casting for fun and (no)profit!

[nic-e]

a while ago i started this samurai sculpt but it got sidelined by my dissertation.

Now i've finished it and have got the mould made up ready for casting!
I've done a couple of tests with putty and it looks like it cast up pretty good, Tho i have a feeling i may need to make a second mould to work out some of the smaller kinks like the scabbard and the hat.

I'm going to give it a test run tomorrow morning .

[vodkafan]

Watching this with interest....what did you use to put around the bottom half of the master before you put the rubber mix in on top?
It looks softer than plasticene. I need something like that for my own mouldmaking, I have some weapons and wheels I want to cast up, but plasticene was too hard to get around little shapes properly .

[nic-e]

Watching this with interest....what did you use to put around the bottom half of the master before you put the rubber mix in on top?
It looks softer than plasticene. I need something like that for my own mouldmaking, I have some weapons and wheels I want to cast up, but plasticene was too hard to get around little shapes properly .

It is just standard kids plasticine, Given a blast with a hairdryer to soften it up.

If you're really struggling with plasticine then look for something like monsterclay that be heated up and melted to a liquid, You can use it to make bases for moulds easily by getting it to a near slurry like state.

[Rich H]

In my experience you need a lot of vents!

also don't skimp on the mould release between the mould halves.  I've used pretragel: Wax mixed in some sort of solvent.

I'd recommend a polyurethane resin usually called liquid plastic.  It's a 2 part equal mix which means it's less fussy on small batches.  It also cures in about 10-15 mins which helps! 

Good luck!

[vodkafan]

Thanks for the advice. I may try again with the plasticine  using the hairdryer trick.

[nic-e]

TaDA!



Some minor bubbling that can be fixed by using a syringe or brushing resin into the air trap areas. As soon is a o got him out the mould and cleaned off the flash i dropped him and broke the sword, bloody typical!

[DintheDin]

Yes,
But reading your hand where your line of life meets your line of success, says that you will make one thousand molds better than this! 
Apart from joking, I wish you good luck with your project, eager to see your samurai ready painted!

[Rich H]

Nice! 

Add a wire to the sword before casting will make sure it stays attached!

[Belgian]

Would remove the sword from the sculpt and attempt to make a single mould. Then when casted glue on a new sword, think that would make the casting easier with no flash where the two mould halves meet. Very nice sculpt by the way.

[nic-e]

Would remove the sword from the sculpt and attempt to make a single mould. Then when casted glue on a new sword, think that would make the casting easier with no flash where the two mould halves meet. Very nice sculpt by the way.

Cheers.
The sword doesnt seem to be an issue ,its filling consistently and it acts as a second vent /pouringhole.my maid issue is with bubbles catching on the minor undercuts.in a larger mould id simply turn it to dislodge them but with this small an amount of resin that doesnt do much. As it stands the master is currently without sword arm anyway as it was pulled lose by the silicone so if i consistently get bubble filled casts i will try with a seperate sword.

Nice! 

Add a wire to the sword before casting will make sure it stays attached!

Good plan.the sword only snapped after being dropped onto concrete but I'll give it a try.

[Rich H]

You can always wet the mould first with a little resin, open it up and dab dots of resin into the difficult corners then close up and pour.

[nic-e]

You can always wet the mould first with a little resin, open it up and dab dots of resin into the difficult corners then close up and pour.

That was my plan !