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hi,

looking for a good first kit that will explain everything about casting but give enough material to make a few good casts before having to buy the top up kits.

or

looking for a good brand from those with experiance

I don't know of any kits offhand that will give you EVERYTHING you need. However, I know a place that sells the most of you need in one spot, and one base kit for casting, and one base kit for molding. They also have tons of "how-to" videos on Youtube, if you look for Tap Plastics.

http://tapplastics.com/

For the casting resin, I'd go with polyurethane instead of polyester. It's a lot easier to mix (1:1 ratio) - http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=74&PHPSESSID=200911260848401130288410

For making the molds, I'd go: with http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=61&PHPSESSID=200911260848401130288410

Things you will need that you'd be better off getting elsewhere: Box of rubber gloves, 5oz waxed dixie cups, small postal scale, wooden popsicle sticks. Optional but helpful - some legos for making moldboxes, and lead-free plasticine clay for making 2 part molds.

----------------

Although I think Tap has the best resin, there is an alternative to their silicone. Smooth-On makes a lot of different types. The entry level one is OOMOO, which you can find here: http://www.smooth-on.com/Silicone-Rubber-an/c2_1113_1136/index.html

OOMOO gives more for the money and is more forgiving in the formulation. However, in my experience they aren't quite the equal of the Tap silicone. The OOMOO is much thicker, which can be an issue with very small parts. The finished OOMOO molds are a lot more rigid, which can be difficult for working out bubbles. On the other hand, it is way better for larger molds due to the lower price and I might start with them to get a feel for it.

There may be better products, but out of what I have personally used, these are good.

been looking in this kit. looks good but unsure how much ill need of all the parts and the top ups are a lot more expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Moldmaking-Casting-Pourable-Starter-Kit/dp/B000QCHVC2

UK based?

try tiranti.co.uk

they have a handcasting starter kit which come swith RTV silicone rubber, laddle, bit of talc for release, chevant Plasticine and some white metal IIRC you should get a 'how' to booklet with the starter kit

Oh I would also invest in some lego bricks! use these so you have something to cast and pour the rubber into.

you can also get Resins and other polymers for casting. they also do other model making supplies.

Do you have a hobbycraft near you? they have silicone rubber and mould making supplies as well.

Hope this helps, good luck!


Edited:

hand casting is fairly expensive to start and the materials just arent as cheap as tehy used to be look around but you will be casting heroic scale minis at around 90 pence a piece.

What type of rubber should I use?Polyurethane Rubber or Silicone Rubber.
Which one is best for 2 part molds.

I like silicone better. It's a little more expensive but it seems like the molds take finer detail, last longer and don't seem to require release agent.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I also feel like I should point out if you're planning on recasting commercial miniatures, you might want to keep that to yourself regardless of whatever rationalization you may have - it seems like any mention of that touches off a flame war perhaps better avoided.

Try http://www.Tomps.com for all the casting bits. I emailed them and said what I wanted to do and they put together a little kit of stuff for me. They even have tutorials on the website (don't bother with their manual as there's nothing on it that's not on the website.

The bits that will be missing form their site are talc, plasticine, some lego for making the original molds and a clamp or something to make sure the two halves stay together when you get around to casting stuff. There's also a good tutorial in the articles section

There is more in my blog about the whole casting thing.