Adventures in Casting

[M-bot]

PART ONE: IN WHICH I DISCOVER NEW THINGS AND TAKE TENTATIVE STEPS

I’m always keen to try out new things, expand my creative horizons and improve my craft. Casting parts (especially for Transformers) has felt to me like step too far - too complicated, too time consuming and too costly to be of benefit. When a few alternative products to the typical silicone/resin casting options became apparent to me, I thought I’d give them a try. Here’s a pic heavy dip into my first experiences.

(I’m stretching this thread out into several posts due to length, and I’ll update with more posts as I do more pieces or complete things)

Firstly, I discovered (via Facebook and this vdeo at http://www.plasticmodelsworld.com/node/1956 - plasticmodelsworld.com is a GREAT site for tips for customisers, beginners or advanced, TFs or anything else) a product called BLUE STUFF, which is a quick and easy way of making casts. I went to http://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/ and purchased the smallest pack they had - 4 bars of 6g each - and it came to about $20 shipped (or thereabouts). I thought this was fair considering it is reusable, so hopefully a one off cost.

Some pics:
http://i.imgur.com/YGkK6jfm.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/m0NKTeGm.jpg

You work it by cutting it up and dropping it into hot water (it helped to have an electric kettle on hand) until it softens, you remove it and work it and press the piece you want to replicate into it. It starts to harden slowly over 5 minutes, but realistically you only have about 2 minutes before working the material becomes difficult. I ended up leaving it for 10 minutes before the Blue Stuff cools and hardens sufficiently to use.

http://i.imgur.com/a1Hn9Gfm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wdiIiBzm.jpg?1

Once it is cooled, you heat another piece of Blue Stuff and mould it over the top of the first piece with the object in situ. When the top lot has hardened, the 2 halves can be removed and gun removed. Once hardened, the Blue Stuff does not stick to anything, including the first half of the already hardened Blue Stuff, and leaves no residue or anything adverse on the object being cloned. It is flexible, and when bent it resumes its shape.

I let my kids play with my TR Rumble a while back and they lost his gun. I had TR Rewind, so I had an object worth replicating.

http://i.imgur.com/JUuhtwrm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/HOoPw8Am.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6cjybXZm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hbbQsj0m.jpg?1
I also bought some more Milliput epoxy putty (superfine, white).

Stay tuned for more soon. I basically screw things up, should be entertaining...

[FatalityPitt]

This is cool. I'd love to get my hands on some Blue Stuff (or something similar). I'm not a serious customiser myself (I just paint at the moment), but if I ever wanted to create a custom figure from parts of other figures; the Blue Stuff and putty would save me from sacrificing another toy just for its parts.

[M-bot]

I'll post parts 2 and maybe 3 tonight, there's a lot more to come.:)

[M-bot]

PART TWO: IN WHICH I MAKE MISTAKES SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO

The epoxy putty takes a good number of hours to set perfectly. I prised it open the following day and got this out:
http://i.imgur.com/EU0kf4km.jpg?1

Clearly, I had used too much putty in the mould, and it squeezed out of the sides. I was half expecting this, but not to this degree. I used way too much putty. Not only did it leave lots of flashing, but the 2 halves of the Blue Stuff mould wouldn’t press together well enough. Lessons learned.

Luckily, the putty is easily trimmed, cut and filed. The replication of tiny details is extraordinary with this stuff, provided the mould is made adequately.

http://i.imgur.com/oQmuZlHm.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/xyFMIE5m.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/bdVUwOpm.jpg?1

You’ll notice the underside of the gun looks a little unfinished, but nothing that couldn’t be cleaned up a bit more. Also, the handle is a fraction off-centre, not ideal.

I did a fitting on the figure the gun is intended for. The handle is a tight fit. Obviously, this is a problem once the gun is repainted (red), due to paint rub.

http://i.imgur.com/S7x2rB2m.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/y9ZM4t7m.jpg

So then, I tried to fit it in tank mode...

http://i.imgur.com/VMuPthLm.jpg

Bugger. One of the little prongs snapped clean off. Gluing it back on is not a good option, it would still be too weak. The epoxy putty has a big weakness here, in that it is reasonably strong but has no ‘give’ like the usual plastics the original gun is made of.

