[NoodleChow]

haha man, yeah unless one could make these parts quickly, going into the custom cast parts business is a tough thing. been thinking i could do it but the sheer amount of work involved is just unappealing since i don't have access to some kinda plastic injection molding doohicky.

so getting angry at customers for being backed up is not gonna help business. unless that's the point =\

[Boba Fettuccini]

I had to wait 3 months for my Broken Arrow order. The guy has his reasons though... he had to move in with a friend who was dying to take care of him in his last months, then the guy died and he had to handle all the shit that happens after someone dies. At least that's the story I got.

[usagent27]

Quote:

Originally Posted by proteus

Should have added above,iv also dealt with Shaun(hunterartworks) great guy,and a pleasure to deal with, iv also had no problems with Dave at SDS (i know others have),except the long wait time for parts,hopefully he will get back on top of things with the reboot they have recently begun,as they make great parts,and despite his faults Dave is a really great guy who has had a difficult couple of years both personally and business-wise......

so i asked Shawn at hunter Artworks for a quote on a MU Dum Dum head....he said i would need to supply Marvel Legends head(ok no problem) and it would be $50.00 for 2 heads......needless to say i said no

[Reaver Strike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boba Fettuccini

I had to wait 3 months for my Broken Arrow order. The guy has his reasons though... he had to move in with a friend who was dying to take care of him in his last months, then the guy died and he had to handle all the shit that happens after someone dies. At least that's the story I got.

I heard the same thing. But that was a long time ago. It wasn't within the last few months. This is the story I got when I had ordered from him.

[jestermon]

For some reason those caster guys always have things go wrong.

[Saint Phe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by proteus

I dont know if any of you guys saw the Tiger Force Sneek Peek thread over on HT concerning Broken Arrow?? A client had been waiting 12 months for the figure,and after many attempts to sort it with the owner,he blew his stack and posted a thread about it,Broken Arrows owner starting posting and was absolutely vile,his basic attitude(despite being completely in the wrong) was....you think 12months is a long time to wait?? Well now its going to be EVEN longer!! Theres NO WAY in hell i would recommend anyone send business his way,when thats his customer care policy,the client had paid $65 up front,and Mr BA wouldnt even re-fund the cash,so id say deal with him at your own risk...

Yeah, I've heard WAY too many horror stories about Broken Arrow to ever order anything from him.

[behindthemask]

seriously checkout the link I posted, if he doesn't have the headsculpt u want, but can give him 1 to copy, he can make u 1 from a copy of w.e u have, and he's only charge a fraction of the price other buddy quoted u, like $5-10 max.

[tlasjr]

I'd love to learn how to properly cast but it seems like most casters are more tight lipped than the average magician.

[boyblue]

Thanks for the link BTM.
What is the turnaround time with CKCastings?
How is their work?
Do you know where they are located?
I can't seem to find it on their website.

[Jason Abbadon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jestermon

For some reason those caster guys always have things go wrong.

Casting's a pain in the ass- and it's better to wait for good quality than get air bubbles and pinholes in your cast- believe me!

[stjuggernaut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by usagent27

so i asked Shawn at hunter Artworks for a quote on a MU Dum Dum head....he said i would need to supply Marvel Legends head(ok no problem) and it would be $50.00 for 2 heads......needless to say i said no

is this what you are after???



This is a shrunk Dum Dum by a fantastic customizer by the name of glassman.

here is a link to his ebay store.

Custom Action Figures, Custom Collectibles items in Glassman Customs store on eBay!

Its not up in his store now, but im sure if you email him he might have some available or can cast some soon.

tell him STJuggernaut sent you.

[usagent27]

That's who I ordered from. Nice guy

[thechris]

To do stuff like this is extremely time consuming and expensive. It takes about a day or two just to do a new mold for a pre-existing casting. The chemicals used for these processes only last about a month after you open them (and there is a lot of it) and 3 months if you don't open them. Head castings are easy enough when they're bubble free but to be honest, not a lot of people buy. Since most of us make more than 5 bucks an hour, to make 5 bucks in 3 days doesn't really sound that appealing. By the looks of these, these are mostly old school hand poured castings. Yes, a lot of times, there are bubbles in castings and you end up having to recast.

It's not much better with a plastic injection machine and the molds for those are more expensive as they usually have to be made from epoxy or tooled rather than cast because you need a hard mold to stand up to the pressure and silicone will warp and hot plastic will squirt from the seams. With one of those, you're looking at the $1000 to $10000 for even a crappy one. And even then, you need a milling machine to tool the molds which is going to be 4000+. Not to mention these things are heavy and you'll likely have to get it shipped.

