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Fallen668 wrote:I never press mold at all because it is such a pain. This has seriously piqued my interest.

^ what he said. ^
I've never done press-molding because, frankly, I can't be bothered and it's too expensive. This? Quick, easy and cheap? I'm getting one.
Listing off all the things I want to duplicate...
plasma guns...
meltaguns...

hey- In effect, if you got a big enough bowl, and enough of these things, would you be able to make, say, a baneblade? You'll probably need lots of these, about 5, but if you cast a couple...heh heh heh...nah I won't do that...maybe cast some land raider sponsons and weapons...
But yeah. If it works as well as in that video, I'll get it.

I am looking forward to all the information on this and other similar products.

Has anyone tried it yet? I'm dying to know!

Holy gak, exactly what I have been looking for my Sisters of Battle since there are pretty much no support for them. I can finally get some more bits really fast if this stuff really works.

Ordering 2 sets right now. Will be really interesting to see if you can really mold superglue with this stuff. It's something im going to try just for a laugh. Superglue cures really brittle though in my experience but if their claim is true Im going to find out for sure.

One thing Im wondering about though is about the other products people have linked to, they dont seem none stick and others seems to require higher temperatures to soften up. Are they as good as this is advertised to be? Some of them are allot cheaper.

Do you think it would be poissble to mold some boneswords?.....Mmmmmmmmmmm swarmlord.

I'll post up a review and tutorial, once I get mine.

Is there a place in the UK that sells or another known online retailer with low shipping costs? If so I'll probably pick some up...

You can get Polymorph (Which seems to be the UK brand of Friendly Plastic) from Maplins, or http://www.mutr.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=550 is quite a lot cheaper. I've not order from MUTR, but I've seen it recommended a few times in tutorials. No idea about Instant Mold, though.

warboss wrote:

Chapterhouse wrote:Yeah, my sculptors begged me to buy some for use..

I bought 28 ounces for $40.00 and change from this company.

http://www.amaco.com/shop/product-430-friendly-plastic-pellets.html

They are beads, but hell, its the same stuff. Im thinking CMON has a bunch of chinese kids pressing hot beads into block molds and reselling it

how would you rate the detail obtained from using this stuff compared with other techniques out of curiosity?

Ill let you know as soon as it comes in. Ill try press molding something simple, like one of our shoulder pads.

If it works well, and I like it, I may see about carrying the non-specialty stuff is there is a demand.

After I mentioned this product to my wife she produced something for me out of her craft project bin that is another promising product that might do the same job as "Instant Mold". Check this out:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/14632912/aleenes-fantastic-plastic-modeling-and

Fantastic Plastic pellets melt in hot water and can then be molded, modeled like clay, shaped, and so much more.

This plastic is very easy to handle, too. Just soften it in a frying pan (or electric skillet) filled with water heated to not quite boiling. The plastic pellets will stick together as they soften.

Then use a fork, spoon, or other favorite utensil to lift the "melted pile" of plastic from the pan/skillet, and dab the water off with a scrap of fabric. The plastic does not hold a lot of heat -- it will be warm and pliable when removed from the water, but not too warm to handle "bare-handed"!

Now the fun really begins! You can mix colors -- blending them, marbelizing them, or go for a more "inlaid" look. You can also mold, model like clay, shape freehand....the possibilities are limited only by your imagination! And if it cools off too fast, just put it back in the hot water and re-soften it.

Making jewelry? Just press the findings into the warm plastic and let them harden into place. When your project is completed, use a hair dryer to give the plastic a shiny finish -- no need for sealant.

If all this wonder-plastic stuff is is overpriced polymorph, I'll be disappointed.

Well... at worst it showed a lot of us there was a product like this out there, at best, it will be a superior product. Either way I am glad it came along in my case!

Do we know if these other products do not adhere to green stuff? That's kind of essential to the whole press mold thing anyway.

Gitsplitta wrote:Do we know if these other products do not adhere to green stuff? That's kind of essential to the whole press mold thing anyway.

In the video, he shows it not sticking to greenstuff and remarks "It won't stick to anything, even superglue"

It won't stick to any of the common 'stuffs', green, grey, white, brown etc. It won't even stick to itself if one half is hot and the other is cold/set... no release agent needed!

I wasn't referring to the thing in the video but in these other products that people are suggesting... Fantastic Plastic and the like.

agreed, I'm about to drive down to michaels/hobby lobby and ask them a bunch of questions there is no way they can know the answer to,

Ketara wrote:If all this wonder-plastic stuff is is overpriced polymorph, I'll be disappointed.

Wikipedia's entry on Friendly Plastic redirects to Polycaprolactone, which it says is Polymorph.

I've never done press-molding before, but out of curiosity I picked up a box of Katatori-kun (型取くん) last night for 840 yen at my local Tokyu Hands and it looks like the same stuff in the video. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.


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Well, I can at least confirm that for Katatori-kun, hot indeed does not stick to cold. I just took a mold of a funny looking pen end in one piece and then after that cooled, plugged another piece into the gap. When both cooled, I could pop the two apart with a little tug. Now they're both back in my teacup waiting to be melted together.

