Dream Job

My argument is about the purchasing of FX Mask Making products, and whether it is cheaper to buy the items in kits or their individual prices. First, let me tell you what FX masks are, why I want to make them, and why it is important enough for me to argue about the pricing. FX masks (also known as, special effects masks) are what you see in the movies or the masks you see on Halloween, or at a football game. Being drawn to the macabre and weird, the crazy and the cute things, masks have always piqued my interest. There are shows on TV that introduced me to the making of masks, I have wanted to know how to make them ever since. I already do FX make-up looks on myself and a few friends, I have a Facebook Group page to show off my FX make-up looks. I intend to start making masks and selling them, so naturally, I need to find the cheapest startup cost for trial-and-error purposes, as well as personal finance purposes.

When looking at products, and to narrow the field of products, I am choosing silicone FDA-approved based products, PlatSil Gel-10 specifically, and its related products. Using this product avoids the majority of allergies out there for potential clients and it also narrows the number of distributors, making finding distributors and pricing a bit more of a challenge. I found a few distributors that sell PlatSil Gel-10, but they are limited in supporting products. There are only two companies, that I found, that sell startup kits. The question remains, are FX kits cheaper than buying the FX products individually?

You will read further on about these products, to prevent confusion I will explain what these products are. The PlatSil Gel-10 is the silicone base for the mask, the color palette is to color your mask after you have created the look you are going for. The TinThix thickens the silicone for a denser area on the mask. The Flocking powder is used to shade the mask during the mixing phase and the deadener is to soften or “deaden” the silicone, representing age or decay. Alginate is to make a highly detailed mold. Bandages are plaster bandages to outline your face and collect all the details to create a mold. Buff labstone assists in creating a denture or tooth mold. Alcote separator is a liquid tin foil to keep stone and acrylic separate when casting dentures or teeth.

The FX Mask Making kit I am looking into is PlatSil Gel-10. As a kit, you still need to purchase a head casting kit, and several other items individually, which leads me to wonder if purchasing the kits would be worth it. From what I have researched, Brick in the Yard, is the cheapest distributor that sells startup kits. However, I still used four other distributors to hunt for the cheapest route of purchase. From my research, purchasing the startup kits is still the cheaper route to go. As the 2lb kit contains,

“… 1lb Kit of PlatSil Gel-10/Gel-00 (8oz Part A & 8oz Part B), 8 Color Palette (Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, White, Black, Flesh, and Brown), 1oz of TinThix, 4oz 71/73R Retarder, 3 - 4oz Flocking Powders (choose between Flesh (Caucasian) Red, Tan & Brown), 4oz of Smith's Theatrical Prosthetic Deadener, 6 - 1oz mixing cups, mixing sticks.” for just $115.

If buying individually from four different websites mixing and matching the cheapest you can get this kit is $125.53 before the extra cost of shipping between the four different websites.

All of these items are required to start making FX Masks, plus a head casting kit and eleven more items you would need to purchase individually. The head casting kit includes, “…5lbs of Monster Gel Traditional Set Alginate, a box (12) of 4" bandages, 8oz of Alginate Release, and 2 oz of Petroleum Jelly,” for just $87. However, individually on the same website, it is cheaper at $85.95. Now the kits have a couple of items in smaller sizes that are unavailable individually or have items that are not available for purchase outside of the kits. For example, the Deadener 4oz’s minimum weight for individual purchase is 1lb. Same for the PlatSil Gel-10 the kit is 8oz of Part A and B, but the individual weight starts at 2lbs. which would be 16oz of Part A and B, automatically raising the individual price.

Purchasing individually comes at a higher cost. As mentioned before, the weights are larger on a couple of individual items, which makes you think when buying everything individually and you should just purchase everything larger to make up the difference between the products. Naturally, this makes everything cost more. However, is that a terrible thing? Buying more can produce more masks and in turn, make you more money. Which introduces the question of product over time? How many masks can you make with just a kit? In my research, you can make 1 full head pull-over mask with 2lbs of PlatSil Gel-10. Meaning, if you purchase the smaller startup kit you are only able to make 1 full mask with it. If you buy the 8lb kit you will get 4 masks out of it. Logically the 2lb kit would not be worth it. As with starting up any hobby, it takes multiple tries before you perfect it.

When buying individually you get to choose what items you are likely to use and what items seem a waste, as for example the 6-1oz mixing cups. They seem awfully small to make an entire face mask, though they would be excellent for color mixing. Is that just wasted space in the kit, or is it genius? A small mixing cup is still better than no mixing cup, even though I am pro kits, it does seem a waste of valuable space being so small. I think the kit should have a variety of mixing cup sizes, as you will have to buy those anyway.