Decided to leave that one aside for a while and try something else. Project number 2 was a reproduction of one of the Targetmasters that came with Generations Scoop, to be used as a Targetmaster for TR Hotrod. Disassembled one of them and proceeded with the casting using Blue Stuff and epoxy putty using the same process as before, first with the arms, then the body.
http://i.imgur.com/I79jm21m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ZaT8P5lm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Tzncm7rm.jpg

And of course, I again used a bit too much epoxy. Heaps of flashing.
http://i.imgur.com/Yq3raHTm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PzVxdh9m.jpg

After clean up:
http://i.imgur.com/uGe5sEzm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/miIfHlgm.jpg

Not as clean as I would like. Some of the face sculpt was lost, and would take a bit of rebuilding, which I did on a few spots on the arms. I did file down and simplify a few of the details, not a big deal for me if it’s not a perfect copy. The ball joints on the epoxy arms are pretty cactus though. Not happy at all. I went ahead and ordered some small ball joints from eBay to install instead. But I decided to move on to something else in the meantime...

I found another new product, I have seen it advertised via a website http://www.plastimake.com but it’s fairly expensive. I found the same product for sale by a company that does cosplay outfits at Supanova for about 1/4 of the price that Plastimake are selling it for. I bought a couple of tubs for $20.

It works in a very similar way to the Blue Stuff, you put the little beads in hot water, they go from opaque white to clear and are mouldable. Looks like this:
http://i.imgur.com/PH6RboAm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hciRsvdm.jpg

I tried it out on something simple first, a MOTU axe (from Ram Man). I wanted to try making the 2 halves of the mould about the same size, with Plastimake (which is what I’ll call it, even though I didn’t get it from them) in both halves so I didn’t have so much of the flashing problem. Problem is, the Plastimake has a crazy quick setting time, you are lucky to have about 30 seconds to jam it into all the corners of the mould before it starts to harden to the point of being unworkable. The first 5 seconds of that are finger scalding straight out of the boiling water.
http://i.imgur.com/kRJjJw2m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NKIYxG2m.jpg

Four bits of positivity, firstly the detail is pretty good, the hardened Plastimake has a nice degree of flexibility as well as hardness, and unlike the epoxy, you have a result in a matter of minutes, and lastly if you don’t like the result, throw it back into the hot water and try again, so no waste. But the two parts of the Plastimake that were in the moulds did not play nicely together, as you can see.

Stand by for Part 3, in which things start getting better...

[FatalityPitt]

A shame about Rumble's gun.. It looks like the prong broke because the material was a bit too brittle. I'd probably use the Plastimake for that, since it's more flexible despite being a bit more expensive.

I think your targetmaster remake looks really cool! It may not be perfect as you said, but it looks really good for a first attempt.

[M-bot]

A shame about Rumble's gun.. It looks like the prong broke because the material was a bit too brittle. I'd probably use the Plastimake for that, since it's more flexible despite being a bit more expensive.

I think your targetmaster remake looks really cool! It may not be perfect as you said, but it looks really good for a first attempt.

There's more to come re Rumble's gun. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter!;):p

[gamblor916]

That blue stuff looks interesting but tricky to use. Why don't you just use regular silicone and resin? I use Pinkysil from Barnes all the time for simple 1 part and 2 part moulds.

[Thurmus]

Can you make small one and two piece moulds with that? All the videos I have seen have been for bigger quantities than a gun or a small part.

I thought there was a minimum amount you had to use.

[M-bot]

That blue stuff looks interesting but tricky to use. Why don't you just use regular silicone and resin? I use Pinkysil from Barnes all the time for simple 1 part and 2 part moulds.

Cost and convenience. The Blue Stuff is actually quite easy to use, it just takes a bit of practice. Also, completely reusable. I have cast the Rumble gun, several pieces of the targetmaster, the MOTU axe and then the Rumble gun again, all with the same 2 6g bars (half of a $20 pack). And it shows no signs of deterioration with each use.

I might test the Blue Stuff with resin at some point.


Can you make small one and two piece moulds with that? All the videos I have seen have been for bigger quantities than a gun or a small part.

I thought there was a minimum amount you had to use.

Doesn't seem to mind smaller pieces at all.

