Yeah, i made a similar joke when he first posted photos of the exterior. Then his mate made a comment about them being ready for 'Making Bacon' and i made another crack about them filming skin-flicks in there.
There are tons of manufacturers that sell plastisol in the US. There is a big fishing lure making community and they all make molds and make lures with it. Rather than the whole heated chemical bath, They just microwave the plastisol to get it up to curing temp. I’m no chemist but there are a bunch of additives including hardener that I’m sure can get the plastisol feeling close to sofubi. Look up some lure making videos and the whole idea of making vinyl in the us, or even your garage might seem a little less crazy.
^^^ This! Dude has enthusiasm and drive for sure, but even if the factory gets up and running, can he/they source reliable, cost-effective guys that can sculpt, work wax, manufacturer the molds, make the masks, paint and pull vinyl on par with the Japanese sofubi factories . . . Is there REALLY enough business in the US to make it a profitable venture? And even if there is - would the cost be that much lower than Japanese manufacturers to offset losing the kudos and credibility of products being 'Made in Japan'. I get the 'American Made' deal for historically American products, but, like Scotch Whisky, Cuban Cigars or Belgian Chocolate . . . who's gonna pay top dollar for Wannabe Scotch Whisky, Bootleg Cuban Cigars or Belgian Chocolate Lite (oh to be a fly on the wall at Zheng's factory!). It'll be cool seeing where it goes but I'm happier being a spectator rather than an investor.
It does but it’s not great. It needs a ton of thinner, it sprays on very opaque, more like a clear so it needs tons of coats, and the paints dry out and become unusable quickly. But the thinner and clear coat is great for v color or mad ninja ape.
Basically plastisol is plastisol. As you said using various additives it can be used form silk screen ink to making cell phone cases. The formulation used in Japan is in fact the same they us here in the US. No difference chemically or how it cures.
After reading this I might try to make some backyard sofubi. I have plastisol and hardener that I was going to use to make some jiggler toys but this might be a fun project for shits and giggles. I mean if it ends up working out why not?
Well that was a fun ready. Anybody touch these toys? Bullshark barely got moving before Jason ( I think that was his name) decided he would rather do something easier (that's how I remember it at least). Jack at Vinyl Pulse teamed up with a chemist who was into it, I held one of their pieces and it felt pretty good. But I think they decided too, that this was all too much work. As Robert xSuicidesquadx would attest too. It's messy, hot, rewarding, but slow going. It's a factory job, and you have to absolutely NOT want to do something else with your life to follow thru, and keep a business running making vinyl.
I can say its not easy getting things set up and dialed in. Yes, its hot(or cold depending on the time of year). I have been able to crank out a lot in short amount of time. I think it has to do with organization and willingness to work with in the process. Some say its boring but I have to say the people I work with keep me hopping. They are always coming up with interesting vinyl color mixes and wonderful designs. Is to overwhelming at times? Sure, especially because I am the only employee. Is it rewarding absolutely, The joy expressed by my customers when they receive the castings is worth every minute of it. Like all things its point of view. I am a sculptor first and this has been invaluable to me when dealing with other sculptors or designers. What is a bit concerning is folks don't seem to know or understand the process. The believe its a machine doing all the work when in fact its very artisan oriented and requires a lot of skill. As I have said I use machines (vacuum chamber, curing tank) but is a very hands on process and in my opinion an art form.
These lads seem to be doing alright ... based in Texas. Manufactured in the FauxFubi™ style, a proprietary ALL American method of producing soft vinyl toys. Each one is unique and 100% hand made in the USA by AZ-5 / ToraToyco LLC. https://www.facebook.com/az5toygang/ https://az5.bigcartel.com/
Huh, crazy. I always thought those were resin. Kinda cool that they found a way to make vinyl figures. Edit: So, apparently from the instagram page the head and torso are soft vinyl and the arms and legs are PLA plastic.
Yeah, I think the plastic was for attaching the magnets more firmly or something like that. Not quite sure why the legs are PLA if they don't have magnets ... They've been pumping out MOTU style figures for a while now, and built up an enthusiastic fan base of collectors.
Has anyone here heard about people pulling vinyl toys in Brazil? This person just started following me: https://instagram.com/sofubr?utm_medium=copy_link
