fairy masters and cookie

Just so you're up to date, I managed to get some satisfying masters of some of the sculpts, see for yourself (at least see what you can on those mediocre photos; again, I apologize for not using a better cam, I'll post better pics once I'm less busy). Right now, a few variations are in the making. 

Oh, and here's a 'Jabberwocor', apparently sculpted from Oreo, on a 40mm circular biscuit:

He's going to get the paint-job of a lifetime ... I hope - haven't picked up a brush in a long time

Cheers à tout :) !

P.S.: Go Muppets.

one last rtv mould

This is the latest and hopefully last rtv mould (no more sculpting with plastic, superglue and polymers !), I remember hearing someone call moulds like these "trash moulds" (lots of stuff that doesn't really make sense together), an appropriate name for something that, in this case, kind of originated from trash.

I'm very satisfied with how it turned out, no air entrapment where it could be harmful, now it's about making the right cuts (wouldn't be much of a deal if I hadn't been that stingy with space again).
You can see only one half, that's right. I managed to get all the interesting detail into one half, which also makes the separation a lot easier.
The rpm might have to be increased a little for the Jabberwocor, we'll see. As long as there's a few decent castings coming from this mould it served it's purpose.

Usually, you should give these moulds a few (4-7) days rest for the silicone oils to temper and the alcohols to dissipate, which means I can't use it before the end of next week. Well then ... :)


Cheers

mould recycling

Whoever made his own rtv moulds yet knows even the more affordable rtv silicone isn't that cheap - and you probably don't want to save money in the wrong place by using cheap silicone. Apart from that, some silcones aren't appropriate for spin casting, if that's what you're searching for.

I'm always keen experimenting and had a few minor accidents using an alternative curing agent.

The resulting moulds aren't satisying at all and there's no use for them, so I figured I could recycle them.

The first thing to do was apply a layer of silicone to the greens and plasticine.
Next, I sprinkled the mould with an equal amount of cured mould-pellets, it's kind of baking a cake.
After a day of curing the last layer is applied, silicone:sand - 1:1 (not any sand, fine quartz sand. I've tried other sand (even with additional curing agent), the results were fine but the curing still took a few days, it's not worth the risk).
This last layer provides an even surface and additional weight.


Cheers fellow cheapskates, let's see how this turns out :)

Test Runs

Some of you might have noticed the new Dynamic Views design, I hope you like it better than the old one. Unfortunately, DV doesn't support header images yet, so no own logo. You can use one, but this blocks your dashboard-button ... bummer.

I managed to get a few useful casts from the rtv mould:

Armatures, from left to right: Orcs, Goblins, Ogres - and random (mis)casts (some things didn't work as expected but in the end I got all I needed)

All arms are separate. With a bit cutting, bending, repositioning and swapping body parts, the pre-made armatures will provide a basis for several miniatures.

All future talk - for now some other sculpts need to be done.

Cheers

RTV Master Mould, 50%

The first half cured perfectly and the second is in the process of curing. Here's a little picture of the upper half (still waxed at this point, some gates already pre-cut, no vents yet):

if everything goes as planned I can run a test this week-end.

Au revoir, 

         le Champignon du Nord

RTV Master Mould

My favourite occupation this week-end: preparing a master mould for my spin-caster. Since the majority of the sculpts in it (mostly armatures and bits + a few critters) won't withstand the vulcanisation heat and pressure, it's made of ht/rtv silicone (shore|a 40). I can't say for sure it will work in rtv but I'll have a try and run a test next week. If it does there's loads of stuff I can do in the near future without having to think about adequate sculpting materials.

The first layer, day 1. A thin layer of rtv silicone to keep the softness for undercuts

The second layer, day 2. Should be finally cured by monday morning (latest). This makes only one half of a mould then, of course, but it's a start.

Have a nice week-end :)