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Gavin,

I'm glad it helped you out! If you learn some interesting tricks or tips when you start casting, post it here. If you can show us some progress pictures without waking up any lawyers, I'd like to see your work.

Gavin Thorne wrote:Wanted to let you know that I built a mold using your tutorial this week and it's turned out great. I hope to be casting with resin by the weekend. Without this tutorial, I'd still be dithering over what casting material to use, how to build a form from wood (Legos... ingenius!) and probably spend a fortune in GS. Thanks bunches!

When you figure it out, I'll need ya to come over and show me

JB wrote:Gavin,

I'm glad it helped you out! If you learn some interesting tricks or tips when you start casting, post it here. If you can show us some progress pictures without waking up any lawyers, I'd like to see your work.

I'll be happy to post tips, tricks, and in general blog my experience here. The bit I happened to cast as my test would cause gee-dub's 9-headed legal hydra to rear it's ugly head, so I'll leave those out at the moment.

One thing I did notice is that I didn't place my air vents on the highest part of the bit but I don't think it's going to make a big difference on the bit in question... I hope that is!

Cyporiean wrote:When you figure it out, I'll need ya to come over and show me

No problem! I got the same clear resin kit that you did so it should be a cinch to figure it out together.

Building the mould was pretty easy and I'm thinking of putting together another one. The main trouble was finding the Amazing Molding Putty: I looked for it in the local shops and came up a bust, but Hobby Lobby must have gotten a special order or something and had one left over so I picked it up. There were recriminating looks from the wife due to unannounced hobby expenditures, but those are the brakes. It's got enough putty to make 4, maybe 5, 2-3"x2-3" moulds like the one shown here. I made a mistake and used the putty in place of modelling clay for my first step and wasted a bunch. Then I went back to the tutorial and read it again, kicking myself for not doing so in the first place.

I'm making pilgrim style hats for my warhammer fantasy empire witch hunter themed army. I'm currently doing a 2 piece mold - is there any method I could just do a single drop fill mold? <I"ve heard that term used, though I have no idea what it means> Thanks much!

Tolinwiz,

I use several single piece molds. The keys to success are that the top side of the cast needs to be perfectly flat, the top side should be the widest side of the casting, you should use a mold frame to get the top of the mold level and to keep the mold putty tight against the original when you make the mold.

A pilgrim hat could work if you place the top of the hat downwards into the mold putty and don't mind the bottom of your brim being perfectly flat. If you want a rolled brim, I'd do a two-piece mold.

I take it J I would just put the brim flush with the top of the mold then? - Also, any need for a vent?

Tolinwiz wrote:I take it J I would just put the brim flush with the top of the mold then? - Also, any need for a vent?

Yes, your brim would be flush with the top of the mold. That's why it will be almost flat. You will not need a vent because the entire brim is exposed so all air bubbles can float up to the top. I find that my one-piece molds tend to produce castings with few, if any, air bubbles and the resin tends to cure to a better consistency than my two-piece molds. You will need something firm and level (ruler, plastic card, popsicle stick, putty knife) to run across the top of your mold after you pour the resin. This will remove the excess and keep your casting flush once it cures.

this is an amazing tutorial

would this method be good if i wanted to make a couple of copies of gws plasma guns

Vulkan_He'stan wrote:this is an amazing tutorial

would this method be good if i wanted to make a couple of copies of gws plasma guns

Thanks but I think it is illegal to copy their plasma guns. It's also quite a bit of trouble and expense to go to for a few plasma guns. It's much easier just to buy bits on Ebay or buy the GW metal plasma guns for SM. There are also simple conversions using plasma pistols.

I'm also told by folks in England that the mold and resin materials that I used are not readily available over there. endtransmission recommended a company named Tomps.

What if I was trying to make a cast of something with fiddly bits on the edges.

My thought was to use paperclips to make vent holes for each fiddly bit, but these would not be at the top of the model..

Basically I am asking if the vents have to be at the tip-top of the model, or can they be in different places? I'm thinking they might be ok on the sides, but I will need to make some tap-tap-tap on the mold to make sure the airbubbles come out okay...

What do you think? Or am I just rambling?

I haven't made a mold yet of an object with lots of "fiddly" bits.

I think the air vents using paperclips might work but make sure the vents open up on the mold higher than the level of the bit that you are casting. Resin flows really, really well initially and it will find its way out of your mold wherever it can. If your vent openings are lower than the top of the bit that you are casting, you might find that the resin never really reached that part of the mold. Instead it was taking the path of least resistance out of a lower vent opening.

Cool looks really easy to make.

I just made my own cast tutorial. But it is only one side. I made a 2 side cast for rippers!! Turned out pretty well. View my tutorial

Hey great tutorial.

I do have a question, I hope to cast some of the gw meltaguns with guard arms attached and greenstuff straps (no legal hissifit gw), and was concerned as to the nature of the bend on the arm, SHould it lie flat and have the shoulder be the lowest part, or should it stand up and pour from the shoulder down into the barrel. Appreciate any help

Try Again Bragg wrote:Hey great tutorial.

