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.

Thanks Cam.

lol Thank you Theo.

Just de-moulded... de-boxed... de-mouldboxed... the first half of the box 1 mould, and it looks good. I'll do part 2 tomorrow.

Maybe if I got up earlier, I'd be able to do these quicker... but that's just crazy talk...

Caffeine, I can't swear by it, but I hear it does wonders.

I have heard of this caffeine but I don't drink anything with it in and anyway I would have to be up and awake to go and get some to wake myself up with...

I'm just not a morning person. I'm more awake now, as it approaches 1am than I am at 1pm most days...

Erm..aren't you supposed to buy it at the grocery store and bring it home so you can make it in the morning?

That pic is just so,,,,,WRONG!

This thread has clogged the drain. Wake up Dr H. Wake up Dr H! Drink some Tea in the morning, and eat a breakfast full of fruits. You find you wake right up.

dsteingass wrote:Erm..aren't you supposed to buy it at the grocery store and bring it home so you can make it in the morning?

That still requires waking up and getting out of bed... and that's waking up as in rising from the dead, not just shifting from zombie to human

I am awake now and I have poured the second half of the box mould.
All was going fine with the preparations for the pour until I realised that I hadn't added registration keys to the first pour
So I've cut a few into the first pour and the actual shape of the two halves should help with lining them up, so should be fine.

You know hey make coffee pots that start on a timer right? Not that I condone the use of stimulants , just tired of driving this bus through the holes in your "I can't wake up in the morning" story

Your circular argument baffles me You just need to plan ahead that's all

In other news I have spent most of today going through my "downloads" folder and sorting out all the inspirational pictures into relevant folders. This means that I can now find useful things like the tips for casting and making moulds...

And I can now start to plan what will be next to build for the army...
Options are many, Ideas are more and Inspirations are much more...
Technically, going on my alternating build plan, it should be something "big" next (having just finished some "small" troop models), so planning starts... NOW!

Well, after I check the latest mould. That's about due to be separated...

I love your moldwork (even with the unnecessary extra vowel), especially the locator pins! That's very important to the throne-making.

 dsteingass wrote:
I love your moldwork (even with the entirely necessary extra vowel), especially the locator pins! That's very important to the throne-making.

Thanks Dave. Fixed your post for you
Yeah, I like how the locator pins turned out on the toilet mould. Which makes it all the more annoying that I forgot them on this next mould.

However, the mould has turned out well. No problem bubbles, the details have been picked up well and the two halves seem to fit together neatly (no thanks to my inadequate keys that I cut in at the last minute).

Also of note is I experimented with using plasticine to fill holes in the channels and to create the air channels. This means less cutting of the mould to make these channels (that's the theory anyway, I don't know if anyone else does this).
Never-the-less, there are a few bits that require some cutting and the last remnants of plasticine to remove and this mould is done.

On to the next.

There's some nice moulds developing here...

Yay casting! Something I always wanted to do, but not invest in financially.

Ruglud wrote:There's some nice moulds developing here...

Yeah, leave anything laying about for long enough and moulds will start to develop...
Thanks.

cormadepanda wrote:Yay casting! Something I always wanted to do, but not invest in financially.

I'm hoping that it will eventually pay for itself. I can be patient 'til then.
Something to keep in mind for anyone thinking of it; you will go through silicone for the moulds quicker than you expect...

I still think the BIG buckets of OOMOO seem like the most cost-effective way, even though it's expensive.

 dsteingass wrote:
I still think the BIG buckets of OOMOO seem like the most cost-effective way, even though it's expensive.

Indeed. I'll certainly shop around and go big next time. Now I know what to expect.

I've just poured the first half of the mould for box 3 (the large, plain one). I forgot to take a picture before I poured the silicone in, so you'll have to wait to see that one. I remembered to add the keys this time as well.

From what I calculate there is enough silicone to finish this mould and then maybe do a small one (box 2) at a push. So depending on that, I'll be moving on to playing with the resin soon.

I shall crack on with some painting this evening and try and decide what I will be making next...

 Dr H wrote:

 dsteingass wrote:
I still think the BIG buckets of OOMOO seem like the most cost-effective way, even though it's expensive.

I shall crack on with some painting this evening and try and decide what I will be making next...

Chemist.....crack......make next.

awkward moment when you suddenly realize you've been watching too much breaking bad on Netflix.

Bad Theo. No mind altering substances here...sadly

I've just unboxed the first half of the latest mould and all appears to be in order

First job tomorrow will be to clean this up and prepare for the second half of the mould, and then to pour said second half...

