Saturday, March 3, 2012

Holy Plastic Prototypes, Batman!






Well, I've finally got some pieces of plastic pulled from the molds and fully assembled. I've got minis and Krustiez. I'm generally pleased with how they've come out, but I will be switching over to a different material. The plastic I'm using right now looks great, but the fingers have a tendency to snap off.

The whole idea behind these monsters is that they represent the size that the Krustiez would be if they were "real." That is to say, they are "actual size." They don't have any accessories, because they use whatever they find around your house to mess up your stuff. Lighters, glue, forks, etc. The sculpts for the arms feature big, open hands, so they can grab these human-sized items. If the plastic is too rigid and brittle to allow them to grab people stuff without their fingers snapping off, then I need to use a different material.

I've found something that I think I like, and I'll know in a week or so if it works out. The next protos I get poured up will be made from a hard urethane rubber. It will be of a hardness comparable to, like, a shopping cart wheel or a rubber shoe heel. Somewhere between those, anyway. It takes the same amount of time to cure as the urethane plastic I'm using now, but it is slightly less expensive, and more flexible. Rock and Roll!

This whole process has taken much longer than i originally anticipated. I'm used to breezing through projects, but this one has been problem after problem. The molds for the arms came out pretty nicely, though.

So, anyway, there are a bunch of pictures up of the first plastic tests of Pus and Vin, as well as the unnamed min-monsters. These pictures are straight from the molds, so there's still some extra plastic sticking out of the bottoms of the figures, and mold flashing on the fingers. The plastic on the bottom comes from the opening in the mold where the liquid plastic is poured in. This will get filed off with an electric sander, to give them nice, flat feet and bottoms to stand or sit on. There are also a few shots of the arm molds, with newly poured plastic arms inside, waiting to be pulled and cleaned up.

I really want to thank all of my friends and family for their support on this project. Especially Polish, Brandon, Speezi, Tiffany, My sister and her friends, my Dad and Mom, and my boss, Buddy. You guys believing in me and my plastic crap really helped me to keep on going, through all the snags. There's still a lot of work to do. And the guys at the October Toys forum. And Matt Doughty. Oh, and the gang at 9th and Coles Tavern, for the times when I needed to get away from all of the many problems this project has hit. And for the friendly ear. And for the beer. Always the beer.

What do you think, sirs?

4 comments:

  1. These came out great, I love all the subtle details in the sculpts. It is a shame about the fingers but on the plus side, knowing this will make a better finished product. I am really excited to own a set of these guys man, great job and I am glad you didn't let all the small issues stop your progress.

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  2. I'm with Alex on these.....the details are looking superb. You've done a great job with them so far....And I also can't wait to be able to hold these l'il fellas up close.

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  3. Since when I start to watch the cake boss I thought You was (and steel are) the most hot and talented of the crew!!i love you
    P.s. Sorry for my english i'm italian..sei bellissimo con i baffetti :))

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  4. Awesome work. Landed here because I'm getting a little obsessed with mini figures like the MUSCLE characters I had as a kid.

    I have an art background (work as a graphic designer now) and I really want to try making some figures. Just bought some Sculpey III based on something I read and quickly realized it's tough to sculpt. Too soft, too pliable to make small details.

    I saw another pic on here with "Super Sculpey", is that the way to go? Also looked like you used aluminum foil as a base to make the master. I'm trying to ramp up quickly and have some fun carving figures, any advice about the right materials would be appreciated.

    Once again, your work is great, I linked here from the Onell forum. I'm in western PA, may head to the NYCC next week. I have a project that may be featured there. But I really want to check out toys!

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