Here’s How Plastic Toy Dinosaurs are Made
A series of molds help the toy creators’ vision pop into 3-D
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A great deal of work and artistry goes in to designing and creating kids’ toys. Watch a toy dinosaur made by Schleich go from pencil sketch to Tyrannosaurus rex figurine ready to terrorize the sandbox in this "How It’s Made" video from the Science Channel, via The Kid Should See This.
The original model for the T. rex toy featured in this video came out of a 3-D printer, but many toy figurines are still sculpted in clay by hand. However, once the primary model is made it provides the basis for a silicon mold that in turn lets workers create a few hard plastic molds that can be handled. The plastic mold version of the toy shapes the metal production molds — molten plastic can be poured in the latter and pressed to form the final toys. Artists hand paint those at the Schleich factory.
Can’t get enough of watching toy creation? Check out "The Secret Story of Toys"to see action figures and the people who create them by Anthony Ladesich also via The Kid Should See This.