Thanks for this! It should come in very handy. Cant wait for the next part. Now i just need to find the mould making silicone. Where did you buy your supplies ishkur? Ebay doesnt seem to be very good although i did find this shop on ebay that people might find useful:
Mould Making and Casting Supplies
Would you recommend anything that they sell?
edit: I found the silocne that you are using here for anyone that is interested:
http://www.zhermack.com/Industrial/Mould...2_Mould.kl
Can you buy this at their site ishkur?
That makes sense and is so simple. Now, I gotta make something worth replicating
Thank you greatly, Ishkur. This is invaluable information. By which I mean uber, not suckish.
Bravo!! Very well done. I await part 2!
I will most likely being sculpting my own torsos for my BBs, and then casting those. My experiment was my GH5 entry in which I sculpted the entire torso, except the nose. It came out alright, so I figure I can work on a few great torso sculpts then cast them.
I've just realise something, when actually casting them, do you fill both halves of the mould with the liquid and let them set, then trim and glue the two halves together or do you fill both moulds and somehow press them together whilst liquid/part-solid?
I thought the two halves might be easier and produce less air bubbles. Is it possible to drill a hole or two into the top of the mould of each model and pour it into that, so you fill the model from feet to head? (the second hole would be for air...) Cheers and thanks again!
So, how do you actually fill both sides of the mould at the same time wholst it is closed? In the method I mentioned where there are holes drilled down to the model to fill from the top?
P.S. Thanks.
Cheers! I shall read it after posting this and then edit my reply. Thanks for the help asheira and thanks for the quick tutorial reply, Ishkur.
EDIT: Excellent. So, had you tried the two hole closed method that I suggested, Ishkur? I thought it may help to reduce air bubbles, except possibly at the top because of the extra hole. So, air bubbles are difficult to avoid on little points? How runny is the resin when you are putting the two moulds together?
Sorry for all of the questions, I've just never been shown this and so never thought to ask them before.
torn: that method is what I was suggesting (with the air escape tunnels). Let me know how it goes, please.
Is it possible to let the resin thicken a little more before placing them together? That could reduce flash and possibly air bubbles (air getting in during the rapid movement?)...
A very interesting method, for sure! I had only read about the air venting method. Hehe.
I am eager to try this now. Hehe.
I thought that may be the case. Is it possible to leave it a little longer so that it's even less runny, or would they not bind together as well?
GRNDL, that's the method I was talking of.
It's the sheer amount of posting he's trying to keep up with as well
I asked if it's easier that way and got a reply and if I could be bothered to scroll up, I'm sure I;d find it, but it should be in the thread somewhere
I use the same resin as Ishkur, though I suck mine up in hobby syringes, squirt them into a cheap plastic beaker then mix with a small wooden spatula thing. I then use a third syringe to put it in the mould.
I'm curious Ishkur how you make sure you have enough resin in both halves if you're not adding in any after they are put together? Do you heap it up a little once its slightly thicker then press together?
My entry for the
Golden Hat is a resin cast model. Its certainly the most complicated model I've cast thus far.
Something I would recommend to people is that any part of the model deeper than say 12mm should have a bit of wire sticking out past the model to accumulate trapped air. On my immortal the upper arm is quite far away from the mould line, so I tend to get large air bubbles in there. I think if I'd added the small piece of wire I could have avoided this.
I use the "3 pour way" for any larger models, but for small components I'd use 2 pour.
@Sojourn
If I were you I'd look for a transparent resin. You can buy this in places (no links to hand). I would recommend resin casting wings, as it will save you loads of time.
@torn
I've done a bit of metal casting (created a unit), but I moved house fairly recently and I can't find the bits I need
. Any specific questions?
@GRNDL
Problem with drilling mould rubber is that it just reshapes over the cut again, so you have to drill wider than you really need to, which might mess it up more. I may have to try this though, as it's no fun having to resculpt the same arm every time.
It would have been better to incorporate wire flash points whilst I was making it IMO.
I'm currently working on an Ironback boar I plan to cast in metal. The one I'm doing will include casting of GW black orc legs, but I can always cut these off if I later decide to sell.
I'd buy a single ring hob. I got a cheap dual ring one for £20 I think. You will probably be spilling molten metal from time to time, so I wouldn't do it in the kitchen
Get a big piece of hardboard to protect any surfaces.
All the other specific materials you need you can get
here. Note that you can also get the resin casting stuff there (including the G26 resin Ishkur has used). I got myself some Number 2 Low Melt Alloy a while ago, so I'll let you know how good it is.
You'll also need some talcum powder, and hobby saw (for cutting the metal ingots, unless you are melting old figures)
The smells from it is minimal, more from the stuff it accidently burns... I do it in the garage, so keep the door open anyway.
A melting pot would be ideal for getting the correct temperature, but at £390 aprx is a bit pricey. Getting it right is more a case of practice doing it in a ladle.
A fixed clamp would also be very helpful. I use a workbench with adjustable handles.
I have the link to the website that you use to acquire your resin, Ishkur, but I don't know which links within it to click, nor which resin you use, etc. Any help would be hot!
Thanks for the advice on the pricing Ishkur! I might have to try Grim's instead. I'll see what I can find
Of course, I need to sculpt something first.
Indeed Grim, I used plasticine and had no trouble. What's the issue you are having with it?
I'm going to cast a parrot and a raven (for those that wish to purchase them they may. The beaks can easily be replaced though.), just need to get the casting stuff...
As said before, trying to find the best (by which I mean easiest to obtain) and cheapest casting stuff there is. Alas, most websites assume you know the jargon. That was an attempt to have some on-topic talk in this post
Kera: The parrot was designed, specifically, in mind for yourself. I have finished the parrot, but not the other bird. I shall post pictures of the pair at some point when they are both fully made.
I can see the pictures. Odd.