

I'm thinking a trip to China is your best bet.

Be prepared to pay well north of $100K for multi-cavity aluminum tooling to mold your items. And be sure to lock down your ownership of that tool as well. Cheaper rubber/plaster tooling is another option but it has a rather limited life and need to be replaced regularly if intended for high-volume production. The margin on stuff like this is minuscule and you'd need to crank out and sell hundreds of thousands before seeing any profit after covering your start-up costs.

That being said, unless you have a tie-in with a major motion picture or comic book franchise (which are virtually impossible to get for someone walking in off the street) you're pretty much SOL. The world is awash in cheap plastic toys that sell for peanuts...just check out any Walmart or similar place that sells toys. I think it would nearly impossible not to lose your ass trying to market a single plastic toy figure without a big-name tie-in.

Drinking beer and watching TV would be much less expensive and far less stressful...

Check out Medicom toy company. Some of their figures go for crazy money...

https://hypebeast.com/brands/medicom-toy

Switching gears... to a good 3D printer would way less that having something molded.

Takes too long to mass produce with a 3D printer, unless the quality is crap. It's awesome for prototyping tho.

Drink beer and surf the internet,

Yes 3D printer way too slow, feed material quite expensive also, great for low volume specialty, I still prefer a machined part over 3D (automated hot melt glue gun).

I think most of the moulding has gone south of you or way west, if it is softer materials it can possibly be roto moulded or blow moulded, not sure if any of that industry is still around.

Should be able to find some local moulders still around but probably at a premium. If you find a mould-making shop they will usually know who can run the part, not usually the same company.

China

Start looking on Alibaba

3D printing will not have the detail and surface finishes available with injection molding.

Nah... That's WAY too much. Especially for aluminum.

The last 4 parts that I had tooled in aluminum were between $2800 and $3500. The $3500 tool had a couple slides. All have KO pins, and those tools were making parts within a week, two tops. And built and shot in the USA.

I agree with this. Are you essentially copying existing well known trade marked action figures without consent? Lot of knock offs out there.

Now if you creating something new, well that is a different journey and a more difficult one.

Injection molding isn't cheap. Mold tooling isn't either.