Mark Nagata posted some great video of Shimizu-san,the craftsman that manufactures the vinyl toys for MaxToy. It's some of the best video I've seen of the process of pouring vinyl into the iron molds to cast toys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qUJ7TPKSns Does anyone know if there is any video available that also includes the process of making the iron molds for Japanese vinyl? I really love seeing how the toys are made. I feel like I appreciate my collection more when I can imagine the hours of work and commitment to quality that went into producing the figures.
This is great, but somewhat of a tease. I'd love to see more, but I guess I should appreciate he's willing to share any bit of footage with us. I'm assuming a video of the entire process, from the wax mold (I understand this may not be his jurisdiction) to the first pull is asking for a little too much, as I'm sure trade secrets are involved, but I can dream. I guess we could always try our luck here... http://community.discovery.com/eve/foru ... 6941947648 Edit: Vinyl Pulse posted a great article back in '08 on the spray mask technique, featuring the Super7 SDCC Himalan. http://www.vinylpulse.com/.m/2008/07/th ... s.html?p=1
Def different than the way the Chinese does it. Instead of rotational molds, this Japanese factory is using a type of slush molding. He fills the mold with vinyl then bakes it. The excess vinyl is then poured back into the vinyl reservoir and the mold is dipped in water to cool. After cooling its placed in a holder so it can be de-molded. It still amazes me how tough the castings can be having it wrenched out from the mold like that.
Here's the link to the Baikin M1GO Videos>>> http://www.skullbrain.org/bb/viewtopic. ... king+video And this is my favorite video of the toy making process. I believe Roger said it was on DVD and came with a toy he purchased.>>> Fast forward to the 28:20 mark for more Shimizu-san factory goodness. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 455&hl=en#
I can't wait to check this stuff out! ^^ And I think Mark has precious little footage because his time in Japan was really short, he does not speak Japanese himself, and he did not want to disrespect the craftsmen by being too nosy. I'm sure if he had the opportunity, he would film for hours! I just really enjoy watching Shimizu-san work. It's like magic when those toy parts pop out of the molds. That Japanese vinyl is amazing material.
Fascinating stuff. When I'm in Japan, I alway spend lots of time walking down the narrow back streets and alleys, looking at dilapidated little buildings just like that, and wondering what goes on inside.
I hope to be able to infuse my next release with a patchouli scented oil because vinyl is stinky. I will revolutionize the vinyl industry with scratch n stiffs.
It actually makes the prices on stuff seem cheap compared to the amount of time and craft that go into each piece.
What I would love is if somebody could replicate the smell of old Bullmark vinyl. It has a chalky (?) smell somewhat like busted crayons, nothing else smells quite like that. I'm lost in a Proustian sofubi reverie whenever I smell those old Bullmarks.
Great, not only will the little stinky fuckers be bothering me for cigarettes and change now they're gonna start asking if I can spare a vinyl? I got a miracle for you - it's a miracle I am not kicking your ass right now!
I dunno, man. I think what I love is that that smell is peculiar to vintage Bullmarks. If they figured out how to replicate it in modern vinyl, first of all, it just wouldn't be the same...and I dunno...I think that would make the smell (on actual vintage Bullmarks) that much less special, y'know? Anyway, it was my understanding that Japanese slush casting still required rotation (since not the whole mold cavity is filled with liquid vinyl). If you jump about 30 minutes into the Marusan video, it clearly shows slow rotational molds...then the excess being drained off. Chinese roto casting (again, just my understanding) uses high-speed rotational molds and only injects a small amount of vinyl (enough to coat the walls), so there's no excess to drain off...
I love the smell of old Bullmarks, but it's the smell of death. Those are phthalates leaching out of the old vinyl that cause cancer, but hey, who wants to live forever. Coop, you nailed it with the "old crayon" description. I remember that in the early days of B-Club reissues, some unscrupulous folks were dirtying them up and trying to pass them off as originals, but smart collectors were able to ID them by smell. (doesn't work so well on the internet) The video that Sanjeev linked to was a TV show, not released commercially. It, uh, may have sort of leaked onto the internet somehow, not sure. Oh, yeah, I'm also told that vinyl manufacturing in China sometimes involves some sort of vacuform process. Never seen it in action, though.
Mmmmm, vinyl death... Yep, the "smell test" was often discussed on the toybox boards, if I'm remembering correctly.
Pretty amazing watching everybody doing this without respirators or other protection. No OSHA in Japan I guess.
OSHA is exactly why vinyl stuff isn't made in America any more. Too costly to keep up with regulations so the fumes are vented from the facility properly, etc. Meanwhile, that guy in the little shack in Japan isn't even wearing a cloth mask!