[Deonasis]

I am enjoying this thread :)

[Thurmus]

Can you make small one and two piece moulds with that? All the videos I have seen have been for bigger quantities than a gun or a small part.

I thought there was a minimum amount you had to use.

Sorry M-Bot. My comment was meant for Gamblor916.

Have to agree loving the thread. Can't wait to see where you get to.

[M-bot]

I am enjoying this thread :)


Sorry M-Bot. My comment was meant for Gamblor916.

Have to agree loving the thread. Can't wait to see where you get to.

There's more to come!

[gamblor916]

Sorry M-Bot. My comment was meant for Gamblor916.

Have to agree loving the thread. Can't wait to see where you get to.

Sorry hit edit instead of quote.

I've mixed small amounts before. As long as the ratio is correct it will set.

[CBratron]

Interesting insights. Are both blue stuff and the white stuff thermoplastic and can be reused by simply heating again?

[M-bot]

Interesting insights. Are both blue stuff and the white stuff thermoplastic and can be reused by simply heating again?

Yep. I have made a few mistakes, and some of my failures just ended up being re-heated and re-used, without any apparent degradation or deterioration that I can see.

The only issue with this is whatever I make may not stand up to high temperatures, but most of my collection and figures are displayed in a cool room, no direct sunlight or anything that would re-heat them.

[M-bot]

PART 3: IN WHICH MORE MISTAKES LEAD TO SOLUTIONS

Next step was to try the Plastimake for Rumble's gun. Using small amounts for such a small piece meant that the cooling/hardening process was ridiculously fast, so getting it into all the small corners of the mould was tricky and took a couple of goes, none of which was successful.

I then tried a different approach - moulding had the gun at a time, with a view to sticking the two halves together. I also did a seperate mould for the rear prongs, as they were one of the bits that came out best the first time around. I tried to resolve the problem of the potential rubbing on the weapon's handle by embedding an appropriately coloured peg (red) I cut from a junker in the mould and placing the Plastimake around it.
http://i.imgur.com/R1JtGu0m.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/LML5VtJm.jpg

Didn't work out. The two halves of the gun (top and bottom) needed significant trimming. The Palstimake, as opposed to the epoxy putty, is not sandable or fixable, it need to be cut with a hobby knife. Was not working out for me at all, so I pulled out the old Dremel, which was a far more effective cutting tool on the Plastimake. Only problem is the speed and friction from the Dremel re-melted the Plastimake and basically made a mess. And the barrel of the gun was way too fiddly to Dremel effectively anyway. On top of that, the handle slipped out of the Plastimake too easily to be effective.

Then, a brainwave: I had an almost perfect gun that I made with the epoxy putty, the only issue with it was the rear prongs, which broke, and the handle, which was skew. I cut the rear part of the epoxy putty gun off, trimmed the Plastimake rear prongs and glued the two halves together. The prongs would now have the flexibility that the epoxy lacked, while the bulk of the gun was well formed and neat. I cut off the epoxy gun handle and glued the red peg on to it as the handle - now centred and not vulnerable to paint wear.

http://i.imgur.com/noHnL2Qm.jpg

Came out looking pretty nice. I taped the handle and painted, using SMS lacquers through the airbrush. Tremendously happy with the results.
http://i.imgur.com/WcqOwrqm.jpg

It's not *absolutely* perfect, when compared to the original gun (here modelled on it's donor, Rewind), you can see the difference. But in a busy display, there's no way anyone could pick out which Transformer weapon is not the actual one if they weren't't already aware.

More in part 4, coming this weekend if time allows.

[SMHFConvoy]

You might want to look at recycling HDPE videos on YouTube and set up a mild that you can pour the HDPE into?

[M-bot]

You might want to look at recycling HDPE videos on YouTube and set up a mild that you can pour the HDPE into?

I'd be a little concerned about potentially toxic additives. The Blue Stuff, Plastimake and resin is, as far as I'm aware, non-toxic.

[M-bot]

PART 4: NEW PROJECTS, MORE SCREW UPS

After painting Rumble's gun, I decided to find out how the Palstimake would take paint. No point in investing more time, effort and money into something that wouldn't cope with the next step.

