"Well, this is gonna hurt.........." Topic

………. Just had a call from our metal supplier and they have gotten word that the metal mixture we use is going up in base price $5.00 USD a pound!

Added to this, our government, has just informed all businesses, that due to the unemployment caused by their shupdowns, the unemployment fund is broke. So, starting next quarter our unemployment insurance "contribution" will be increasing as well.

So, toys are going to get more expensive.

Dave
Stone Mountain Miniatures, Inc.
WargamingMiniatures.com

And, before anyone suggests it, we are looking at different metal mixtures to see if we can find one at a more reasonable price.

But, what most gamers don't realize is that the metal mixture affects all parts of the process. You have to adjust the machine pressure, spin time, metling furnace temperature, and even how the mold gates are cut. Plus, since the mold gates, reject castings, and trimings all go back in the pot, you will have a period of time where you actually have a "bastardized" metal mixture which can affect all of the above as well.

Given the excellent quality of Stone Mountain minis, an increase in price is well worth it

Thanks for letting us know

Dave,

You could solve some of your problems by moving out of Colorado. Come on down to Texas. We will treat you right.

Mark

Or Idaho, which has been the happy recipient of a number of Californian business fleeing that state's dysfunction.

Sigh…,honestly, just…sigh…

Don't know what is going on elsewhere but have you seen the price increases in groceries, dry goods, manufactured goods, toys, clothing, everything? Foundry's prices have gone up and so have Perry's. Those are the places I by figs from. Sorry but we are going to have to pay more. I don't like it but what can any of us do? I am just glad boating is not my hobby and I need a boat!

Well, the pandemic's effect on the global supply chain is certainly a reason. As is the overreaction of some governments in trying to deal with it. Some have used solid data and some have just used the crisis to wield their power as widely as possible.

Hey, we need some good manufacturing jobs here in beautiful Florida, I'll even throw in a Free cup of coffee.

When people talk about the unemployment benefits that are being paid out I have pointed out that it is employers like me who will end up paying for them. We just received notice of our new rates from the state. They are up, but not as much as I had feared. My state has traditionally been stingy when it comes to unemployment benefits. That is great for us employers who fund the program but not so good for the laid off employees.

On the hobby side I have noticed some of my usual suppliers have been having difficulty keeping items in stock. I don't know whether that is because manufacturers are not producing at the same levels or whether the demand increased. Shipping times have also gone way up. If metal is going up in cost then I imagine plastic, cardboard and printing costs are also going to be moving up as well.

Thank you editors!

I can certainly sympathize with you, Dave. Ney went up to about $20 USD a pound for the stuff we used to use and Belmont wanted even more.

Try AIM Metal products at:

aimalloys.com

Cheers, Loren – The Viking Forge

The raw materials for plastic are by-products of oil and gas extraction and refining. As we extract and refine less oil and gas, we will likely see an increase in plastic costs.

I hope that plastics can be recycled for use in hobbies, although I expect a push to discontinue reliance on plastics is just around the bend.

My experience as an industrial Recycling Manager (I wore many hats) was the only product commercially acceptable was PURE.
How we can recycle plastics is extremely problematic. The resin used is all over the place. One manufacturer used ABS plastic. GW used a rather soft styrene plastic, and then the formula changed. Some current polystyrene are rather brittle, some are less.
I guarantee that mixing them would be a monstrous headache.

A friend gave me about 50 lbs of old Hinchliffe figures from the 80s to "do something with". A well known American figure manufacturer told me that he briefly considered making me an offer to buy as bulk metal, but he decided that he would only have headaches from an alloy he had no documentation about.

Forget recycling. It's a no-go.

I think we'll see the cost of everything go up.

Supply chain issues and shortages in raw materials will continue for awhile.

John OFM:

Interesting comments. I have various plastic figures as well as metal, and find even among the hard plastic lines there is variability between strength and brittleness.

Is it too much to ask who uses what? For example, Perry figures seem the most robust.

Agree with your comments. Worked in the environmental field for decades. Few appreciated how difficult recycling is, especially considering the margins.

So Dave, if we order quickly can we beat the price increase?

We recycled PURE polyurethane sheets after we die cut and removed our parts. We baled the scrap and sold it to a company that coincidentally needed just that material to shred into pillows.
Ditto PURE polypropylene fabric, with no backing.
Ditto cardboard.
Notice I had to bale the material.
It's only economic in bulk quantity and baled.

Nobody wants scrap sprue, whether plastic or metal. Plastic, if from different casters, most likely use different grades of PS. Even GW uses different grades when casting big bulky things and "men".
Metal alloys are all over the place. Back in ye olde days, sure the home casters used tire weights. And that's where lead rot comes in.