Casting a Master
Real makes sketches based on his ideas, and often inspired by his 'real' life. From the
sketches and drawings Real creates a Pocket Dragon figure in sculpting medium. Each and
every small detail has to be painstakingly added by hand, often taking many days until Real
is completely happy with the finished piece.
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Mold Making
The Master is carefully packaged and shipped to Collectible World Studios in Staffordshire,
England. When the 'master' arrives from Real it is made from wax. The next stage in the process is
that another 'master' has to be cast in a harder material. This is achieved by pouring a mold
around the wax original and making an exact replica of the piece that Real sculpted.
Once a hard copy has been made more molds can be taken from it, having first made sure that
no flaws have occurred in the process.
Each mold is made by hand for every different piece, and the production methods are altered
according to the needs of a particular Pocket Dragon involved. For some of the larger pieces
'skin' molds are used. This is an outer mold into which the rubber mold is then placed before
casting. This saves the mold makers a great deal of time.
Liquid silicon rubber is poured over the master to make a mold. Once ready, the mold
is passed on to casting.
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Casting
Liquid resin is poured into the mold and then sets under high pressure. There is
no high fire replication so there is no shrinkage involved.
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Removing Figures from Molds
Once the resin has set, the mold can be pulled away. The production mold can be used over
several times before the detail wears away.
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Fettling
Once the figure has been removed from the molds the bottom of the pieces have to be leveled
off so that they can stand up. This process is called Grinding and Linishing.
Next the 'lines' caused by the molds have to be removed. This is done by hand with a fine drill
and this is called Fettling .
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Quality Control
The pieces are 'blasted' away with very fine sand to take away the glossy shine, so that
they can then go on to be painted. Each and every piece is checked carefully at every stage
of the process to make sure that each Pocket Dragon reaches you in perfect condition. Before
going into the Paint Shop the unpainted Pocket Dragons are checked one last time by Quality
Control.
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Paint Shop
A master figure is painted by the colorist . The painters then use this master as
a model as they painstakingly recreate every tiny detail. Each piece is done individually
by one painter, starting with the base colors and working towards detailing such as hats,
cookies, or any other items that Pocket Dragons manage to get their hands on!
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Each painter goes through a rigorous training program to ensure perfect Pocket Dragon results
every time. Tiny brushes are used to pick out the smallest details, giving Pocket Dragons the charm
and 'lovability' that we have come to enjoy!
Again every piece is checked before moving onto the next part of the journey.
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Flocking
When the Pocket Dragons have been painted and checked, they are sprayed with a special coating
which protects them from any harm that might come to them. Next, any details are glossed. This
includes any objects that the Pocket Dragons might be carrying, and, of course their eyes.
The bases of the figures are then coated with a thin coat of glue and a green baize is sprayed on. This
is the process called flocking .
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Packing
Once the Pocket Dragon has been flocked they move on to packing where each Pocket Dragon is carefully
wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a specially sized box.
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Dispatch
The final stage before leaving the studios is orders are made up for each retailer and the Pocket
Dragons are sent on their way.
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