5 inch Orc bust Resin Kit

[redonix3D]

Hey Guys,

I'm starting a resin kit bust line and would like to get some feed back, suggestions of character designs, sizes, and pricing, etc...

Basically I've created this character I called "Minos" the Orc. He stands 5 inch tall and is ready to be painted. I'm planning on pricing it between at $100 fro a limited run of 100.

Maybe I can also paint a few for a super limited painted version. Please keep in mind I'm starting with a simple design just to get a low cost start. I'm working a more complicated and cooler design that should be done real soon.

What do you guys think? Any thoughts? if the 5 inch for $100 is too expensive would you buy a 3 inch for $50 - $60? How much would you pay for something that is fully painted?

If you are interested, please check out my kickstarter. If my kickstarter fails, I will do a smaller run with my own money and hopefully I'll get more support once I have more products available.

Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/233478091/minos-orc-5-inch-bust-resin-kit

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RedOnix3d

 

[redonix3D]

Wanted to give you guys a better idea of what I do. I started out as a traditional sculptor but got into 3D modeling and sculpting in 2003. Been working in the game industry for over 8 years now and have worked on many consol, PC, and recently, mobile games.

I felt it's time to put my skills into better use and do something I can be proud of for myself and to be able to share it with others.


Here is a 3D Zbrush sculpt shot of the Orc. Hope you guys like it. I will be posting more pics soon of other ones that I'm planning on having reproduced.

 

[galactiboy]

Since you're asking for feedback I'd say $100 is far to high of a cost for something of this size that is unpainted, unlicensed and not from a recognizable property. One other thought if you are offering busts is to design some kind of small pedestal or stand... just a torso sitting on the ground wouldn't work for many collectors.

Generally 1/6 heads (which are most commonly sold here) range in price from $35 for a cast up to $70. But these are generally from properties people recognize and the higher costs are for artists who are more well known or work in the industry.

Maybe this would be more in the $70 range as a fair price, but even then I think it would be quite difficult to sell 100 of them. Now if it was a Ledger Joker you could probably sell 1000 of them

Really nice work btw

 

[redonix3D]

galactiboy, thanks for the feedback. Yeah the next design I'm working on has a pedestal, thanks fro the advice on that.

I agree that $100 is too expensive for an unknown artist like myself. I'm still working out a way to cut costs so the final sale price won't be more than $50 - $75 at the most.

I'm trying really hard not to have things done in China even though it's much cheaper to re-produce it there. I guess we'll have to see how it goes depending on demands.

I do agree that producing more popular and recognizable characters would be the way to go but I'm not sure how expensive it is to get licensing for these IP's. I would love to do it. Does anybody know how hard it is to acquire licensing?

I would love to make one of my favorite monster design of all time "Pumpkin Head". Below is an example of my painted digital sculpt of him. Please note I haven't posed him properly yet.

 

[galactiboy]

The items in this area are unlicensed, so technically illegal. However generally smaller runs will not arouse the notice of companies.

A way to cut down on costs is to do the molding and casting yourself. Don't know how much experience you have with that but a silicone mold can usually produce 10 - 15 casts before giving out. With resin being fairly inexpensive you can do pretty well on a small run.

 

[galactiboy]

Oh and people would fall all over that Pumpkinhead.

 

[redonix3D]

Hey man, yeah I do have experience with molding and casting. I was thinking of doing that to start with. Thanks for the advice though, I'll definitely look into this.

Yeah everyone that I've showed pumpkin head to loved it. I guess I'm just overly cautious when it comes to licensing and copyright laws.

The thing is, I'm hoping to turn all this into a real legit business and it would suck to get slapped with a lawsuit.

 

[galactiboy]

Agreed... and that does happen from time to time. Generally it's a Cease and Desist and as long as you are compliant nothing more happens. But, it's always a risk when dealing in the "grey market" collectibles.

 

[redonix3D]

hhhmmm...don't know, maybe I should try it? Maybe make a limited run like 10 - 15 pieces of Pumpkin head? Would be fun...and a good way to get my name out there. You think it's worth the risk?

 

[redonix3D]

PS: here a sneak peak of my next bust that I recently finished. Well not 100% done but it's almost there. Hope you guys like.

 

[galactiboy]

Nice work... I'd say the risk is low on Pumpkinhead; not an A list like Freddy or Jason and those are sold all the time w/o any issues that I'm aware of.

Part of this forum is the "interest" section for customs, you can post what you have there and details and start getting a list of people who might want to buy

 

[redonix3D]

sweet, thanks for the advice. It'll be helpful in launching my business! I'll consider making a more known character like Pumpkin Head and others that I'm a fan of. You think 10 - 20 pieces is a safe number to reproduce any of these copyrighted characters?