Creation

Having learned what exactly a vinyl toy is we can now explore what goes into the design of the said figure and how one can independently make their own toys.

All of the toys had to start with a sculpted prototype. Polymer clay is to be used for its ability to not shrink or change texture during the hardening process. After you paint your new figure you can then send it to a toy factory. They will make a rotocast mold from your sculpture, cast it in vinyl and then paint it just like the one you sent them. Once they've made the mold they can produce as many or as few of your toy as you wish, for a price.

Anyone is capable of creating their own toys, given the drive and finance it's not as complex or difficult as one would think. The cost can very depending on how complex you decide to make your figure, obviously the larger the toy the more clay will be required, more paint, PVC, etc.

Another speed bump is the accessibility one has to a factory. Although finding one may not be problematic, it's important to find the right one.

The author of "How To Make Your Own Vinyl Toy/Sculptures" suggests,
"When contacting a factory you should be looking for somewhere that gives you a project coordinator who you will liase with during the manufacturing process. Make sure that the factory replies promptly to all your emails and doesn't ask you to pay all the production costs in advance. In the first instance send the factory a photograph of your completed resin prototype and ask how much it will cost to produce it; at this stage state how many toys you want to produce and the packaging option you require. You should receive a cost breakdown into tooling costs (the mold making process) and a unit cost per figure which will normally include painting and packaging. At this stage you can always pull out if the cost is too expensive or else modify your design to lower the costs. Once you are happy with the price you send your resin prototype to the factory. They will check it and if everything is okay they'll ask you to pay the tooling costs so they can go ahead and make the mold. You should be aware that due to the tooling process the size of the final toy will be 5% smaller than the size of your prototype; because of this your prototype should be 5% larger than you intend your toy to be."

Viynl Toys - A Background

Vinyl Toys are hollow figures made of soft PVC. (Polyvinyl Chloride) These figures generally have simplistic features and are produced by a process called rotomolding. (rotational molding)

Rotomolding is a technique in which a heated hollow mold is filled with a charge or shot weight of material, it is then slowly rotated (usually around two perpendicular axes) causing the softened material to disperse and stick to the walls of the mold. The mold continues to rotate throughout the heating process in order to maintain even thickness. The centrifugal force forces the plastic into the details on the walls of the mold but leaves the middle of the mold clear thus producing a hollow figure.

Bi-axial rotational molding machine.



This technique works is preferred for its low costs due to the fact that the figures are hollow, this also makes the figures more lightweight and reduces the cost of transporting them. This low-cost method of toy production is ideal for people who want to make small quantities of toys at affordable price.