I took a chunk of the next (failed) attempt at using the Palstimake (see below) and painted it black, using SMS lacquers (my preferred paint at the moment). Went really well (although it brings out a bunch of details that prove why this particular attempt at casting was a bust).
http://i.imgur.com/9JrHRTDm.jpg

I used the previously cast Horri-Bull titan master face to prime using Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer through the airbrush. That which looked good in the original Plastimake by the naked eye was revealed to be quite the disaster once I primed it and the detail became evident.
http://i.imgur.com/dZmX2wfm.jpg

It would work as a "battle damaged" piece, but not for a pristine custom.

(This gives me a superb idea: If I disassembled an MP OP and/or Megatron and cast it using this method, I could make an amazing battle damaged model of their battle in TF:TM... Or even a very convincing looking "death of OP" model...)

Just prior to the painting, I did try and move onto another test project - something bigger this time. I tried casting a Perfect Effect Combiner Wars add-on foot (donated by Defensor, in this instance). I figured I didn't need a fully transformable foot piece, just something I could use for display purposes.
This was obviously a bigger piece than anything I've tried so far, so I was curious to see how it would go.
http://i.imgur.com/nPh3JdXm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/IuXdXgEm.jpg

Once I had a mould, I used the Plastimake to line it. The larger amount of Plastimake was retaining heat and staying soft for longer than the small amounts I'd used previously, but it was cooling and hardening insanely fast once it was in the mould. I had figured I could fill the inside of the foot in later once I had a usable shell.
http://i.imgur.com/N57TUWzm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YyejZgIm.jpg?1

It was too flawed. Again with the battle damaged look. I think that part of the problem was droplets of water stuck between the parts I was trying the duplicate and the Blue Stuff that I made the mould with, and then between the Blue Stuff mould and the hot Plastimake, as I used boiling water to heat and soften both, and both were used straight out of the water. I did try and dry it as best I could, but tiny droplets were obviously still present.

When I first saw the Plastimake in use, the vendor that was demonstrating it's use used a heat gun to soften it. As she told me at the time, the heat gun is effective but it's very easy to burn your fingers on the sticky hot Plastimake. The water (even though it is also hot) acts as a kind of buffer that makes handling a bit easier (or at least less injurious).

I never the less, decided to try a smaller part of the PE foot, thinking if I did it in sections, I would have less of the Plastimake to try and jam into the mould at once and I could always Frankenstein it together later.
http://i.imgur.com/gCqt8Iam.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KgDE2BRm.jpg

But I had much the same result.

I then had an idea: instead of heating with boiling water, I tried a hair dryer, on the hot setting (which is skin-scaldingly hot). I had the mould pretty much already, so I heated just the inside (the piece that would be encasing the original PE foot) until the Blue Stuff was soft again. Then I put the PE foot back into it to make the mould over again, and then heated the outside to make sure it was as good as I could make it.

I also tried using the epoxy putty (Milliput superfine, white) in the new mould instead, thinking I would have more "work time" before it hardened.
http://i.imgur.com/bZmkEmNm.jpg

Again, flawed, although better this time. Unfortunately, the Milliput is not re-usable like the Plastimake, so this piece is relegated to the scrap heap.

Coming in part 5 - could resin be the saviour?

[Deonasis]

Dang it! Just work you silly plastic stuff!!!

[GoktimusPrime]

If we ever had a HasCon Australia I think that it'd be really cool if fans like you were to run workshops. :)

[M-bot]

Dang it! Just work you silly plastic stuff!!!

As frustrating as it may seem, I'm enjoying the process of discovery. Although, I do sometimes get the feeling like I'm leading up to conclusions that others have made a long time ago.:)


If we ever had a HasCon Australia I think that it'd be really cool if fans like you were to run workshops. :)

I would be definitely into that. I did do something like that at a very small and humble local con a few years ago, but there wasn't much interest. Possibly because it relied on casual passers-by being interested in customising toys.

I have had some less formal, invite-only 'events' (probably not the right word) in the past, and will be doing more of those in the future, for sure.

[M-bot]

PART 5: IN WHICH I TRY MORE NEW THINGS I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD WHEN I WROTE PART 1

So, I went ahead and got some resin from a mate of mine who has a history of using it for toy making and art projects. It's a 2 part resin, easy enough to use, mix equal parts of each, and you have a couple of minutes before it cures.