We know individually would be more beneficial for longevity. Although, kits being a lower cost would be the smarter route for initial start-up. Even though an argument could be made that the kits are not enough for trial and error. My counterargument would simply be, 8lb starter kits would be a lower-cost option for trial and error. Who knows, you might be either be terrible at it or hate the hobby. This way you are only out hundreds of dollars instead of thousands of dollars. After you have learned the hobby, and until you have a decent client base, I would still argue that the 8lb kit is the way to go. Once you have the client base you can buy the individual products you need and weed out those products that you do not use or use less often.

There is a lot of different kits available on The Brick in the Yard’s website, there are only three that pertain to FX mask making using PlatSil Gel-10 though. They are the head casting kit, silicone mixing kit, and the PlatSil Gel-10 kit. I will be using the FX Warehouse’s website for the Flocking kit. Each of these kits contains things you need, there are still other items you would have to purchase individually as well. I have delved into what is in the PlatSil Gel-10 kit, and the head casting kits, as well as the kit prices.

The Flocking kits on FX Warehouse’s website include, “…10 pack comes with black, white, tan, flesh, yellow, green, red, blue, violet & brown. The Deluxe 13 also includes rose-pink, orange & teal blue,” costing $23.80 for the 10 pack or $28.30 for the 13 pack. This kit does not tell you the weight you are getting per color, however, I suspect it is the lowest size they sell individually at 2 oz.

Now that you have the prices for all of the kits and my argument in support of the kits, you need the individual prices for comparison. How can I convince you the kit option is the best without it? I will just be quoting the cheapest prices I have found, and I will be adding all the “kit” items together rather than do each individual price per item. If purchasing mixing sticks individually in place of the silicone mixing kit, it would cost you $0.25 if you could purchase them in the same quantity. However, with the mixing sticks, you can not buy just 10, which makes the cost turn to $22.95. For argument's sake, I am using the 2oz flocking powder price for individuals and I am using the 10-pack kit since The Brick in The Yard only has 10 colors of flocking powder. The flocking powder kit, when purchased individually would cost $32.50. You can only purchase 4oz individual flocking powder on The Brick in the Wall’s website as well.

Clearly, if you are looking for a fast and cheap startup you should definitely do your research. However, the cost of kits makes the most sense in both price and waste. You will still have to purchase many more individual items outside of the kits. Outside of the basic kits, there are kits for extreme FX looks that I would like to have as well, such as the Deluxe Fang kit on FX Warehouse’s website.

“This kit includes enough alginate to make multiple impressions, which you might need to get a good impression plus enough plaster to make 3 to 5 plaster copies of your teeth. 3 different White tooth shades. Please choose one for your kit. 1-lb dental alginate, 1-lb buff labstone, 1 oz. dental acrylic powder, 1 oz. dental acrylic monomer (liquid), 2 upper medium dental tray, 3 pipettes, 1 small block clay, 1/2 oz alcote separator, mixing cups, 1 base former.” for $49.95.

Which is actually cheaper individually at $38.09. While some items are out of stock, making the kit the better option as you get all the products needed, it still seems that on the FX Warehouse website it is cheaper to buy individually.

This kit and many more items would help me to complete the looks of the finished masks. I could add wigs, ears, teeth, etc. with many of these extras. The pricing is always individually so they will be glossed over in this paper. For the most part, though, the kits are the cheaper route. They are going to get you started in the right direction, and even though there is overlapping, you can never have too many products in an industry that uses a lot of products.

Clearly, the opposing viewpoint is that you get more products when buying individually. It may cost more initially, but it will last you longer and give you more room for trial and error. However, my argument is for the cheapest route to start making FX masks. With some kits, it is cheaper to buy the products individually. However, for the majority, it is cheaper to purchase the kits. Not only is the price of the product cheaper, but also the price of shipping is cheaper due to weight/size differences.

I plan to purchase kits myself once I have approximately $800 to start. The goal is to make masks for Raiders fans and hopefully, one day make characters for the movies or Cirque Du Soleil. There are schools and other costs for certifications if you want to go that route as well. I am unsure if you need certifications. They would help to branch into the movie industry but, I think a good portfolio would stand a lot stronger than a certification. I hope I opened your eyes to a new field of work or at the very least made you think of how you purchase many different things in your life. You should always do your research. From your toilet paper, your food, your clothes, to your cars. Do the research and save yourself a great deal of financial pain.

In conclusion, FX mask making products can come in a kit or individual form. It is definitely cheaper to purchase FX mask making kits rather than individual products. Even though some kits cost a bit more than their individual counterparts, when buying individually you are forced to purchase larger/heavier products thus costing you more. There will always be variances with pricing, as well as sales, but even with those, it is cheaper to have a kit shipped to you rather than several individual items. Therefore, if you find yourself in the market for FX mask making products, I highly recommend purchasing every item you can via kits.