Is this figure Resin? Really?

[kathrynloch]

Hi Mark thank you very much for the info.

Due to my hand tremors, I find using an Xacto quite hazardous to both me and the model. I use a carbide scraper which works wonderfully on plastic, white metal, and my resin horses. I imagine it would work with this as well.

The model horses are not supplied cleaned-up, exactly. They are roto-cast and the caster will fill the belly sprue where the resin was put in, check for really bad problems like an airbubble large enough to take out half an ear or making a large hole in the leg. If the mold is on it's way out, there may be some slippage and a large amount of flash and that will only be cleaned up if it interferes with shipping the horse.

The resin is white and not hard at all. The horses need to be prepped before they are painted. This hobby is the only one that I've seen with professional preppers (I am one). I do both painting and prepping but many times a client hires me to get a horse ready for a specific artist they have commissioned.

I use the carbide scraper on seams and also a high grit sanding sponge, sandpaper leaves gouges. I fill air-bubbles with Apoxy Sculpt or similar, and pinholes - the tiny air-bubbles with something like Bondo or modeling paste. I carve out hooves, ears and other details that may not "pop" as nicely as they should. When it's all done I apply primer then send the horse to the artist.

From 1:9 scale to 1:32 scale the horses and the resin are basically the same. While they can break (I've had my fair share try to commit suicide by jumping off the table and repaired all of the ears they busted in the process but they basically bounce when they hit the floor.)

There are models sold as a "second" cast - one cast when the mold is just about shot. They are sold at a pretty good discount with the understanding that the prep work will be a lot more intensive. I've had seconds with major mold slippage, a large amount of flash, air-bubbles bad enough that certain parts required total re-sculpting, and legs that were off enough the horse wouldn't stand. I had to take a heat gun to them (just for an instant) and move them. But every effort is made so that the consumer understands this model is discounted because it has more prep work involved.

There is one very popular sculptor in the Europe who is world renowned for her gorgeous horse sculpts - but her casts are infamous for being the worst to prep. They are so loaded with air-bubbles and pinholes they are a nightmare. Many professional preppers refuse to take them. The few who do, like me, charge a much higher price for them.

This is one by that artist. I received it...supposedly already prepped, with primer, and ready to paint. This is nothing close to ready.

While these sculpts are known for these problems, the are still in high demand because the sculptor is so talented.

But while we see this all the time with this one artist - it is rarely seen in other models unless it's a second.

The model above I'm selling unprepped. I've had him for about six months and haven't touched him (he got a little dirty tho - the mark on his hip is from my excess powdered pigments. He's 1:32 scale and you can see he's close to the size of the metal Roaming Knight's horse that I'm working on who is in the background. He's got some seams on him and a few goobers here and there that I need to clean but other than that...this is what unprepped resin is to me.

Another brand new and unprepped 1:32 scale I just sold.

Maybe y'all can understand my confusion and the fact it was a bit of...not culture shock....but resin shock?

 

[gordy]

Karrie, those are some really nice horse sculpts

I can see how the resin plugs and sprues can be unusual We've dealt with them so long that it's strange when not present (some producers have off and on pre-removed the sprue and plugs)

Again, fascinating horse sculpts we'd like to know more about 'em

 

[housecarl]

Tha last one is so dynamic. I think we've become so used to cleaning figures up, we take it as read.
Carl.

 

[kathrynloch]

Thank you Gordy and Carl. Perhaps it is because the resin horse industry is still very small. While Breyer has been around since the 50's and produces thousands of plastic horses a year, the resin horse industry is still very small, very entrepreneurial.

There are only a handful of casting companies, and most are a husband and wife teams. That's pretty much all they do, cast resin horses. Others may do bronze or china but for the most part it's pretty straight forward. There are also a couple of sculpting artists who create the horse and their husband or significant other runs the casting. So the sculpt stays in house from beginning to end, so to speak.

And the runs are also extremely limited. Having a run of 200 is practically unheard of, many go only the life of first mold. When it dies the run ends. So perhaps that smallness is the reason quality control is pretty much the same across the board.

I know one reason they knock a lot of the sprue and flash of is because that would damage the horse during shipping. We don't have blister packs or specialized Styrofoam crating, soft foam or sponge-like packing material.

We mummy wrap - you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you. I'll take a picture of it one of these days - and then it's good old fashioned bubble wrap and packing peanuts.

Anyways, it is crazy and definitely different. I'm getting ready to pick up on some resin commissions that I have going but took a short break from. I'll probably toss those into WIP one of these days.

Thanks again, everyone, for the information, and once again, my apologies for causing such a fuss. That was never my intention.

Cheers,
Karrie