Polyurethane Resin??

Wow!! What an absolute wealth of information!! I've heard it said that you learn something new every day, well I think I've learned several new things today!! Thank you

 

Good point, the resin used by Bambicrony is the same resin I used to cast my Narn and Arium, from a company called Axion. It holds colour better whilst maintaining its translucency, its still a polyurethane as the part 'b' that is the hardner is the same chemical make-up as the part 'b' in Super Cast. I love love love the texture of this resin but although the translucency is maintained, even in my castings which had a zinc additive to be a UV retardant fade fairly rapidly and dull out

Gah my brain hurts now!! Its been 6 months since I've been in a class and another 4 before I go back full time to Uni its gonna hurt more then!!

tigerbaby: I am fully in love with your description!! AWESOME!! LOL what a great way of wording it that doesnt strain the eyes.... I'll be sure to ask my proffessor to do the same thing in class next year LOL

Oh and the technical side with Bobobie and any company that casts in colour, the colour is a liquid pigment added in correct measure to the part 'b' of the resin mix, once the colour is of a uniform consistency its added to the part 'a' and voila... rainbow dollies..... If the pigment was added to the finished mix there would be all sorts of strife with air-bubbles, in-consistent colour and premature curing

 

I think Polyurethane resin sounds a bit classier than just saying plastic- also when people hear plastic, I think they are thinking more barbie than anything else.

I also think that because of the general lack of widespread knowledge of BJD (for this i am kind of grateful, once somehthing becomes mainstream it gets boring a bit) it gives BJDs a bit more of a definitio of what they are. :3

 

Thanks for all the info, guys. This thread is one of the most interesting on DoA. Gives new appreciation to all the work and chemistry behind the dolls.
Yay learning! lol

 

Frequently questions about my dolls are from artists or collectors of other kinds of dolls, so I'm always very specific and call it "urethane resin." Often the person knows exactly what I'm referring to and they get kind of wide-eyed. If not, I go on to say that resin is a type of plastic that is hand-cast and can be modified, with examples: sanding down cheeks, opening dreaming eyes, adding elf ears with epoxy and so on. But then, I was trained as a librarian and have an innate urge to impart large amounts of information that's as accurate as possible at the slightest provocation . Perhaps I'm kidding myself that it's not snobbery on my part, but I can't imagine that a person seeing an ABJD for the first time won't notice they're something different from the usual run of mass-produced plastic dolls.

 

I think people get mad because when you think 'plastic doll,' what do you think? Barbie? Bratz? Something cheap, flimsy; a child's plaything. The resin that BJDs are made from is a very durable and high quality material, and even nice to the touch. The molds they are made from arent just your run-of-the-mill Mattel squirt-n-press dealios--and the process of molding, itself, is very difficult. The materials must be mixed properly to avoid color unevenness, and it is important that there not be too much air in the mixture to avoid bubbling and weakness in the material. If improperly and cheaply made, the material would crumble to the touch. Individual details are hand-sculpted after the molding process, making no two dolls EXACTLY the same. The hand-painted faces take it to another level, too. For you to know the amount of strenuous work and dedication put into your doll by the doll maker, and for someone to belittle it as nothing more than a cheap clone of a highly publicized character that has millions of others like it swimming around in the world, being meaningless, not even special--it drives people nuts. These are truly specialty dolls, and people don't want these extroadinary 'works of art,' if you will, to be looked at as somethng you could buy at k-mart or see commercials on TV for every five seconds. Theyre not common, if you really look at it, and it is hard for most people to understand that.

SO TECHNICALLY, they are plastic, as they are made of the same carbon code, but they are processed differently, and it is extremely hard to make such a sophisticated work of art.

 

I get upset because most people talk trash about spending a lot of money on a plastic doll. (my one exception was my pal Christin who was like "That much for a DOLL?!?" and then after 30 minutes wanted an MSD) When I say it's made with resin, people seem to take the dolls more seriously. I honestly couldn't care what they were made with, as long as the materials were strong, pretty, and worked well.

 

what an interesting thread! who knew it was so complex? one question though. several people have used the term "tooth" in pointing out differences of certain resins... could someone please explain?

 

To the best of my understanding, the surfaces of the resin, or absorption properties of the resin, can allow for easier color application. It gives the pigment/dye/paint something to hold on to. Think Legos and kitchen sponges.

 

ahh. thank you for the information!

 

... most people here seem so concerned that people will think of it as a "cheap" kids toy.

Why care at all what people think? Plastic is a type of resin. I think that's what we established so far, right? So I'm absolutely not going to start correcting people because they are saying something that is technically actually true just to make myself feel better about their opinion of my hobby. I might specify it's polyurethane.. and that it's fragile, something like that. But to say "it's not plastic" would be, well, untrue.

 

Hah, having done chemistry, I knew that resin is a form of plastic before I found the world of dolls, and I would fairly happily call my dolls plastic, because that is 100% scientifically accurate. But I think if I was talking to someone unfamiliar with the hobby, I'd say "urethane" or "resin", simply because it's more specific. I mean, there are so many kinds of polymers!
I think, in a hobby where the actual material plays a large part in the workings of the dolls, it pays to be specific.

 

In a nut shell!! *applaud* you nailed it!!

 

I actually used the word "plastic" to my advantage today, and was glad for this thread for educating me that resin is indeed plastic

I was posting out a head I sold on MP, and had to ask to up the insurance coverage. When asked "what is it you are sending" I replied a Doll Head, the clerk said (rather snottily >_>) "You aren't insured for sending porcelain". I replied "it's polyurethane resin *actually", its a type of plastic".

I would not have a problem calling my dolls plastic, but agree that to non-dollists it seems a lot of money for a plastic doll, regardless of the TYPE of plastic involved

 

I don't get offended when people ask if my dolls are plastic. I tell them yes, they're resin, a harder, more expensive plastic made along similar lines as porcelain dolls, only are a bit more resilient than porcelain dolls (depending on how you handle them). Sometimes I throw in the word 'urethane' or 'polyurethane,' but most of the time I leave it out since most people I tend to talk to haven't really heard the word before. This doesn't confuse people and still gives them the right impression - that the dolls are worth more than your run-of-the-mill toystore doll, yet still allows them to associate and compare them with something they may already know about. It allows them to understand what it is right away.

 

I'll be honest. Resin sounds more valuable. Paying $500+ for a hunk of unstable plastic sounds... horrible. paying $500+ for delicate, special, photogenic resin sounds almost reasonable. It sounds special. Plastic is cheap-sounding these days, and using the term, resin, i think, makes everyone more comfortable, me included.
for me, personally, i was immediately interested/ confused when i heard the dolls were made from resin, as what came to mind was the resin I used to use on my horsehair bow when I played the cello, years ago (created a strange image, that did).

 

i think this is a really really good way to deal with people's questions about what they're made from- the best i've read so far! i'll keep it in mind.

 

Can someone explain then why is ABS Resin different (I have seen it on some web sites as an offer for some dolls)? And what is the difference between Polyurethene Resin and Polyethylene resin?

 

It just sounds unpleasant and makes me think of Tonka toys. I understand my guys are very expensive pieces of plastic, and though it's not quite as relieving to call them plastic.

The title "resin" just makes me feel better overall. XD

 

I agree that calling these dolls plastic sounds really strange because we hear plastic we usually imagine something of low quality and cheap. So it is better to say that they made out of resin - it's less confusing. It's always better to add that resin belongs to plastic category then explain that our dolls really aren't low quality!