For over a decade, board games have been dominating Kickstarter. But making them isn’t easy, especially when you need to find someone to handle complex plastic manufacturing for you!

So how do you find a company that can manufacture all those beautiful plastic minis? What’s the difference between PVC and HIPS sprue and resin? A bunch of questions were asked by Brandon from Fulfillrite about the board game plastic manufacturing business.

What follows is a transcript of our conversation. It has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q1. Creating plastic components is notoriously expensive in small batches. Why is it that?

I think one of the biggest impediments that many game designers/developers run into is the high upfront tooling costs. This makes the overall cost per unit steep in small runs once high molding costs are factored in.

But we’ve changed the game and started producing small batches in a way that is no longer cost-prohibitive and intimidating-proudly. We call it Unicool Plastic! It doesn’t require tooling and the plastic material we’re using isn’t as brittle as normal resins, while still maintaining the delicate detail seen in resins.

Q2. How does plastic manufacturing work?

There are 11 steps in the process.

1. The client provides us with their 3-D design in a common format such as STL or ZTL.
2. We check the files and see if they need to be resculpted prior to mass production. Oftentimes we can recommend changes to help clients save money later in the process.
3. If resculpting is needed, we provide advice on how to do it.
4. We print a high-resolution model with a 3-D printer.
5. We then make a tooling master with high-detail resin.
6. From there, we will make polyurethane resin miniatures for preproduction copies.
7. The client is given a chance to review the preproduction copies and see if they like them.
8. We create the mold for mass production of plastics.
9. We then inject plastic into the mold.
10. When parts are completed, we do any necessary gluing and assembly.
11. Then we pack boxes and the game is complete!

Q3. What’s the difference between PVC, HIPS Sprue, and Resin when it comes to manufacturing minis?

Yes, this one can be tricky and bemusing.

In a nutshell, PVC and HIPS minis will need a metal mold, which is substantially more expensive than the silicone mold for resin.

PVC and HIPS minis often come preassembled while resin models usually come unassembled. Resin can capture a higher level of detail but may break easily.

Then, of course, there’s Unicool Plastic, where we balance quality, flexibility, and fragility so we can have the best qualities of PVC, HIPS, and resin minis.

Q4. What’s the most cost-effective way to manufacture a game that has dozens and dozens of plastic miniatures?

The easiest way is to find a professional plastics manufacturer like Unicool and ask for help early in the process. We can help you perfect your 3-D models and find cost-efficient materials. Any expert advice early in the process can really help and save a lot.

Q5. What should first-time publishers know about plastic manufacturing for games that isn’t common knowledge?

We keep mentioning it, but Unicool Plastic is definitely our most unusual component. It’s tough to create your own raw materials, but we’ve done so in order to give publishers more options for high-quality, cost-efficient miniatures.

Unicool Plastic raises the bar for the quality of materials and the level of detail, delivering top-quality models that fit every painter – even the most demanding for breathtaking details! We push the limits of possibility and make sure all your intricate features are wonderfully defined and elevated to create an incredible painting experience for you and your customers.

Q6. Does Unicool manufacture for crowdfunding campaigns?

Yes, we surely do.

We’ve finished a whole host of crowdfunding projects and we’re happy to provide added value and serve as a guiding hand to help you go from zero to hero along the ride.