I was surprised by how firm my hot Katatori-kun was though (that sounds vaguely naughty). I'd be a bit afraid to mold anything fragile with it. [strikethrough]It's not even as pliable as green stuff.[/strikethrough] It turns out I didn't get it hot enough. I used boiling water out of my tea kettle, but I'm also in a Japanese apartment in winter so nothing stays warm for long. Also, my pen-mold duplicate ended up quite deformed, but that may be because I took the pen out of the first piece of plastic before it had completely cooled. I'm not totally convinced this stuff will take fine details well, but that said I also don't really know what I'm doing.

I wonder what happens when you put this stuff in the freezer.

I've used Friendly Plastic. Back when I waas a kid in the early 90's I used it to make heavy armor and weapons for my Battle Beasts (Anyone remmember those?) If I wasn't careful the Friendly Plastic could and did stick to the Battle Beasts (they were made of vinyl I think). A couple of them still have bits of plastic stck to them to this day that I couldn't get off. This product is probably similar but not identical to Instant Mold.

As mentioned earlier, it appears to be the same material mouthguards are made of. If this is the case it is most definitely not friendly plastic and will be a more rubbery substance.
I know they sell those mouthguards at cvs and wallgreens for $25-35 US for people that grind their teeth in their sleep, so the price is not outrageous compared to other retail applications of the material.
I would love to see if It really is the same material and what kind of detail one can attain with it.

AdeptArtificer wrote:IF it is the same Instamold that is sold at Michaels then you can pick up a good amount from these guys. I can't see the coolminiornot site so I couldn't be sure. Here is the link to what I think it is.
http://www.toysandgamesonline.com/asp/superbrowse.asp?clid=357&caid=&sku=GAD1004&refid=DT96-GAD1004

No it is different. I have instamold and have ordered this stuff.

How can you tell just from looking, Sheck?

I can't wait to see some of you guy's reviews before pulling the trigger on this. I love the idea of no longer needing to make silicone molds, and then waiting 24 hours to find out I have an air bubble in an awkward spot, etc.

Ouze wrote:I can't wait to see some of you guy's reviews before pulling the trigger on this. I love the idea of no longer needing to make silicone molds, and then waiting 24 hours to find out I have an air bubble in an awkward spot, etc.

Do people GS mold with silicone?

No, I was wondering if this would work well enough to supplant my current techniques. It seems very simple to use.

Dais wrote:As mentioned earlier, it appears to be the same material mouthguards are made of. If this is the case it is most definitely not friendly plastic and will be a more rubbery substance.
I know they sell those mouthguards at cvs and wallgreens for $25-35 US for people that grind their teeth in their sleep, so the price is not outrageous compared to other retail applications of the material.
I would love to see if It really is the same material and what kind of detail one can attain with it.

Definitely not the same as mouth guards. This stuff gets soft and pliable with heat. The mouthguards just barely get soft enough to take an impression of your teeth. They don't get nearly as soft as this stuff.

Eric

Chapterhouse wrote:

warboss wrote:

Chapterhouse wrote:Yeah, my sculptors begged me to buy some for use..

I bought 28 ounces for $40.00 and change from this company.

http://www.amaco.com/shop/product-430-friendly-plastic-pellets.html

They are beads, but hell, its the same stuff. Im thinking CMON has a bunch of chinese kids pressing hot beads into block molds and reselling it

how would you rate the detail obtained from using this stuff compared with other techniques out of curiosity?

Ill let you know as soon as it comes in. Ill try press molding something simple, like one of our shoulder pads.

If it works well, and I like it, I may see about carrying the non-specialty stuff is there is a demand.

I can't believe that Chapterhouse press mold stuff!

[controversial but sorry I couldn't help myself ]

@Notprop:
I bet Scibor ordered a ton of it

notprop wrote:

Chapterhouse wrote:

warboss wrote:

Chapterhouse wrote:Yeah, my sculptors begged me to buy some for use..

I bought 28 ounces for $40.00 and change from this company.

http://www.amaco.com/shop/product-430-friendly-plastic-pellets.html

They are beads, but hell, its the same stuff. Im thinking CMON has a bunch of chinese kids pressing hot beads into block molds and reselling it

how would you rate the detail obtained from using this stuff compared with other techniques out of curiosity?

Ill let you know as soon as it comes in. Ill try press molding something simple, like one of our shoulder pads.

If it works well, and I like it, I may see about carrying the non-specialty stuff is there is a demand.

I can't believe that Chapterhouse press mold stuff!

[controversial but sorry I couldn't help myself ]

I dont think any of our sculptors actually press mold at this moment, but I wont poopoo on a process that lets us reproduce some of our sculptures without going through the cost of mass production. Yeah I bet Scibor owns stock in the company that makes the stuff Hah

Grobrotz wrote:@Notprop:
I bet Scibor ordered a ton of it

Why would he do that? He uses a CNC machine to cut custom press molds out of aluminum and other materials using his own digitally sculpted designs. Simply put he's beyond this material.