New Sculpts from Blue Dinos

[Redonix76]

Thanks for all the great comments guys!! I also liked that T-Rex design from Sideshows back then. Sideshow always seems to get a hold of really great sculptors...wish I can make a few for them in the future lol...maybe when I have better sculpts to show.

Blade - I'm using Platsil 73-20 from the company "Brick in the yard". Their silicone mold material is of high quality with a longer shelf life and high tear strength. It also cures in 1 hour. Unfortunately it's also almost 2x more expensive as Smooth-On's silicone. I've been using it for the past 2 years so I'm sticking with it even though its expensive lol.

[Redonix76]

Finally made my first cast test. Turned out pretty good overall. Happy withe the mold. Here is if guys, left is the copy and right the original sculpt. I'll make a few this week and the kit will be available on my Etsy store. Also she's quite larger then the Carnotaurus.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Awesome!  I'm interested but might hold out for a full body.  I like busts only in 1:1 really.

[Jetoar]

Final results are perfect  .

[Viking Spawn]

Looks fantastic!!!  But I too want to see a full animal!  That bust is amazing no matter what!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Looks fantastic!!!  But I too want to see a full animal!  That bust is amazing no matter what!

See or buy? Just wanted to make that distinction as it's an important one that many forget about. 

I've had many artist friends make really cool pieces that people love, putting their hard earned money, skill and time into only to get praise but not much else.  Not picking on you at all, your statement was just a good opportunity to bring this up is all bud.

[Viking Spawn]

Looks fantastic!!!  But I too want to see a full animal!  That bust is amazing no matter what!

See or buy? Just wanted to make that distinction as it's an important one that many forget about. 

I've had many artist friends make really cool pieces that people love, putting their hard earned money, skill and time into only to get praise but not much else.  Not picking on you at all, your statement was just a good opportunity to bring this up is all bud.

"Buy" will depend upon the final product.  If it is of a full animal and fully painted...  Yes, I would consider buying it.  I'm no stranger to buying high priced items if you haven't checked out either my Rebor or X-Plus threads.  If the quality/detailing is equal or better than either Rebor or X-Plus, then he will have a new fan/buyer of his products (namely ME)!  However, I do hope he makes some awesome theropods! Those would be the icing on the cake.

BTW, what's "bud" suppose to mean?

[Redonix76]

Hey guys thanks for all the comments. I have been getting allot for demand for a full sculpt and as of now, I'll be starting one this coming weekend of a full body Regaliceratops.

Blade - Thanks for your comment. As an artist I know that it's not easy to make everyone happy with everything that you do, but I'll keep plugging away until I I can build a good following...hopefully lol. I do agree...I get lots of praises but not many buys lol. I guess that's why the popular label is "Starving Artists". It's hard to compete with other companies with lots of money who comes out with cheaper sculpts made in China or any other outsourcing companies. Not saying that they are bad...I love Papo and the new company Rebor, but I dont have the funds for that kind of production costs.

I dont blame anyone really since that's part of business. There are people who wants cheap or can't afford higher price and there are people who just buys everything no matter the price. I want to accommodate to both as much as I can. I'm an unknown artist so why would anyone buy my kits for a super high price? I can understand the thought and will try my best to keep the price as affordable as I can.

Question to you guys - Do you think coming out with a few full body sculpts at 1/30 scale will gain more interests?  Also how to you feel about more expensive personal made, than cheaper mass produced elsewhere?

[Dilopho]

Question to you guys - Do you think coming out with a few full body sculpts at 1/30 scale will gain more interests?

I think that you will be recognized more for your busts, especially Carnotaurus, but a full-body figure would probably attract attention to you. 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

BTW, what's "bud" suppose to mean?

short for "buddy", also known as " friend", "mate", ect.

Hey guys thanks for all the comments. I have been getting allot for demand for a full sculpt and as of now, I'll be starting one this coming weekend of a full body Regaliceratops.

Blade - Thanks for your comment. As an artist I know that it's not easy to make everyone happy with everything that you do, but I'll keep plugging away until I I can build a good following...hopefully lol. I do agree...I get lots of praises but not many buys lol. I guess that's why the popular label is "Starving Artists". It's hard to compete with other companies with lots of money who comes out with cheaper sculpts made in China or any other outsourcing companies. Not saying that they are bad...I love Papo and the new company Rebor, but I dont have the funds for that kind of production costs.

I dont blame anyone really since that's part of business. There are people who wants cheap or can't afford higher price and there are people who just buys everything no matter the price. I want to accommodate to both as much as I can. I'm an unknown artist so why would anyone buy my kits for a super high price? I can understand the thought and will try my best to keep the price as affordable as I can.

Question to you guys - Do you think coming out with a few full body sculpts at 1/30 scale will gain more interests?  Also how to you feel about more expensive personal made, than cheaper mass produced elsewhere?

I've seen a lot of talented artists out there start out well then be forced to reduce and stop making pieces for others to enjoy.  I try to support many of them as I can, it kills me seeing so much talent end so badly. So I'm a bit sensitive to it. 