Here's the stuff - clear and transparent orange, when mixed goes white.
http://i.imgur.com/chp3tRmm.jpg

I started simple, with a tip of the finger of the PE Defensor upgrade kit hand, just to get a feel for the material. Using Bluestuff as a mould, this is what happened:
http://i.imgur.com/5SQPMr5m.jpg
(I also wanted to see how the resin interacted with the Plastimake, so I used a little of the resin mix on one of the aborted foot pieces I had made - more on that shortly)
http://i.imgur.com/1uduOc4m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/DSMOgL9m.jpg

Came out damned near perfect. Good chance resin might be a good option. More trials...

I tried the Terri-Bull titan master face again, but didn't take pics. It was the best attempt at the face yet. Again, perfect.

Next thing I tried was a more complex piece, the double-gun barrel piece from a dismantled target master that came with Generations Scoop. Again, I used the Bluestuff to make the mould and poured the resin into the mould:
http://i.imgur.com/Z8TZcZ0m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NOBY2tCm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/egZHzexm.jpg?1

Not so good. I didn't help matters by pulling it from the mould before it was completely cured, so it warped a little.

Back to the resin on Plastimake - I wanted to see if I could use heat to melt the Plastimake off the resin, leaving a nicely detailed piece.
http://i.imgur.com/uoMXNXym.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Z0Fsjxgm.jpg

It didn't work. I got most of the Plastimake off, but when warm, the Plastimake is too sticky and I couldn't get it out of the deeper recesses. So that method is a bust. The Bluestuff is clearly much better for moulding.

Thanks to CHILENO20, I tried something a bit bigger - The first piece of the sword from Takara's Fort Max. It is different front and back, and I only took an impression (using the Bluestuff) of the flat side of the sword. I took a couple of pics of the progression of the curing of the resin. It's mesmerising stuff to watch.
http://i.imgur.com/vOiY7R1m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hI7r1Tbm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ATcnWI9m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PnPLWU3m.jpg

I did 2 halves, filed them down and stuck them together.
http://i.imgur.com/t8P08Bem.jpg

I haven't completely finished the filing and sanding down of the sword, pics in the next part when I finish. I'm chalking this one up to a win.

I had another idea, just for fun, and a precursor to making moulds using silicone (as suggested by Gamblor916). I used a silicone liquid masking material (Tamiya branded Maskol) and painted several layers on the main body of Scoop's targetmaster. I then moulded the Bluestuff around the body and then removed the piece. As far as I could tell, the details were immaculately transferred.
http://i.imgur.com/uSNvXS9m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/fcQRFVym.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0Sy6x6Pm.jpg

Results next time!

[gamblor916]

I love watching resin cure as well! It's like magic how it solidifies in seconds.
I've noticed that large pieces cure much faster and gives off a lot of heat as well.

[M-bot]

PART 6: IN WHICH I GET HIP TO PINK

It has just now occurred to me that casting is the first creative process (with regards to TF customising, anyway) that I have not researched first, such as looking up YouTube tutorials, etc. As I've mentioned before, I do rely on a close friend with experience for advice, but he pointed out to me that every tutorial in the world is not going to prevent the stuff ups you make along the learning path. Frankly, it makes things way more fun IMO.

To start with, I have to share the almost finished Fort Max sword (portion) that I cast from CHILENO20's Takara FM. It is short a tiny bit of sanding/finishing and another coat or 2 of paint, but here's how it turned out:
http://i.imgur.com/xBiEIe8m.jpg

Here's the body portion of the Scoop Targetmaster body that I used the Maskol on:
http://i.imgur.com/ONx3EhKm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PwvT8Gqm.jpg

The translation of the fine detail is PERFECT. This might be a good technique to remember in future. Although, as you can see, i didn't quite get the coverage right to the back edges of the figure, leading to some incompleteness.