I do have a question, I hope to cast some of the gw meltaguns with guard arms attached and greenstuff straps (no legal hissifit gw), and was concerned as to the nature of the bend on the arm, SHould it lie flat and have the shoulder be the lowest part, or should it stand up and pour from the shoulder down into the barrel. Appreciate any help

If I was casting an arm like that, I would either pour from the shoulder down into the barrel or from the barrel down into the shoulder.

Thank you very much for this tutorial.

Thank you for this awesome tutorial

You're welcome. If you learn any good techniques, feel free to share them. I'm feeling the itch to make some new molds for terrain so I may add a few things as well.

Can you give me a template for a DKOK emblem mold please?

Just some quick notes.

The vacuum bell is used to degas mixed silicone mold liquid. This process removes the gas bubbles from the mixed silicone and creates a master mold free of bubbles. The working time of most 1:1 or 10:1 mold agents is long enough to allow you to fully degas the liquid. Obviously if you use this tutorial and stick to the mold putty this is not an issue. On very finely detailed model you will need a mixed liquid mold agent.

On the resin side we don't generally use a vacuum bell as the working time with resin is much shorter. The degassing process can also change the cure time of the resin. This is where we use something known as a pressure pot. This is a re-enforced steel container that we pump air into around 40-60psi. The pressure actually shrinks the size of the bubbles to the point where we no longer see them in the model. We pour the resin into the molds and quickly place them in the pressure pots where they are left to cure. The pour time for many resins is 3-8 minutes so this process must be completed quickly.

A final quick word on recasting GW or similar models. With the proper technique you can recast anything. The costs associated with this is usually more then the model or bit could be purchased for separately. You sometimes need 100's of pulls from a mold to recoup the cost of creating the mold in the first place. On incredibly complex models with a lot of undercuts you can sometimes get less then 10 pulls before the mold is ruined. You also can't just recast an entire sprue as the direct injection process is much more aggressive. You need to put a lot of thought into every mold to eliminate air pockets and undercuts.

Linkdead wrote:Just some quick notes.

The vacuum bell is used to degas mixed silicone mold liquid. This process removes the gas bubbles from the mixed silicone and creates a master mold free of bubbles. The working time of most 1:1 or 10:1 mold agents is long enough to allow you to fully degas the liquid. Obviously if you use this tutorial and stick to the mold putty this is not an issue. On very finely detailed model you will need a mixed liquid mold agent.

On the resin side we don't generally use a vacuum bell as the working time with resin is much shorter. The degassing process can also change the cure time of the resin. This is where we use something known as a pressure pot. This is a re-enforced steel container that we pump air into around 40-60psi. The pressure actually shrinks the size of the bubbles to the point where we no longer see them in the model. We pour the resin into the molds and quickly place them in the pressure pots where they are left to cure. The pour time for many resins is 3-8 minutes so this process must be completed quickly.

A final quick word on recasting GW or similar models. With the proper technique you can recast anything. The costs associated with this is usually more then the model or bit could be purchased for separately. You sometimes need 100's of pulls from a mold to recoup the cost of creating the mold in the first place. On incredibly complex models with a lot of undercuts you can sometimes get less then 10 pulls before the mold is ruined. You also can't just recast an entire sprue as the direct injection process is much more aggressive. You need to put a lot of thought into every mold to eliminate air pockets and undercuts.

All good info- but unless people have already made molds or casts, or researched it, they wont have the experience to understand alot of the jargon you just used and may get easily confused --->

And in the era of youtube and google- everyone needs pics or vids to learn. No one seems to be able to learn from text alone these days. Some of us that have been doing this since the dark ages remember when you couldnt find any casting info online, let alone painting tutorials because most people still didnt have digital cameras

(Im giggling because Im betting people are reading 'degas' and thinking it sounds like 'Vegas' with a D )

very helpful indeed.

you think this would work with terminator legs? i plan on making some true- scale space marines.

The casting kit that I used for this tutorial doesn't produce high quality finished pieces. You're not going to get centerpiece quality casts. You would need rubber molds with higher quality resin and probably a pressure pot to get that level of quality. If you're happy with mid-level quality or willing to do a fair amount of sanding and filling then the casting kit that I used will work.

Ya, silicone putty is pretty limited in the detail it picks up.

If you try stepping up to a liquid silicone, it takes more time to cure(a couple hours for each half) and takes a little more planning on the set up. But the kit might actually be cheaper- the silicone putty by weight costs more than all the 1-1 mix silicone Ive found.

But for more detailed pieces its the way to go.

JB wrote:

Dude, I have the EXACT same wedding ring. Wierd.

Also, very informative, thanks!

I like it but what do you have to use to make a see through cast/ model.

A 'see through' mold requires a translucent silicone. The stuffs not perfectly clear, and is usually harder to mix & measure since almost all of the are a 10 to 1 mix ratio by weight.

I think he wants a "see through" casting which requires a resin that cures almost clear. Alumilite makes two types of clear casting resin but both are intended for industrial use and I have no idea how well they would work with the putty molds I made in the tutorial. I suspect that you would need a silicone rubber mold and some good mold release agent.

They also make a clear silicone rubber like that of which Mistress of Minis spoke.






Automatically Appended Next Post:

Platuan4th wrote:
Dude, I have the EXACT same wedding ring. Wierd.

Also, very informative, thanks!

It's not too weird as long as someone other than my wife gave you the ring.

Lol Ok I wll try