Breaking bad! yet another show i need to actually watch one day! i'll put it on the list with The walking dead & Game of thrones! I hear good things about them! nearly as good as your toilet molds! :-) I love the fact you're showing us every step of your rather steep learning curve, it's nice to see everyone get involved with the project!

OH Nerdy!! You're missing so much!!

nerdfest09 wrote:Breaking bad! yet another show i need to actually watch one day! i'll put it on the list with The walking dead & Game of thrones! I hear good things about them!

You're not alone NF. I've not seen any of them either. I don't watch a lot of TV these days and if I do it's more likely to be comedy or documentaries rather than dramas.

nearly as good as your toilet molds! :-)

Why thank you kind Sir.

I love the fact you're showing us every step of your rather steep learning curve, it's nice to see everyone get involved with the project!

It is quite a steep learning curve and that's why I took my time to do most of the learning before I started anything and why I'm moving slowly and carefully through the process.

And if I didn't show these, there wouldn't be much to show in here anyway. I promise, I will get back to building the army soon...

On that note, I've poured the second half of the current mould. Here's what it looked like just before then.

The most difficult part in each mould is deciding how to lay out the pieces.
I'm trying to be as efficient as possible and to stretch the silicone as far as possible.
Whether I've pushed it too far will not show until I attempt the casting...

Dr H. You may need more keys in the future i believe. Anyways cant wait to see these boxes to come flying out.

Yeah, time will tell if these are good moulds or not.

And on that note, this mould is done...


I don't have a huge amount of silicone left, but there is enough to make one the size of that for the thrones.
I will make up the plasticine base for the small box (number 2) and see how much that needs.
Either way, casting might happen next week...

Excellent...chaos is obviously still reigning here as I randomly opened a page to find....toilets

Love those eldar a few pages back too, the ranger's cloak is great.

Nice to see you playing with moulds too (that 'u' is most necesary Dave ), hopefully I'll b out of the warp long enough to see more random bits coming through.

 monkeytroll wrote:
Excellent...chaos is obviously still reigning here as I randomly opened a page to find....toilets

Love those eldar a few pages back too, the ranger's cloak is great.

Nice to see you playing with moulds too (that 'u' is most necesary Dave ), hopefully I'll b out of the warp long enough to see more random bits coming through.

Welcome back MT.

Yeah, my blog of ultimate, true chaos took a turn for the chaotic recently... Not something I expected to happen, but I guess that's the nature of chaos...

Thanks, yeah those Eldar have been the main project recently (from before, and since, the hut). I'm in the planning stages of the next build, so your timing is pretty good.

sorry doc for neglecting your thread for so long.... totally unintentional...

the mold looks highly professional!!!...

that really leaves the question tho.... will you go the typical way and sell the boxes... or will you go the hirst arts way and actually sell the molds?...i bet you could suitably raise the prices and eventually customers still would have to come back to replace old molds...

 Viktor von Domm wrote:
sorry doc for neglecting your thread for so long.... totally unintentional...

and you seemed so enthusiastic about the finished Eldar...
No worries. Can't be helped sometimes. Good to see you back around these parts.

the mold looks highly professional!!!...

Thank you. I'm still learning at the moment and have yet to test them properly. Lets hope they work as well as they look.

that really leaves the question tho.... will you go the typical way and sell the boxes... or will you go the hirst arts way and actually sell the molds?...i bet you could suitably raise the prices and eventually customers still would have to come back to replace old molds...

I hadn't really considered selling the moulds. I would need a reliable way of replicating them and I would want them to look a bit better than they do now if I was to ask for money for them.

And, as I said, I need to actually check that these work as moulds. I've ran water into the closed moulds and it comes out the out holes and don't appear to leak, but the true test will be when I throw some resin at them...

well.... if you have a working mold after your own parameters... go for clay or even tin... then you have your true master and then you can make as many molds as you like...

and i was lurking but not commenting... especially i liked your argument about the antenna... or to be more precise about your point ...if the antenna had stayed red......that was a highly enjoyable lil piece of comedy of the situation

 Viktor von Domm wrote:
well.... if you have a working mold after your own parameters... go for clay or even tin... then you have your true master and then you can make as many molds as you like...

We shall see. I may have to make more moulds if they prove popular anyway.

and i was lurking but not commenting... especially i liked your argument about the antenna... or to be more precise about your point ...if the antenna had stayed red......that was a highly enjoyable lil piece of comedy of the situation

Indeed.