Collectible Figures are Made of Which Materials?

“Vinyl”, “resin”, “PU”, and “PVC”, I believe that all the collectible figures hobbyists have heard of these words. What are they? Are they all plastic? Is resin more expensive and advanced than vinyl? These questions about the raw material of collectible figures are quite confusing to everyone.

The feel, appearance, and fineness of different materials are different, and the vision and touch brought by them are also different. So I’ve spent some time recently trying to write it out completely.

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

There are two basic forms of PVC: rigid and flexible. “V” in “PVC”, means vinyl. The “vinyl” and “Sofubi” are all made of flexible PVC. In order to distinguish, we usually refer to rigid PVC as PVC for short, refer to flexible PVC as Vinyl, and Soft Vinyl for short.

So those PVC figures, injection figures, plastic figures, blind boxes, and action figures all use rigid PVC as raw materials. PVC, an injection molding material, the process uses steel mold for mass production, it is suitable for manufacturing thousands of toys.

Advantages of PVC

1. Easy storage. (Moisture resistance, aging resistance, flame retardancy)

2. Good plasticity. (Easy to process)

3. Lightweight. (Easy to carry and transport)

4. The materials price is low.

5. Suitable for mass production of thousands of collectible figures.

Disadvantages of PVC

1. Steel molds are needed. (high cost of mold design and making)

2. The minimum order quantity is 1000. (the cost of materials and molds will be lower)

3. Long production time.(due to a long time of steel mold making)

You can refer to read: How To Make PVC Figures

Vinyl

Most collectible designer art toys are made of flexible PVC, as known as vinyl figures. The interior of figures made of vinyl is hollow, which is relatively light compared with the weight of injection-molded figures.

Advantages of Vinyl

1. Good coloring effect. (Moisture resistance, aging resistance, flame retardancy)

2. Low MOQ. (You can start with 100 pieces, the larger the quantity, the lower the unit price. )

3. Lighter weight than PVC figures.

4. Easy and fast mass production.

Disadvantages of Vinyl

1. Copper molds are needed. ( But the copper molds cost is lower than steel mold)

2. Deformation at high temperatures.

You can refer to read: How To Make Vinyl Figures

Soft Vinyl (Sofubi)

In art toys, “Sofubi” is the transliteration abbreviation of Japanese “soft vinyl”, also known as “Japanese soft vinyl”, which also uses flexible PVC.  Sofubi figures feel soft and delicate, and it is easy to color and shape. When you press the sofubi figures hard, it will cause their appearance depression.

ABS

In the toy industry, the most famous application example of ABS is LEGO. ABS is composed of acrylonitrile (PAN), butadiene (PB), and styrene (PS), which has the performance advantages of the three components. It is a “tough, hard and rigid” material with easily available raw materials, low prices, and good comprehensive performance.

Most of the collectible figures on the market are assembled from PVC and ABS components. The main components are PVC, and the structure requires weight or the form of sharp accessories using ABS. For example, the legs, arms, neck, and other parts that bear the stress are more suitable for ABS with high hardness.

PU Resin

PU resin is the main material for making the GK model at present. The common “HEI-CAST resin” is PU resin. Agent A and agent B are mixed in the same weight ratio and rapidly formed. PU is a polymer compound. After curing, it will not deform easily, nor will it produce oil due to sunlight, and it has a nice texture like ivory.

Advantages of PU

1. Good performance of details and good feel. (Moisture resistance, aging resistance, flame retardancy)

2. Low MOQ. (You can start with 50 pieces)

3. Silicone molds are needed. ( Compared with the metal mold used for PVC, the cost is lower)

Disadvantages of PU

1. The labor cost is high, which requires manual polishing and painting.

2. The material price of PU resin is more expensive than PVC.

3.  Resin figurines are heavy and fragile.

You can refer to read: How To Make Resin Figures

Summary

After introducing the raw materials for making designer toys, art toys, and other collectible figures, do you have a clear idea? But for the fascinating collectible figures, imaginative designers have been constantly trying new materials, such as FRP, wood, metal, latex, gypsum, ceramics, and artificial crystal. In short, different materials and characteristics determine different production processes, it also depends on the quality, size, and budget of making collectible figures.

If you want to make a collectible figure for your design, we may help you with 18+ years of experience in making customized figures for overseas customers. For details, you can contact us for more information.