Especially after you package and post the damn thing and some people include shipping in the cost. For most people, they do this "for fun" and "accolades". A faster way would be to create a larger mold to accomodate 10 or 20 heads at a time, but as I said, they don't often sell. As for the shrunken heads, he either did it chemically by casting a mold of the original head and then used shrinking agents to reduce the size of the casting and then recasted the smaller version, or he used a 3D scanner, scanned it in and then used 3D software to shrink the model and then reprinted it or retooled it.

Stuff like this is a "neat hobby" but if you have ideas of making money off of it, think again. If you ever wondered why those little companies who do small production runs like ImpossibleToys and iGear charge so much for their little add-ons, this is why. More than likely, over $20,000 was spent on equipment that they have to make back. Plus the labour required to make these things. It's WAY cheaper for a company like Mattel to do stuff like this because they already have the big giant automated factories. They just need the molds tooled and it goes through the assembly line. They know they'll sell more than 10 or 20 and their expensive equipment has already been paid for many times over.

Don't get me wrong, it's definitely neat. How do I know all this? I own a lot of this kind of equipment and it's great for hobby stuff like making extra weapons, heads, custom stands, building blocks, etc. It is however also a huge headache. I'm not surprised people are tight lipped about this process. They're already making NOTHING on it. Can you imagine if they had to compete with the rest of you?

[stjuggernaut]

fantasic post the chris! very informative! i definitely see your point!

[behindthemask]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boyblue

Thanks for the link BTM.
What is the turnaround time with CKCastings?
How is their work?
Do you know where they are located?
I can't seem to find it on their website.

He's located in Vancouver Canada. He's great for shipping, excellent communication and very reasonable pricing, round $3 for most headsculpts, they come unpainted, well packaged, took me about a week slightly more/less to get mine, and came exact as pictured!

[boyblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by behindthemask

He's located in Vancouver Canada. He's great for shipping, excellent communication and very reasonable pricing, round $3 for most headsculpts, they come unpainted, well packaged, took me about a week slightly more/less to get mine, and came exact as pictured!

I tried to email him a couple of days ago - he still hasn't gotten back to me - hopefully he will soon.

Thanks again!!!

[Jason Abbadon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stjuggernaut

is this what you are after???



This is a shrunk Dum Dum by a fantastic customizer by the name of glassman.

here is a link to his ebay store.

Custom Action Figures, Custom Collectibles items in Glassman Customs store on eBay!

Its not up in his store now, but im sure if you email him he might have some available or can cast some soon.

tell him STJuggernaut sent you.

Anyone already have that Dum Dum head?
I'll buy it off you if you have an extra or something- I have many amazing things to trade too.

Damn, I NEED Dum Dum for my SHIELD crew!
I'll happily order one from this seller...but I need one now! I'm making a SHIELD diorama for photographing...

[tlasjr]

I appreciate the response Chris. trust me, my disastorous efforts at home casting are no competition for anyone. I'd also mention how toxic most of the materials used are.

I suppose it's more like pilots than magicians. I get what they do in theory but without some basic instruction I'm not getting off the runway.

[Jason Abbadon]

Nothing should be in any way toxic!
I giuess you could be useing industial grade casting stuff but it's not required-
Get Smooth On's beginer set- it should be enough to cat a dozen MU heads- runs like fifty bucks as I recall.

I want to get it (as many of my modeling pals use it), but my apaertment has jack for working room as it is, plus two cats and a roommate...

[vampireheart]

[vampireheart]

^^ sad face lol

[Jason Abbadon]

He's sad becaus his pal Nick seems to have an impacted wisdom tooth...and because all his childhood friends died of old age while he somehow stayed youngish and crazy buff.

You can adjust his expression by changing that eyebrow...though it's kinda cool that way. the ML version looks too...nonplussed. Like a manquin.

Maybe he needs a cigar- helps ease his nerves. Leading a squad of clone troopers creeps him out.

[stjuggernaut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Abbadon

Anyone already have that Dum Dum head?
I'll buy it off you if you have an extra or something- I have many amazing things to trade too.

Damn, I NEED Dum Dum for my SHIELD crew!
I'll happily order one from this seller...but I need one now! I'm making a SHIELD diorama for photographing...

Glassman gets castings out pretty quickly. I've never had a six week wait with him. He's a modest caster who doesn't have a store with hundreds of items, he just has a few available at a time so you shouldn't have to wait too long for one.

[scottmurdock]

As stjuggs mentioned, glassman is great. I ordered a Dum Dum, Deathlok, and Rogue from him and it took less than the 10 days he quoted me. Nice guy to deal with and top notch sculpting. Hopefully I'll get some time to customize over the next few weeks because I'm anxious to show them off.

[Jason Abbadon]

Got a pic of Rogue? I just emailed GLassman and he did not have it up on his ebay site.

Also, does he do Paypal? if so, it it the same addy he contacts from? I really want to get my order placed today!
LOVE that Dum Dum cast!