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.

Hey guys,

Wanting to do cast some resin transparent visors, but I wanted to know if anyone was familiar with this, as I'd like you to still be able to see the details underneath and a lot of the clear resins I see seem to be a bit cloudy. Equally, I've not had clear plastics from GW since Immolators came out and their domes, which weren't the best for the job.

Anyone got experience with clear materials for making windows or visors or retro bubble space helmets?

I remember one guy who gave pretty much all his marines clear bubble helmets, so I worked my googlefu...

NOTE: These are not mine, just helping out.

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.php?showtopic=172120



He mentions in one of his posts that they're miniature model dome skylights, I did some more googlefu... and found this: http://www.ema-models.co.uk/index.php/acrylic-plastic-shapes/hemispherical-domes/clear-domes.html

i also recall a guy doing a starcraft conversion where he did bubble visors... donno where to find it though

Thanks Johnno; those answer a lot of my questions and look brilliant.
It was both very kind and helpful of you to do the additional googlefu as well!


They make a great temporary solution for my demo pieces, and also mean that I know that it -is- acheivable to make. I'll have to try and find a reliable way to produce these myself though, or at least find clear enough plastics/resin/whatever

I spent probably an hour going through that online store, turns out the domes I linked to are somewhat thick, so might be difficult to fit them over a model's head. However in the scale representation section there's some skylights that might work better, but I couldn't get pictures to load and the dimensions were a bit unclear. Would likely be a lot easier if you could find a store that sold them locally, easier to judge by eye if you don't have exact measurements available.

I've been pondering visors myself though, and with a bit of scratchbuilding I'm thinking a transparent thin styrene sheet could be turned into strips you can curve, it wouldn't be a bubble but with a bit of creativity you'd at least have a clear visor.

Personally I haven't tried clear resins yet, for a thin bubble you'd probably need a twopart mould if you want to make it uniform and sturdy, another alternative if you have a fast setting resin would be to make a dome mould and then swirl the resin inside it, pouring out the excess. Would probably not be entirely uniform in thickness.

I expect it will have to be a two part, as it will have to go over a head after it has been painted, and a flexible mold would probably warp.

I supose the sensible thing is to try and contact the company; I'm not really sure where I'd start looking in London as places like Model Zone don't really specialise in this sort of thing =X

What you need is some of the old blister pack clear styrene sheet, or a sheet of clear plasticard of suitable thickness.

Make a 'push rod' hemispherical on top of a cylindrical piece the same diameter as the collar on the marine. This will be pushed through the sheet to give you the shape.

The main mould will need to have a hole with the same diameter as the push rod plus the thickness of the sheet. This will need to be a flat surface, backed with something so that it doesn't bend as you use it. Make an identical piece so that you can have both flat faces together. Then tap some small nails through from the back of one half, so that the points are just proud of the surface. This will give something for the clear sheet to catch on.

Heat the plastic gently until it starts to go rubbery, quickly trap it between the mould halves, and gently push the pushrod through the aligned holes. Push it further through than the shape you want to make, so that any folds or creases are pulled out of the shape you want, but not so far as to tear through the sheet. Cool the sheet and remove first the push rod then the sheet from the mould.

Trim the moulding to slightly over-size and sand to fit.

What is a push rod hemispherical?

Actually I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the main mould discription and what is happening with the holes, perhaps just from not following what this push rod is aiming to do.

Not that I don't appreciate your assistance, I can see what you are aiming to do with the plastic which is grand, I'm just not comprehending the methodology.

If you could reitterate I would be appreciative, as it would be great for my demo models, even if it's not a method I can use for mass production

The push rod forms the inside of the dome. Hemispherical for a hemispherical dome, but you must not have a thinner rod than the diameter of the dome, nor a thicker one. So it's basically a hemispherical end on a cylinder. U would also not suggest making it out of plastic. As it's going to be in contact with hot plastic, it may well stick. The ones I have seen used are wood, either Jelutong or something similar for workability, with the main mould made out of either MDF or a decent grade of plywood.

The holes on the main mould must line up so you can trap the plastic sheet inbetween them and then push the hemispherical end of the push rod through both mould halves at the same time with the hot sheet inbetween.

The mould means that the sheet will try and retain it's flat shape, except where the hole is and the push rod is deforming it into a hollow hemisphere.

It's hard to explain without at least a diagram and I don't have one to hand and can't promise to get one drawn up before next weekend.