4 Best Injection Molding Toys
When it comes to toy injection molding, using plastic injection has always been a core component in the creation of multiple toys across the industry. Many toys have taken advantage of this process from transformers toy molding, plastic injection molding toy wheels to injection molding toy cars. Let’s take a look at some of the most successful toys across the ages that have been created using injection molding.
4 - Army Men
These little plastic figures, usually called army men or plastic soldiers, are toy soldiers that were made in the late 1930s and are still a staple in many young boys homes, namely due to their low cost and convenience. Measuring around 5cm or 2 inches tall, they are most commonly molded in either an olive green colour or beige tan. These can usually be found in most cheap hobby shops and discount stores and are often sold by the bag or bucketful. Often equipped with weapons of the WW2 era, they can usually be seen with an M16, bayonet, radio, binoculars, grenades, machineguns, rifles and bazookas. Sometimes they are packaged with additional accessories like tanks or jeeps. Vehicles themselves are often manufactured at a smaller scale, to save on both production and packaging costs. Something similar depicts Native American and cowboy plastic injection molding toys, which utilize a similar style of molding techniques and have a similar look and design as the army men. When it comes to the toy injection molding machine, it is often a rubber injection molding toy, meaning it usually uses a rubber mold to create these injection molding toy soldiers, although sometimes a steel mold can also be used.
Check out how they are made, with tens of thousands being produced in a single day.
3 - Barbie
Another vintage injection molding toy is that of Barbie, which first saw production in March of 1959. 60’s toy injection molding really took off with this one, as Barbie quickly became a common household toy to American girls and soon saw global success, which has lasted for generations, and even became an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over sixty years. Later, Barbie had a boyfriend made called Ken, and these two dolls became the most popular dolls in the world, selling over a billion of these dolls and making Mattel – the company which created them – their largest and most profitable line. The core component of Barbie is not only the doll itself, but the wide range of clothing and accessories that come with them and are also sold separately. Barbie has always seen some controversy over the years, as some have complained that the blonde, plastic doll look sets an unrealistic body image to girls. Despite these claims, the injection molding toy has only gone from strength to strength.
See how Barbie and all kinds of other dolls are made with plastic injection here.
2 - Gundam
Gundam models, otherwise known as Gunpla, are model kits which depict vehicles and characters from the fictional Gundam anime by Bandai. These kits debuted in the early 1980s and quickly became popular amongst both mecha anime fans and model enthusiasts in Japan and other Asian markets. During the 90s this influence then spread across America and Europe through exposure of the Gundam television anime and manga. These kits are made via plastic injection molding and is one of the only few toys that are sold to the public in an unfinished manner, even leaving the runners from the plastic injection molding process. The aim is for the customer the build the product themselves and when finished have a completed plastic robot model. Unlike other toys, these are usually not considered toys, since they appeal to a wider demographic, mostly appealing to teenagers up to full-grown adults, who generally refer to them as hobby kits. They come in a wide range of categories, which denotes both the size and complexity of the model and with prices that can range from just a couple of dollars to several hundreds, they are considered one of the more lucrative molding toys.
Take a look to see this incredible process.
1 - Lego
Not only the king of injection molding toys but also arguably the king of toys in general, Lego has been a core staple of any child’s home since 1949. It has now spread its influence far and wide across a number of different media from TV shows, movies, videogames and many more, even creating multiple amusement parks around the world called Legoland. Its key flagship is the toy itself, a plastic molding toy made of variously colored interlocking bricks, often accompanied with a variety of other pieces, gears and little Lego figurines called minifigures. These Legos are an excellent source of creativity for children (and adults), who can assemble and connect these bricks in a variety of different ways to construct objects, buildings, vehicles and more. Anything built can then be taken apart again to reuse and recreate anything that the mind can come up with. As of July 2015, it is reported that over 600 billion Lego parts have been produced, making it the most profitable plastic toy injection molding product in the world.
View this interesting process in the making here.
Conclusion
When it comes to plastic injection molding for toys, it’s clear that some of the most successful companies have all used plastic molding for their production needs. From Legos to army men, Barbie to Gundam, they have all taken advantage of injection molding toy figures for its ease, cost-effectiveness and convenience. But that’s not the only thing, most companies create these toys from selecting a Chinese toy factory injection molding company and assisting them with their needs. That’s where we come in. We at Shineyuu are an injection molding company and manufacturers for toy molding, along with many other industries including automotive, medical and consumer parts. If you are looking for a molding injection toy maker to assist you with kids toy injection molding, or any kind of molding needs, simply contact us or send us a quote and we can help you along the way.
If you enjoyed this article be sure to check out our other wide selection of materials, such as Everything About LDPE, Should I Choose Injection Molding in China and The 5 Types of Plastic Molding for more great information.