After my third paragraph reply I realized I should just reblog. So, what I previously said:
It varies a lot depending on the quality of cast you want. For the best stuff you need pressurized vessels and space to handle very toxic chemicals. Googling “BJD casting” provides more details than anyone here is likely to know. This site looks interesting: https://atriphene.wixsite.com/bjdwtf/make-your-own-bjd
I know a little about manufacturing plastics but it’s not my specialty in materials engineering. I don’t know enough to estimate the cost of production off the top of my head :( You might also consider 3D printing (specifically SLA, which is UV resin with a better resolution than ‘traditional’ 3d printers)
Mirrorada offers 3d printing services for sculptors and Harucasting offers traditional casting services for sculptors, both great options to look into and probably much, much cheaper than getting the setup yourself
To continue, mold life is a bit more complicated: certain things degrade silicone faster than others. Switching between types of resin or applying heat can do this, as can using epoxy resin a lot. For BJDs we use polyurethane. Basically to simplify the way that works, there are 2 components that are liquid, when you mix them there’s a chemical reaction and they solidify. That reaction actually generates heat, which can contribute to degrading and warping the mold. In a high-volume process maybe you’d do this reaction in a cold environment, but that’s not very practical for casting dolls. All this to say, what I’ve heard is for PU resin you can use the mold 15-20 times, and the first cast will be junk. I haven’t witnessed this myself, just repeating what I’ve heard, but look at casting services and the cutoff numbers where their rates increase or decrease--that probably has some relation to when molds degrade and the minimum/maximum casting they can handle at one time.
Also keep in mind that casting PU resin involves some very dangerous chemical and you need appropriate PPE and a safe, well-ventilated place to work; in some locales, it might not be legal to work with certain quantities of these chemicals without a ‘booth’ and a location with industrial zoning. In other places it’s perfectly legal. And if you’re casting just one or two parts, it’s usually such a small amount it doesn’t matter legally, which is why you can get 2-part resin in craft stores (just at a much higher price, and not enough to cast a whole doll unless you buy all their stock).
Regardless, always google the product name + “SDS” (safety data sheet) to see what the health warnings are (absolutely essential!!!) and check what your local laws are (less important than safety but still). Here’s the SDS for Model Pro 2-part resin. Part A is an isocyanate and has similar hazards as methyl isocyanate, the chemical involved in the Bhopal Disaster. It’s best to handle these chemicals as recommended by the SDS, and with a healthy respect for what they can do.
Most small artists opt to use a casting service for this reason: all of this is a hassle, and the cost of setup to get high-quality casts includes a lot of equipment that’s a one-time cost, but isn’t cheap.
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