"Casters in the EU?" Topic

Anyone know of a good casting service in the EU, or a casting service that do both casting and distribution?

I'm working on a small fantasy miniatures range. It's my first minis as I'm a new sculptor, but I'm having a blast and I think I'm starting to reach the level where at least some of them are good enough for selling, and I'm getting good feedback from people in the niche. However, this far I have found no-one interested in buying the range.

While working on improving my sculpting and expanding the range, I'm studying up on a plan B, which would be to try to finance the mold production through kickstarter (or similar).

This whole Brexit thing has thrown a spanner in the works though, as I'm in Sweden. All the promising casting services I can find are in the UK or US. Now, if I could find someone doing both the casting and the distribution, it would be fine. But casting the minis in the UK, then paying customs plus international shipping to Sweden, and then paying for international shipping AGAIN for most customers (plus customs for UK/US customers) sounds like a horrible mess.

I'd love to hear if any of you know a solution for this situation, either as mold makers or sculptors, as I doubt I'm the only one in this bind right now.

Griffin Moulds near Birmingham is the best caster in the world. Crisp and clean and flash free castings every time. Reasonable prices for mould making and casting.

Oops, I missed reading that you are looking for an EU caster. Try contacting Black Hussar Miniatures in Germany and ask them who does their casting.

Would there be any customs charges?
"If the total value of the ordered
goods is above €150.00 EUR and they
were not manufactured in the UK,
you will have to pay customs
duties when they enter the EU."
From an EU factsheet.

VAT may be another matter. The paperwork would likely be a pain as well.

The customs issue is an interesting one. I'm not sure how much I SHOULD pay in customs charges, but I know our overzealous customs tends to slap on any charges they can, including on stuff that they really should not (like birthday presents my wife got from outside EU etc).

So it's a potential headache no matter if it should or should not be.

This campaign in Kickstarter is run by a scultper and caster:
link

Last time we did business some three years ago he was a one man company in Germany. Contact and quality was fine. Seems he is still in the business and selling his own lines now (back then he just sculpted). No idea wether he casts and distributes for others, though.

Hagen Miniatures may also be an option.

The customs issue is an interesting one. I'm not sure how much I SHOULD pay in customs charges, but I know our overzealous customs tends to slap on any charges they can, including on stuff that they really should not (like birthday presents my wife got from outside EU etc).

That's true – I've had CD boxsets from USA that were clearly below the Customs limit and have had to pay charges because someone stuck a label on it. Someone will suggest it so yes, I expect I could have appealed – but life's too short to spend months chasing a few pounds.

Thanks for the tips and leads, I've contacted some of them and wait for a reply. :)

Gift relief only applies for item(s) totalling less than 45 euros, so it depends on the value.

Skytrex do a great casting, packing and/or distribution service: skytrex.com – But they're based in the UK too.

Just suggestions here, could you have 2 distribution hubs – 1 in the UK, 1 in an EU country (or ideally from your home if you have the space)? That way you can cast from a country of your choice and export from the local hub without paying these ridiculous charges thrice over!

Ctrlaltfox: Yes, that's a much better way to do it. I have a potential interested reseller in the UK in case I can get them cast. You are completely right in that it would be much easier to send a big box of minis to the UK and sell from there, than to sell to individual customers in the UK from Sweden.

That would make it a lot more practical for me as well, as I live in a small apartment and my wife would not approve of me using the entire place for storing minis. :P

@setsuko – miniatures are a lifestyle choice rather than a hobby! Had to move to a bigger place to accommodate the addiction :P

Good luck with your endeavours – Hope you get this sorted. I know a guy if you need any help ;)

Thanks! Actually I received a very promising reply from a EU mold maker that can also do the casting for me. If everything falls into place, I might be able to get a bunch of duck adventurers made in a few months. :)

I have been entertaining thoughts of casting a miniature line if you are still interested in selling them

Duck adventurers?

Keep us online :D

Toechopper: I'm currently looking at making a kickstarter to get the molds cast. After that I'd be interested in letting someone else do the reselling, as I think it would be more efficient to do it through one or more dedicated miniatures sellers.

Puster:
Yes, duck adventurers. :) I really wish there were more of them on the market, so I decided to make some of my own. I made a simple website where I posted the progress:

farflungfigures.wordpress.com

Those should go pretty good on Kickstarter, its a unique line.

I have no production experience with figures so I was looking for a line that I could learn on so those are way to fun for me to start with anyways.

Great :-)
Count me I for that Renaissance duck:

link

 received a very promising reply from a EU mold maker that can also do the casting for me.

Setsukox if this guy does that for a living – I mean he's not just doing a favour for you, but would be happy to receive more inquires – would you care to share the name? Might be useful! Thanks and best,

Valerio

Alkedo:
Sure, it can't hurt as they advertise it on their website. It's Hagen Miniatures. They seem to also sell the actual miniatures for several sculptors.

link

Many thanks!