If I like a piece I'll generally buy it regardless of scale, 1:30 isn't bad. Some animals will work well at that size others won't though.   I'm all for paying more for something that the artist has truly tried to create something and make it his own than anything done as simply a " job" and was/is mass produced. 

[Viking Spawn]

BTW, what's "bud" suppose to mean?

short for "buddy", also known as " friend", "mate", ect.

Ah, gotcha. 

[DinoLord]

More expensive made is worth it to me given some conditions:

- More expensive doesn't mean too expensive. For example, as much as I love Lu Feng Shan's sculpts, I'm not going to pay $300 for a unfinished resin kit that isn't even two feet long.
- The figure is not too small (only several inches in size). I think Kaiyodo and Shapeways pretty much have this market cornered, and even the latter can get expensive. Also the costs associated with personal production make the costs for small figures rather high usually. Meanwhile well-made larger figures (in between toy and resin kit quality) are less common and would definitely be of interest if in a moderate price range.
- It's a species that's a favorite of mine. As much as I would love to, I don't have room to collect larger (1:40 to 1:20 scale) figures of every random dinosaur out there. Although a lot of our favorites on here are obscure species, so don't let this think you have to limit yourself to the classics like T. rex and such.

[Takama]

Well I been thinking of commissioning him to make some models for myself. 

[Redonix76]

DinoLord -  I agree about kits being too expensive at times. To me it all depends on how the kits are Done. A good example is the Acrocanthosaurus Resin Kit he did. I personally feel it's too expensive for a kit, but it totally depends on how it's made. Here are some factors:
1. Sculpt time
          The longer it takes to sculpt something, the more it'll cost. More known artists will charge more per hour of work.
          I normally charge $40 - $60 an hour for on freelance 3D work. This is pretty standard in the design industry but it can be much more if you're more famous...unlike me lol.

2. mold cost
          a. paid someone else to do it - very expensive, for this sculpt could be $1000+
          b. made it himself - cheaper since it's only material costs + time maybe $300 if he doesn't charge time.

3. casting
          a. paid someone else to do it - can be expensive in the US or less expensive overseas. - Maybe on average for material + time = $80 - $100
          b. made it himself - cheaper since it's only material costs + time maybe $40 if he doesn't charge time.

Normal sales mock up is between 2x to 3x the cost for at $300 a good guess would be $100 of cost for each one. This is just general not set in stone. I think the big factor really, is how much the artist thinks his talent, time, and effort is worth. Therefore, being the well known artist that he is, it can warrant a higher pricing.

For me, since I do everything myself I only charge for the materials + normal sale mock up. I still make profit but not allot since I dont charge for time for the kit, but only for painted finished version.

Takama - Thanks!!

[Kayakasaurus]

So far all my models have been commissioned, which covers the materials, but mold making is still a lot of work. The mold for my Hylaeosaurus was $30 of silicone, and the resin is around $12 for 16 oz. . My Argentinosaurs on the other hand is already costing at the least $90 of Silicone. This is all with using Smooth-on's most inexpensive silicone; Oomoo. I'm able to make them pretty affordable for models though. My goal is to be able to make "figures", so kids can use them.

[DinoLord]

I wonder if ordering such materials in bulk (if one intends to really produce a lot of figures) would help cut down on costs?

[Redonix76]

I wonder if ordering such materials in bulk (if one intends to really produce a lot of figures) would help cut down on costs?

Yes buying and doing things in bulk will bring the costs down for sure. The problems with large volumes is you need allot of money up font. Then you have products that needs to be sold to make your money back and make profit. If you sell only 1/2 of your inventory then the other half is a loss.

Most artist will me either make a minimal amount of kits or make them as they get the order to not have any real losses. In this case ordering in bulk may not be a good choice. I keep my resin and silicone in stock at about 2 gallons each...I could get a 5 gallon of each, but...not that much room left in my garage lol.

[Redonix76]

Anyhow thanks for all the meaningful comments guys. I truly want to be successful in this and hope to continue to improve. I totally agree that the Carnotaurus although is a nice sculpt, it's not as accurate as one would like. The Regaliceratops is much closer to what it should look like is a big improvement in sculpting overall. My next project will be a full body Regaliceratops since quite a few are asking for one.

I'm also thankful to all the guys who understand the hard work we artist are putting into bringing these cool sculpts to public. My goal is not to get rich, but to be able to share by work with everyone while making a living off of it. It'll be a long road but I believe I can tough it out and keep at it until I get to where I want to be!

Thanks!!

[DinoLord]

Good to know. I wonder how the costs work out for larger vs smaller models? Personally my two favorite scales to collect in are 1:20 and 1:35-40; figures in the former can get quite large depending on the species!

[empire3569]

Just gonna throw this out there, if you were to sculpt a full Carcharodontosaurus figure with the detail of Papo/Rebor, I would have am incredibly hard time saying no to it....