How long does it take to make a custom figure? Lead times step by step

“We need them for next month’s trade show.” It is the sentence no studio likes to hear, because a figure produced in series is not made in a few weeks. In this guide, we detail each step, what makes it longer, and how to build a realistic schedule to hit your launch date.

Why does it take several months to make a figure?

Because the steps are sequential: you cannot make a mould before approving the prototype, or start production before approving the pre-production sample. And several steps involve back-and-forth: each correction restarts a cycle of making and shipping a sample.

On top of that come shipping, often long, and safety testing, which has its own lead time.

How long does each step take?

Step	What happens	Typical duration	What makes it longer
Brief and design	Directions, sketches, turnaround	2 to 4 weeks	Character created from scratch, many rounds
3D modelling	Production volume	2 weeks	Complex character, many parts
Prototype	3D print, corrections	3 days of printing, plus corrections	Several versions to test
Moulds	Tooling	1 month	Steel injection, large size
Pre-production	First “factory” sample	2 weeks	Paint or mould corrections
Production	Moulding, painting, assembly	1 month	Large quantity, many colours
Inspection and packing	Checks, boxing	2 weeks	Blind box (distributing the models)
Safety testing	Laboratory	Included in quality control	Several materials and colours
Shipping	Sea or air, customs	6 to 8 weeks by sea, 10 to 15 days by air	Sea freight, peak season

Usual total, including approval rounds and sea freight: 6 to 8 months for an existing character, 7 to 9 months if the character has to be created or for a blind box. Some steps can overlap: packaging is designed while the moulds are being made, and testing can start on the pre-production sample.

What saves time?

• Starting from a production-ready 3D file: you skip the design step and part of the modelling.
• A precise brief from the start: fewer rounds on the sketches.
• Quick approvals: every day waiting for an answer is a day of delay on delivery.
• A reduced colour palette: less paint set-up.
• Air freight for part of the production, if your budget allows: for example, a few cartons by air for an event, the rest by sea.

What wastes time?

• Changing the design after the prototype, or worse, after the moulds.
• Approving without a pre-production sample, then discovering a defect on arrival.
• Forgetting the packaging, which has its own printing lead times.
• Ignoring the factory calendar: around Chinese New Year, many factories close for several weeks.
• Forgetting safety testing, mandatory if the figure is a toy.

How do you build a realistic schedule?

Start from your launch date and work backwards:

1. Launch date (trade show, store release, event).
2. Minus a safety margin for receiving and setting up.
3. Minus the chosen shipping time.
4. Minus production, inspection and packing.
5. Minus the pre-production sample and the moulds.
6. Minus the prototype, the 3D and the design.

If the result falls in the past, you need to adjust: start from an existing design, simplify, choose air freight or move the date. Better to know at the start of the project than at the end.

What does a typical schedule look like?

Here, as an illustration, is the order of milestones for a figure project that starts from an existing character. Actual durations are set with us according to your project.

1. Starting week: brief, sending existing files or drawings.
2. 3D model approval: about 2 weeks after the brief.
3. Prototype approval: a few days later (3 days of printing), plus time for corrections.
4. Pre-production sample approval: about 6 weeks after the moulds are launched (1 month of moulds, 2 weeks for the sample).
5. End of production: about 1 month after the pre-production sample is approved, then 2 weeks of quality control and boxing.
6. Cartons arrive: 6 to 8 weeks later by sea, 10 to 15 days by air.

At each milestone, a specific deliverable is approved in writing: that is what keeps the schedule on track and avoids bad surprises at the end.

What happens during production?

While the factory moulds, paints and assembles, work continues on your side: preparing the launch, photos and visuals (often from the pre-production sample), putting product pages online, organising receipt and storage. It is time to make the most of, not dead time.

What about a blind box or a collector’s edition?

A blind box multiplies some steps by the number of characters (design, 3D, prototypes, moulds) and adds the distribution of models to the packing: the lead time is longer than for a single figure. See our guide on how to make a blind box.

A collector’s edition often needs more care on packaging and finishes, and sometimes numbering: allow time to approve each element.

Our advice

Contact your studio as early as possible, even if your project is not fully defined: a first conversation makes it possible to set a realistic schedule and spot the steps that can be sped up. To put these lead times in the context of the whole process, read our guide on how to make custom figures, and discover our custom figure manufacturing service as well as all our custom figure design and production services for brands.