First off what is a vinyl model ? I'm not sure I like those, because I collect pre-painted statues and scale action figures.

This is something often heard by people who enjoy working with vinyl model kits. This can be very confusing for the kit builder. Here is what any statue/figure collector will want to know about buying vinyl models.

First. You have to mention the incredibe quality "magic plastic" these models are made from. A professionally built vinyl model will stand up to a ton of abuse. In most cases their as durable as tupperware. A properly assembled character model should be filled. This is because these models are rotocast hollow vinyl and are intended to be easy to customize and reshape for advanced modelers.

Collecting vinyl character models that are already assembled and painted is a great opportunity for statue and figure collectors to obtain very rare and incredibly commanding sculptures of their favorite hero or villian ready to display and enjoy for many years to come. In a lot of cases these models are sculpted by people who are still considered the very best sculptors to ever work in the hobby. But wait...because you really don't want to buy any built model without getting information about it first.

There are 4 key ingredients in buying a great vinyl build-up thats right for you. First and most important is the assembly on the model. I have bought "build-ups" on eBay looking to refurbish them because these kits were considered rare and on the pricey side. I would almost always receive these models unassembled and mixed around inside the box due to improper assembly. Make sure to ask if the model can stand on its own, if its been filled or weighted and what glue was used to assemble the model. I would only recommend buying a model that has been assembled with Super Glue (Cyanoacrylate), Vinyl Cement or Epoxy Resin. Also, does the model can with a custom base or stand. Its very easy to make a peg stand for a vinyl model but its always nice to have it already done if you feel the model needs it.

Second is the paint application. Depending on the price of the model this can vary greatly. Mainly you will want the paint to be acrylic for a clean and realistic finish. Finishing a vinyl model with enamel based paint can leave you with a very sticky and shiny statue, two things you certainly never want. Ask yourself if the quality of the painting compares to items items in your existing collection. Any modeler should know how to build a kit. So paint application is the greatest factor in selecting a professional build up. The accuracy of the character can vary a lot. Compare the model to how your character is expected to look. Is is correct?

Third is often a big taboo for some people. Where's the box man!? Vinyl kits come with boxes, instruction manuals and often times product catalogs. Some people want them or else, no sale. As usual if you ask the seller he may have these for you if they are not listed in the description. The condition of the box can make a huge difference for MIB kit collectors as the kits are rotocast, the quality from model to model is essentially identical on every kit so the variance is mostly within the packaging when dealing with un-built kits.

Last is easy. The price. If you believe the model to be a quality item and accurate to the character paying anywhere from $50.00 up to $200.00 is not unreasonable, depending on the scale, rarity, original price of the model and the quality of the build-up. If you do not believe the model to be a professional quality build-up but still plan to try to purchase it I would never suggest spending more than $60.00 on it. When in the model collecting hobby it can be important to stick very closely to a certain price range for your income. A main rule in rare model collecting has always been if you can't afford it you should not buy it.

So what kind of character kits are out there?
The majority of the time a vinyl model kit will be in the "1/6 scale" size. This means one sixth the size of the actual character. Almost always a 1/6 scale model will be 11 - 14 inches tall. These models are going to be of your favorite comic book character, TV personalities and possibly most important (for me anyway) your movie mugs and monsters.

Vinyl kit manufacturers that are most well known for producing 1/6 scale model kits include Horizon, Tsukuda, Geometric, Billiken, Argonauts, Revell, AMT, Dark Horse, Inteleg, Max Factory, Kaiyodo and Kotobukiya make up the majority of this market. The prices of these models varied widely with each manufacturer. Horizon, Tsukuda and Geometric were most sucessful in the 1/6 scale arena obviously because of their kit prices. You would expect to pay $45.00 to as much as $85.00 for some Geometric kits at the Hobby shop. Manufacturers like Billiken, Argonauts and Dark Horse were focused on the $100.00 and up price range. The models produced by Billiken would be considered the most sought after of all vinyl model lines.

Sadly, the majority of these companies existed through the 80's and 90's but could make it no further before shutting down production on their vast model kit lines. But much like old movies getting released on DVD, many people take advantage of the opportunity not only to revisit their favorite models once again on eBay, but to even be able to get these rare models much easier and usually for equal or most times less than the retail price of the kit ( and mind you these models are almost always between 15 - 30 years old).

So, please be sure to add me as a favorite seller and keep on the look out for my sporadic offerings of pro-painted models from vinyl kits producers such as Screamin' , Halcyon, Tsukuda, Horizon and hopefully many more to come.