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Heyyo folks,

I'm looking for the best overall molding material for casting resins. I've got some OOP Armorcast terrain as well as some home-made bunkers & craters I'd like to reproduce (for personal use only--I'm making a massive trench & bunker system built into a table and it seems this would be the best way to do it) using either a silicone or polyurethane molding material. I'm looking at OOMOO 25 as one candidate.

Any advice would be most helpful!

For reproducing my own works, I like to use Mold Max 20 RTV from smooth on. It's a 10-1 product, with good flexibility and durability. My most cast mold has about 40+ resin pulls & it's just now starting to dry out. The Max20 is very rubbery and works well in large, thick open faced molds. If your planning on a thin, flat mold (like you might on a two part mold), the stiffer Max 30 might be the way to go.

Below are links to my blog where I talk about making molds and resin casting.

http://chicagoterrainfactory.wordpress.com/resin-casting/

 

http://chicagoterrainfactory.wordpress.com/2007/03/21/bases-making-an-rtv-mold/

Posted By Geddonight on 06/07/2007 10:18 AM
I've got some OOP Armorcast terrain as well as some home-made bunkers & craters I'd like to reproduce (for personal use only--

For what it's worth, 'out of production' doesn't mean 'out of copyright'.

And 'personal use only' doesn't actually make it ok... it simply means 'pretty remote chance of getting in trouble for it...'

smooth on all the way man. I have a friend who started out doing his own bases in mass because he could not stand to flock his fantasy stuff one base at a time. He spun up 10 different ones for varity and cast a ton of them, they came out great. He moved up to different things are I was amazed at the ease of how the stuff worked abd the end results were great. Smooth on is great stuff.

Go with a silicon rtv. I've used 10:1 and 100:1 and they both give good results. I've cast stuff in acrylic resin, polyester resin and polyurethane resin, as well as white metal and bronze with this stuff and it comes out fine.

how is the 10:1 and 100:1 silicones as far as mixing and curing reliably? I've been having a lot of trouble lately with the reoflex 20 RTV, which are a 1:1, and not curing properly. I'm mixing the hell out of the stuff, being as careful as I possibly can with the measurements and consistancy, using fresh material, and even a week later sometimes it's still got uncured spots. It's driving me nuts.

-Hans

Hans - that's pretty wierd. I've used 1:1 from Micromart & 10:1 from smooth on & both have been very forgiving in the mix ratio.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have to ask: Is it really illegal to make copies of a model for personal use? I.e. not for resale? I can't see how it would be.

Unless you're in a country that has particularly lenient (or non-existant) copyright laws, then yes, it's illegal.

Making copies of a miniature, even if it's just for personal use, denies the copyright owner of sales. It's their product, so they're entitled to ensure that you've paid for it like everyone else.

As mentioned before, the chances of actually getting in trouble for it are slim... That requires the company to take you to court and prove that your actions have actually cost them money, which simply isn't worth the effort unless you're casting and selling them.

So yes, it's illegal. Whether or not it's also wrong comes down to your own opinion as to whether or not the chances of getting in trouble for it have anything to do with whether or not it's acceptable to break the law.

Can we have at least ONE discussion on any casting topic without Insaniak spouting off about his vast knowledge of copyright law?

Seriously, Insaniak, you're not a lawyer, give it a rest. Perhaps you work for the RIAA? You're certainly versed in their misinformation on copyright infringement.

@Phryxxis & Geddonight: Yes, you CAN make copies of OOP parts for personal use. This IS covered by fair use clause.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

Besides, it's not as if some omnipotent gaming copyright watchdog group is going to swoop into your house and take you to prison, a la Gilliam's "Brazil". Even if a company came after a personal use recaster, they'd have a hard time making a case. To seriously infringe on copyright you have to be making money by selling said parts (something you're not doing as it's for personal use) or making it so the rightsholder is losing money (something that is not relevant if the parts are OOP and/or the company is out of business - both of which apply here).

Posted By ancientsociety on 06/13/2007 9:33 PM
Can we have at least ONE discussion on any casting topic without Insaniak spouting off about his vast knowledge of copyright law?

Ah, my mistake. Here I was thinking this was a discussion forum, and that this made it acceptable to answer a question.

I'll be sure to seek your permission before posting in future.

Posted By ancientsociety on 06/13/2007 9:33 PM
@Phryxxis & Geddonight: Yes, you CAN make copies of OOP parts for personal use. This IS covered by fair use clause.

Fair Use, as explained in the link you just posted, allows you the right to copy for certain uses. It does not allow you free reign to copy whatever you want just to get out of having to buy more.

Posted By ancientsociety on 06/13/2007 9:33 PM
Besides, it's not as if some omnipotent gaming copyright watchdog group is going to swoop into your house and take you to prison, a la Gilliam's "Brazil". Even if a company came after a personal use recaster, they'd have a hard time making a case. To seriously infringe on copyright you have to be making money by selling said parts (something you're not doing as it's for personal use) or making it so the rightsholder is losing money (something that is not relevant if the parts are OOP and/or the company is out of business - both of which apply here).

Which is pretty much what I just said. Well done.

And no, I'm not a lawyer. What I am is someone whose livelihood relies on understanding how copyright works... so I've spent quite a bit of time looking into it, to reduce the chance of getting sued somewhere down the line.

Thanks all for the help and suggestions. Smooth-On definitely seems to be the best site to get product. I like the ones that don't require weight-ratios (saves me from buying a postal scale... though I'm not opposed).

Insaniak, I appreciate the enthusiasm in attempting to protect me and others from potentially illegal actions, though I think you caught on to the OOP reproductions a little more than the stuff I've made myself and would like to copy. I'm aware of the potential legal/ethical implications of reproducing OOP work for myself. Since the work is OOP, I don't personally see any ethical dilemmas (whereas I would when it comes to something like forgeworld models, since they're currently in full production). As stated, legally, the risk of a tort from a dissolved company is probably small enough for me to risk. Your opinions have been duly noted.

Back to the original topic: So it looks like Mold Max 20 or 30 would be beneficial. Since I'm thinking most of the stuff i'm molding will only need one side (not two-part molds) then the Max 20 should work better, right?

Is talcum powder a sufficient mold release agent or is the stuff offered by Smooth On worth it? I'm not sure if I'll really need to make a lot of copies for my terrain board, but I'd like the option if I ever decide to do a second, or create another terrain feature, etc.

Thanks folks!

FYI: Armor cast is not OOP.  It took a bit but the company was finally sold & is back in production.  http://www.armorcast.com/

As for mold release - talc is mandatory.  I use the Smooth On release on about every other casting & can't tell the difference between the two.  In theory, the spray release should be protecting the mosture in the mold & prolonging it's life span.  It's really hard to tell if it's working or not.  If your going for a short run (less than 10), I think it would be safe to skip the mold release.

See, now that is helpful (especially the link that showed everything they're bringing back into production). It also changes the amount of mold-making i'll need to do .