I mentioned to a few mini buddies that I am experimenting with tinting my resin casts. As you can see from the images, some of the results are pretty horrible.
I bought the generic craft store tints (the set for $30) and not the one that was specifically made for the resin brand, because it was way out of my budget (starts at $80!).
I used a clear-ish resin that was made specifically to be tinted, but since the tints used aren’t the recommended ones, a lot more attempts had to be made before I got something halfway decent.
Limiting the amount of tint to a few drops certainly kept it from bloating. The best result is a weird, but cool (imo) look. Some parts of it is translucent and other parts is a milky, pink pastel.
It was a good learning experience, but I’m probably not going to buy that particular resin again.
I wanted to try the tinting on the white resin that I normally use, but the vendor I get it from is out of stock so I have to wait for their back order to come in. Hopefully, I can get the shelves in pastel colors soon.
The Ebay Experiement
On a related note, I had experimented with selling the mini bookcase via Ebay recently. I just wanted to test the market, so to speak. After listing, I had a decent amount of people comment on it, send me notes, and haggle for it which was nice to know that people actually like and want my work! 🙂
One particular haggler offered to buy the whole shelf (with shipping included) for $15. After I politely declined, he/she sent a really rude reply, “You are ripping people off charging as much as you do for a PLASTIC COPY.”
That made me soooooo mad! True, its a plastic copy, but there are fixed costs. Time, materials, tools, and skill was needed to make the original. On top of that, the mold had to be made, a number of tests and experiment had to be made, raw materials and supplies are still needed to make a cast (which costs money!), and lets not forget the time it takes to prepare the molds and the amount of sanding to finish the piece! Oh and if you’re wondering, its A LOT of sanding, and resin dust is some pretty hazardous stuff to work with (masks & gloves REQUIRED).
In the heat of my aggravation, I wrote a big long letter explaining to them the costs. The act of writing it helped calm me down. In the end, I did not send the letter.
I decided that I do not need to explain anything to them. People like that are the type that are unconvinced that it takes time and skill to make anything. They are over-entitled and think everyone is ripping them off and nothing I can do or say will change their opinion.
It makes me wonder why they bother being miniaturist collectors at all?
But to make an aggravating situation pretty awesome, just a few hours later, the shelf sold at the Buy-It-Now price!
Woot! In your face, you jerk haggler!
So the moral of the story is.. there will be some people that will undervalue you and want you to give something for nothing and there will be others that will appreciate your time and effort and reward you accordingly.
I will stick with the people who care, thank you!
It’s like Christmas came early with all this posting!
I was right there with your emotions as I read on. In jerk-hagglers face is right! Your bookcase is awesome and they are lame. And how could you be ripping people off?! You designed it in the first place and came up with the resign casts so jerkwads (and pleasant people, too) could afford to have a rockin’ piece of furniture!!!!! Rawwwwrrrrrg!
Next time, tell said jerk face that he/she can buy a original for “x” amount of dollars, and then they will see that it isn’t that bad! $30 bucks to your door for that bookcase is AWESOMe because it is so unique.
Bark, bark! Growl.
PS. I think the…properly?… tinted one looks cool. Someone of an artsy fartsy nature might want it. 🙂
I wrote and rewrote so many replies to that person.. the first one was: “I understand that you don’t like the plastic copies, so do you prefer me to sell the wooden versions that take over 10 hours to do for $100?” lol. But I’m glad I didn’t send them anything in the end.
Thanks a bunch dearie for the support! *HUGS*
Bravo to you for selling your piece and hanging tough with the haggler! Most folks appreciate what we do, but there are those who will say, as I have overheard at a mini show. “oh that’s so simple, I could make that myself”. Simple is never really simple…the time making and remaking until you achieve the quality you desire is extensive. Don’t forget that your time is valuable, as is your craftmanship. Thank goodness for the people who understand and appreciate well crafted art. Keep on truckin’!
In my opinion, your work makes it LOOK simple! Thats the beauty of it all!
And I agree, its never as simple as it seems. Usually, most people just focus on the end product and never really put much thought into the time, skill, and cost of materials to make something, unless they themselves are a craftsperson.
Thanks for your kind words Doris!
I can’t believe the buyer already thinks $15 is a rip off for that shelf? I guess he/she doesn’t understand how hard it is to make or even to just find quality modern miniatures (whether it’s made of resin or not). I’m a cheapo myself, but I would expect that shelf to be worth more!
Thank you for adding me in Flickr by the way, or I wouldn’t have found your interesting blog! I’ve been looking into casting resin too. Thank you for blogging about it!
Thanks for your comment DragonDee!
The bookcase was actually priced at $25 BIN, but he/she wanted it for $15 and got mad that I didn’t take up her offer. Ideally, I’ll like to get to a $20/per bookcase price, but the sanding part just takes too long and requires a lot of elbow grease. I end up getting a sore arm after sanding each sanding session. With spring around the corner, I’m hoping to speed up the process since I can now work outside.
No problem about adding you on flickr! I’ve had your blog bookmarked for a while now and I check back occasionally. I’ve long admired your work… you really tempt me to build something in 1:6 scale! I’m glad I found your flickr though! More eye candy for me!
Lastly, good luck with your resin casting! Let me know if you have any questions about it. I’ll be happy to help!