I had another project that needed attention, this time for a project that I will see through to completion, rather than just practice. I wanted a mould of TR Kickback's forearms, that form the bug's abdomen in alt mode. I used Bluestuff - actually a clear version of the same product, that I picked up at Barnes in Richmond (close to the Melbourne CBD) - check them out at http://www.barnes.com.au - it was cheap at $13 for a small pack (which, again, is completely reusable). I wanted a copy of the abdomen intact (as in, 2 halves/arms together).
http://i.imgur.com/k5l1ylFm.jpg

With the abdomen removed from the mould:
http://i.imgur.com/PTVCzFVm.jpg

With the resin inside:
http://i.imgur.com/wdH4sPJm.jpg

And the finished product:
http://i.imgur.com/GzA9MNum.jpg
...which I'm calling a bust, as when I was pressing the BlueStuff (ClearStuff?) together around the piece, I must have shifted the 2 arms out of place slightly.

(I will reveal this project a little later.)

While at Barnes, I also picked up some Pinkysil (2-part silicone for making moulds) and more 2-part Easycast resin. A small investment required, but I was happy with small packs of each as I'm only using a couple of millilitres each time for the small TF parts I'm working with, so even learning mistakes aren't wasting much material.

On to the process.

I started with the Horri Bull head I'd done before. I made a little case using the Plastimake ('cos why not, right? I could make it to the exact size I needed and can re-use it later on when I'd extracted the Pinkysil), mixed the 1:1 ratio of Pinksil (only a couple of millilitres of each part), and made the mould.
http://i.imgur.com/IwJbUAdm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/thfhroJm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/DaA2RZLm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BqXpd7xm.jpg

Once again, it was easily the best version of the face that I had done so far (up to about 4 copies now!).

Back to the Kickback abdomen. I used the same technique with a Plastimake box around the piece to make a Pinkysil mould...
http://i.imgur.com/nYphfOrm.jpg

...and here's the completed mould.
http://i.imgur.com/49PoFsqm.jpg

Th completed piece was pretty well perfect. I had to refine/finish it a little afterwards, and again, I'll reveal more later on (whoever guesses what I'm using it for gets a cookie;)).

Next: 2 part moulds ahoy!

[SMHFConvoy]

Pinkysil is great and if you don't want to use that mold anymore you can cut it up and use it as fill another mold

[gamblor916]

Pinkysil is great and if you don't want to use that mold anymore you can cut it up and use it as fill another mold

I was going to say the exact same thing.

[M-bot]

Pinkysil is great and if you don't want to use that mold anymore you can cut it up and use it as fill another mold


I was going to say the exact same thing.

I've done exactly that with the next few moulds! Stay tuned.:D

[SMHFConvoy]

Have tried out silicone putty? I think Barnes makes one, it's a 1:1 mix like pinkysil you just mold it around what you're copying

[M-bot]

Have tried out silicone putty? I think Barnes makes one, it's a 1:1 mix like pinkysil you just mold it around what you're copying

I haven't. Wouldn't mind trying it out if I can find it cheap. Otherwise, the BlueStuff/ClearStuff and the Pinkysil will probably do me.

[SMHFConvoy]

BTW I've seen bootleggers on instagram use old corrugated cardboard and a hot glue gun to make a mold box, cheap and quick.

[M-bot]

BTW I've seen bootleggers on instagram use old corrugated cardboard and a hot glue gun to make a mold box, cheap and quick.

I've found (or rather, had suggested to me) an even more elegant solution...;)

[gamblor916]

I just use lego.

[M-bot]

I just use lego.

...and there's my elegant solution. :) More pics next post.

[M-bot]

PART 7: IN WHICH I DOUBLE THE MOULDS AND TRIPLE THE SCREW UPS

With my first success with Pinkysil, I decided to try to make a 2 piece mould. I continued with Scoop's target master - this time the gun handle that sits between the robot legs and the dual gun barrel pieces. I used the same method as before, using the Plastimake to make a just-big-enough container to encapsulate the pieces. I used modelling clay (apparently you need one without sulphur - no idea why - any chemists out there that can shed light?) and half-embedded the pieces in the clay at a point where I wouldn't mind having a seam line in the finished piece. I added a small section of tube that will act as a vent to pour the resin into.
http://i.imgur.com/ogkXYTLm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Hy6x4vBm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8LS9ncEm.jpg

Then I mixed the Pinkysil and (like has been suggested by SMHFConvoy and Gamblor) I cut up bits of previously used Pinkysil to pad out the volume (and hopefully use less of the stuff in the process). Then poured it into the Plastimake basket.
http://i.imgur.com/Vu0SOm3m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/f0RkNxqm.jpg

For reasons surpassing understanding, I didn't take pics of the next bit. Probably for the best. When the Pinkysil hardened, I removed it, the pieces and the clay from the Plastimake. I then removed the clay from the piece and the Pinkysil and (keeping the piece still insitu in the Pinkysil), made a new container for that (turned over so the Pinkysil is on the bottom) and poured a new batch of Pinksil.

