Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Mistress of minis wrote:Yes- it really works.

Its like any other tool or technique, it has a learning curve and its not going to work for every situation. But its gonna be darn nifty to have.

lol I have to be careful, I always seem to get aheadof myself. Always more ideas rattiling around in my skull than there is time to get them out...

Was thinking that the GS is not the best sculpting medium to use and was thinking of trying Magic Sculpt next.
Even when cured it has a slightly rubbery quality.

Some of the other mediums may produce crisper results.
Was wondering about some soft Fimo polymer clay also.
Might try some fine grade Milliput.

Not got so much grey and brown stuff so need to keep that back for actual sculpts.

If you guys find something better then GS to use with Instant Mold then please be sure to post it up. GS seems to work but like you said, it ends up being a bit rubbery. I've also found that struggles with sharp angles, meaning you mostly get rounded edges.

I wonder if you mixed more blue into the GS to make it dry faster and harder, would it cast better?

Use procreate;



It has mixing ratios, easy to work with....and becomes a solid brick when dry.

Apoxie Sculpt might also be good. And it dries very hard, much harder than Kneadatite (Green Stuff).

AgeOfEgos wrote:Use procreate;



It has mixing ratios, easy to work with....and becomes a solid brick when dry.

Have some of this from about a year ago, should do better than my 6 year old GS!

Many thanks for all the posters showing their attempts/success. I'm sold, off to order.

Is this molding compound very ridged or is there some flexibility to it? Can you pop the molded item out or do you have to pry it out?

As per the OP video it pops out.
There is just the right amount of flexibilty once it has cooled. Obviously it would be useless if too flexible.

I'd mix 1:1 Greenstuff and Milliput if you're worried about the GS not hardening enough.

Wow, great finding.

And the results are looking good too.

Have to order this stuff.

okay i think i'm going to have to order a fair amount of this!
obviously gs/milliput mix is the way forward for sculpts but has anyone considered that modelling clay you bake in the oven?
its light and should hold shape well (pop the mould in the fridge) and then trim and bake?
just thinking for sharp results.

Yup
as mentioned earlier Fimo Soft is on the things to try list.
Not heard of mixing Milliput and GS before. Why noy not straight Milliput? Is the regular too hard?
Have some Fine Milliput as used by the porcelin restorers so will try that.

The Magic Sculpt looks promising but I made a pooch of the job so have recast the part and trying again.

Have used an ice tray and if I understand Sonic Para correctly, I grabbed a couple of spare drill bits to use as locator pegs. I misaligned the halves when trying the MS as noted above so the "pegs" will hopefuly prevent it happening again.

Stop teasing me you fiends, still waiting on mine to arrive.

I'll do a trial with GS, BS, pro create, miliput and modelling clay with comparison pics etc, but I fear by the time it arrives, someone else will beat me to it

I like gs/milliput mix generally, softer and easier to work with when soft then either, harder and sharper and better to carve when hard!

Can you confirm that is the standard (grey) Milliput please Druidic?

yep, standard milliput, heartily recomend it.

Has anyone sourced a cold cast liquid resin.... I've been doing some research, and some articles refer to cold casting resins which harden up at room temp.... A liquid one of these would be great with polymorph!

Well I used a resin made for the automotive trade which is cold cast and hardens wiyhin 20-30 mins at room temperature.

ThanksDruidic. Wiill see how the Fine Milliput works on its own first. It sets hard but is more refined (by definition! durr Chibi!)

been looking at stuff like that, system3 clearcoat for example, waterlike viscosity, so will pour with no bubbles, hardens over a few hours, so low exothermic out put. For home hobby work, your not really stressing about how quickly you can demold, hell worst case you have several molds, cast at the start of the evening, then get some painting done and demold the next day!

I've done a ton of white metal in the past, but this is seriously interesting me! For the odd dozen copies of something you have sculpted, this looks VERY interesting!

On the gs/milliput, seriously, try it! Hardest part is only mixing small amounts!



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Few mails and research later, I can get a regular clear rigid epoxy resin from cheshire with an 18 hour slow cure which should not exotherm above 45 degrees C....

If I want 50 of something I can white metal cast, if I just need the odd few, this looks like a cheap and workable solution for replicating my own work!

Been reading with great interest. Found some other stuff that might be of interest. I should be getting home in a couple days, will buy and try then if anyone expresses interestin my results. I am looking for 2 part molds, and resin is a plus so the fact that this stuff heats to set is a plus.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sculpey-Super-Elasticlay-MOLD-MAKER-Polymer-Clay-NEW-/230579482253?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35af9bae8d
http://www.sculpeyproducts.com/Elasticlay.htm

And a description for Mold Maker from Sculpey themselves:
http://www.sculpey.com/products/clays/mold-maker
(been spammed other places, so much easier than writing resale content! lol

and for those shopping at Micheals:
http://www.michaels.com/020211-Digital/020211-Digital,default,pg.html

Outstnading work to you all! Hope i have something worthwhile form this as well. Bought the only thing I dont particularly like is having to cut molds apart, but since it's clear that might change that a bit. I believe John Greer sells a similar stuff: http://www.aeromarineproducts.com/silicone-mold-making.htm




edited for additional content.

There is also a coupon for "Hobby Lobby" for 40% off on their website.

Alas I could not find any of this magic plastic there. I did find a nice Airbrush though

I can find white polymorph in the Uk for £15 a kilo, but not clear! Would make ensuring the mold has filled properly much easier in clear, any one got suggestions for uk suppliers or trade names?

When making 2-part molds with Instant Mold, has anyone found a trick for making sure the mold sits properly around the bit and fills in any gaps? I'm trying to make a 2-part mold of my custom XV8 head and while I've had success getting the general shape, I've had a lot of trouble getting the mold to be perfect with the really small details. It is still usable but just requires some cleaning and touch-ups with more green stuff.

SonicPara wrote:When making 2-part molds with Instant Mold, has anyone found a trick for making sure the mold sits properly around the bit and fills in any gaps? I'm trying to make a 2-part mold of my custom XV8 head and while I've had success getting the general shape, I've had a lot of trouble getting the mold to be perfect with the really small details. It is still usable but just requires some cleaning and touch-ups with more green stuff.

I would think using a traditional RTV approach to two-part molding might help that. Google "Two part RTV mold"

If they release a larger product, I'd pay like $40. Rhino manufacturing anyone?

Defeatmyarmy wrote:If they release a larger product, I'd pay like $40. Rhino manufacturing anyone?

With the amount of greenstuff it would take to make a Rhino (one or multiple pieces), you'd be better off financially just buying the Rhino kit.

Eric

MagickalMemories wrote:

Defeatmyarmy wrote:If they release a larger product, I'd pay like $40. Rhino manufacturing anyone?

With the amount of greenstuff it would take to make a Rhino (one or multiple pieces), you'd be better off financially just buying the Rhino kit.

Eric

If the product could survive the heat from resin however....

The Superfine Milliput worked well as did the Magic Sculpt.
The latter suffered from a poor mould though. Must have become distorted when I inserted the pin
Some crisper detail on the last effort which will be the last effort as I have tried all the mediums at my disposal.

Will pop up some pics later.
Hope the observations have been of use. The experience has been very encouraging for me and I feel more confident about some future figure projects I have lined up. So thanks to everyone for prompting the casting.

Chibi Bodge-Battle wrote:The latter suffered from a poor mould though. Must have become distorted when I inserted the pin

About using the drill bits, put them in after the mold solidifies. The material is soft enough to drill through with your fingers (don't even need the drill) so don't worry about it. The added bonus of using the drill bits is that the teeth on them help keep the mold together when you are casting.