I'm sure some of you have seen the kid sized protonpacks that I made. Well I would like to start selling some shells made from the mold so that, those of you that wan to tackle the project can have some packs for your kids too.
The problem is I don't know what to sell them for. The take a day or two to cast and the supplies include buckets, bondo, fiberglass resin, fiberglass, cloth, and some brushes. So I have a rough idea how much it costs me to make but I want to be able to make a profit that makes it worth me spending the whole day on it.
So what seems like a reasonable price to you, the customer, how much are you willing to pay or would be comfortable paying for a shell. Keep in mind this is just a shell we are talking about, no gun box, or resistors or bumper. I can figure that stuff out later if the packs end up being worth my time.
If you haven't seen the old thread here is what the shell looks like:
The are approximately 17" tall so measure that against your child’s back to get an idea if it’s the right size for your wee one. Also you can see that the shells ave a rough uneven surface. At first I was very disturbed by this, but then I realized that the rough surface gave the dry brushing something to catch and aided in making the pack look used when panting it. So those of you who want a slick clean looking shell this would not be for you. Below are some pics of the results I achieved with this cast:
Good question about cost, I think somewhere around $175 to $200 would be a good price. But are we talking a full pack or a kit or just the shell or what? That could change the cost. I would buy a kit for $200 easy.
He said it’s just the shell. No Bumper, gun, or resisters.
I would adjust the price of those smaller shells in relation to the full size shells. Just say your shell is 40% smaller than a full size shell, check around eBay or maybe the forums and see what the full size shells are going for and cut the price by 40%. Know what I mean? Just a thought.
My fiberglass shells (of which I occasionally sell and not openly) go for $350 each.
It kind of breaks down like this:
$100 for materials. (cups, resin, gel coat, sticks, glass, brushes, etc.)
$200 for labor. ( it’s an all day process, sometimes 2 days. PLUS…holes are cut, edges trimmed, primered and sprayed Semi Gloss black ) This is all hand laid fiberglass, not just resin poured in a mold and demolded a few hours later. The shell is basically ready for final assembly and weathering when it arrives.
$50 for shipping within United States. (box, packaging materials, shipping costs).
Do I make a profit on these? Not much considering the amount of time and materials that goes into it. It’s more like a labor of love than anything. Still, some compensation is nice but should be kept reasonable. Although I can ask a lot more for my shells, I don’t want to take advantage of my bros here. If you want to make a killing, list a few on Ebay in October and watch what happens.
When you figure out a price, let me know. I’m definitely interested.
Doing the figures in my head, rough estimate, I’m thinking I could probably do 175$ to 220$ somewhere around that without losing my shirt. I wouldn’t drill out the holes because light kits are hard to find at that size and someone might want to paint that part or put a sticker there and I want to leave that option open. I would trim the fiberglass. If anyone thinks that’s reasonable and they’re interested PM me. If anyone can make a light kit for this size I would be willing to do some trading. The packs are 65% of the adult size.
Hey guys sorry I’ve been away so long, been busy. The mold for the packs I gave away years ago to a buddy Cliff, and I had only two castings, one of which I recently sold. The other is in pretty bad shape. I still have the original carving (the buck) I molded the gun box from, it’s in good shape. Here’s the thing I always thought I went a hair too small with the size (65%) and wanted to do it a bit bigger and better. So I’m doing a 75% , but first I need my own adult size pack, then I’ll start the mini. If you would like to see my progress and contact me easier, I am active on Facebook as Keaton Kohl and The Art of Keaton Kohl. I also post prop progress on Instagram again under my name, I like to keep things simple. I’m really trying to do a lot of props now so please check out what I’m working on. I would like to specialize in making kid size stuff so tell me what your looking for.