You can see where this is going, right?

Now, a smarter individual than me would have realised that if the leftover Pinkysil I used to pad out the volume in the mould sticks in the wet Pinkysil, then the 2 parts of this mould would indeed also stick together. But I am not a smart individual and so this was only clear to me in retrospect, when I had to cut it open to retrieve the pieces. I did try to use the weird-ass mould I had just created but it was not successful. No pics in order to spare me the indignity. There was swearing.

I called my mate who told me to use a mixture of Vaseline and hot water over the first part of the mould in a thin layer to prevent the two halves from sticking together. He apologised to me for neglecting to mention it when we last spoke. I told him about my Plastimake basket idea (cos I am a super genius or something) and he told me that people often use Lego. Well duh. Our friendship will endure this.
http://i.imgur.com/ZVgdK3Qm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JP9wfdnm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mBQwbYAm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/RyOHRzPm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tG8IM3rm.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/wFGI4LGm.jpg

Poured the resin with the two halves of the mould together, firmly tapped at it to try and get rid of air bubbles (as much as possible anyway), and...
http://i.imgur.com/BBQdI37m.jpg

Huzzah! I am invincible!:D

I'll add another (final) post to this little manifesto soon, to tie up some loose ends. I am actively working on a project (remember the Kickback arms/abdomen from part 6?), so you'll see some more results there.

[Thurmus]

I am loving this series. Great work mate.

[gamblor916]

I'm also following on with great interest. Just make sure that you clean the vaseline off the parts thoroughly or else paint won't stick to it.
Also depending on the part sometimes you can get away with making a 1 pour mould and make slight cuts to the silicone to remove the part.

[UltraMarginal]

Loving the journey! Someone else on here did some moulding last year with the pinkysil. They too used a lego mould casing, there might be some further ideas in their thread. I recall it was mostly head moulds and there was issues with air bubbles.

I wish I had the time to dabble in this stuff.

[M-bot]

I am loving this series. Great work mate.


I'm also following on with great interest. Just make sure that you clean the vaseline off the parts thoroughly or else paint won't stick to it.
Also depending on the part sometimes you can get away with making a 1 pour mould and make slight cuts to the silicone to remove the part.


Loving the journey! Someone else on here did some moulding last year with the pinkysil. They too used a lego mould casing, there might be some further ideas in their thread. I recall it was mostly head moulds and there was issues with air bubbles.

I wish I had the time to dabble in this stuff.

Many thanks gents! I'm loving the journey too. :)

I must have missed the thread you are referring to UM. Air bubbles are an issue. I am going to post up some failed results in the next instalment where I didn't mix the resin well enough, which was a result of not wanting to aerate the mixture too much, in order to lower the chance of bubbles. Of course, like a fair chunk of this thread, the failure is spectacular!;)

[M-bot]

PART 8: IN WHICH I TIE UP A FEW LOOSE ENDS, HAVE ONE MORE SUCCESS AND ONE MORE FAILURE

I think this post will pretty much conclude this series. Happy to keep commenting, of course, and if anything dramatic happens down the track, I'll add a bit, but for now, my self-inflicted crash course in casting is coming to an end. From here on, I'm using the skills I'm learning to actually make working customs (of which the red Rumble gun is an example).

First up is an addition to the Plastimake (thermoplastic), even though I did discover that its applications are limited (I did use some to fix my clothes airer at home though - winning!:p). Even though I'm using an unofficial/no-name version of the Plastimake product, I went on the Plastimake website and ordered some colouring pellets. A 4 pack of yellow, red, blue and black set me back about $15 from memory.

It works by dropping a few pellets (which are about 1-2mm square each) per tablespoon or so of Plastimake pellets and mixing it through while it is soft. Even though the bags are pretty small, it will clearly go a very long way. I started mixing the straight colours and then tried mixing colours together. The results were pretty good, with the exception of the purple and brown, which just look ugly. You can lighten colours by adding extra regular (white) Plastimake to a pre-coloured piece of Plastimake.
http://i.imgur.com/hyoXMy8m.jpg

This might come in handy if I want to make pegs and such of a particular colour that I don't want to paint lest I get paint wear.

Back to the failed 2 piece mould from the last instalment, the handle section of Scoops Targetmaster. As I had to pour resin into the two halves of the stuck together mould and then jam it together quickly, I was kind of expecting a mess, but it came out close to perfect.
http://i.imgur.com/xbP82Ckm.jpg

There was a small flaw on the other side (not photographed), but easily fixed.

Another product at Barnes was a pigment for the resin. Like the Plastimake colour pellets, a very little goes a very long way, so even though the small jar was $10 or so, as long as it doesn't dry out, it will probably last me until the grave.

I used the same mould as the pic above, but just focusing on the handle/peg. Came out stellar, the details are translated perfectly.
http://i.imgur.com/JB8alnrm.jpg

Since abject failure has been a running theme of this thread (it's like watching Bathurst - barely anyone would be interested if it wasn't for the promise of the odd wreck during the race), I wanted to post up an example of an epic fail of a Pinkysil/Easycast resin attempt. It was meant to be the rear legs and alligator head from a TR Skullsmasher that I was doing as a mock up for another custom, that I will be creating a WIP thread for shortly.

Here's the Pinkysil moulds:
http://i.imgur.com/rkFeL7Bm.jpg

The problem (I think!) was that I failed to mix the resin adequately, or not an exact enough ratio of the 2 parts. The legs disintegrated into a sticky mess, The head came out mostly formed, but the end of the snout was soft and bendy and sticky to the tough. It never hardened. Not good for anything but scrap. Same goes for the moulds, as they still have some of the sticky stuff in them and I don't know how a new batch of resin will react to the material already stuck in the bottom of the mould, and I don't want to waste more resin trying to find out.
http://i.imgur.com/M0og4sMm.jpg

If you've been a follower of this thread and have made it through to the end, thanks for sticking around for the fun! I have to say, it's been a blast. If you have a thought to try it out yourself, I say go for it. If my attempts have shown anything at all, its that failure is OK, and that without it, you'll never get to the good stuff. The journey is worth it.:)

[CBratron]

I've never cast before but have you played around with vents in the mold to deal with voids and air bubbles? I imagine it'd be a pain to clean them out if you're reusing the mold but you'd have less work to do on the molded piece.

[gamblor916]

I've had that problem with I cured resin before and the only thing you can do is clean it out and wash it so it doesn't affect future pours.

[M-bot]

Thread necromancy!

I’ve continued to play with resin casting (as has been seen in numerous customs since 2017). I’m going to do a live video on my Facebook page this evening (Saturday 10/8/19) at 8:30pm or thereabouts. It will be found at facebook.com/MsToyCustoms (http://www.Facebook.com/MsToyCustoms), and will be posted there afterwards if you can’t/don’t want to tune in live.

I’ll have a friend with me, so it won’t just be me droning on.

If you do tune in, make sure to say “hi!”.

[SMHFConvoy]

Found some stuff called composi-mold in an art supply store, it requires the material to be heated and poured over what you want to make into a mould, so I'm testing it on some junker pieces.

[SMHFConvoy]

Found some stuff called composi-mold in an art supply store, it requires the material to be heated and poured over what you want to make into a mould, so I'm testing it on some junker pieces.

Okay so depending on what volume of this product you bought (I bought the smallest quantity) you heat the solid in the microwave for a minute and 20 seconds, smaller quantities require less time obviously, it has a slightly citrus smell and it's food-safe if that matters to anyone. You can also buy a spray called bubble buster, it's supposed to be sprayed onto the piece that you're going to make a mould of and it stops bubbles forming on the part you're moulding.

I made a mould of POTP Blot's head, the pouring of hot liquid over didn't warp or damage it but I wouldn't use this stuff to create a mould of door panels or anything that is a thin plastic and could be warped by hot liquid.