70th Explorers Garrison: Forums

Nice! I really like the two box method you used. It's pretty straight forward. What plaster did you use? Where did you get your alginate?

TK 3181 wrote:Nice! I really like the two box method you used. It's pretty straight forward. What plaster did you use? Where did you get your alginate?

I used regular "art Plaster" bought it at michaels.

This is the stuff I used.

http://environmolds.com/product_info.ph ... ucts_id=37

I bought it about a month ago when they were trying to push it out as a new product and paid $15 for the 3lb bag now it's $21 still not bad and the stuff works good...the molds are still looking ok after 2 days...I may cast some more...and then it's off to my pumpkin patch

Tiny update vac table for kitchen use complete...now to get rid of the fear of burning down the house

...the molds are still looking ok after 2 days...

i was told that alginate starts to decompose after a couple of hours that is why i went with smoothon silicon rubber stuff, i am very interested in hearing how your experiences with this stuff went since i have some boxes that i made that i will need molds made for.

timbremer wrote:

...the molds are still looking ok after 2 days...

i was told that alginate starts to decompose after a couple of hours that is why i went with smoothon silicon rubber stuff, i am very interested in hearing how your experiences with this stuff went since i have some boxes that i made that i will need molds made for.

In the plastic tubs the molds have shrunk just a bit. This stuff doesn't decompose it's more like they sweating the water out but it is a slow process. I think you can use this material for a couple of days. I think the material used may also play a part. I bet anything that uses a catalyst that produces more heat might effect the molds. I'll take a photo tonight to share and I may consider doing one more casting to compare the 2.

Last night I tried my had with Vac-forming...needless to say like most everyone first go was a failure...I haad only 2 pieces of styrene to work with I will pick up alot more this week. Couple of areas for improvement...bigger frame...bigger weather stripping and probably more HP for the vacuum. The one I used peaks at 5HP. Any other suggestions?





One good thing is I was able to see how the top tube would look with the gauntlet.

This looks like it could be more a heating issue.

It really doesn't take much vac to pull around a mold as long as you have a nice tight seal all the way around. It could be a very slow and even vac and still make a nice pull due to the it being air tight which leads me to believe it's more of a heating problem, but...it's hard to know for sure without actually watching the plastic actually being worked.

As for the form, I would suggest building yourself a support block that flows away from your form....like a wedge. You'll want to drill small holes in your form where the deep parts and grooves are. This will help the the air move through the form itself and suck the plastic down into these grooves. Here's a quick pic of the wedge idea below. As it is now with the two blocks underneath the form, you may loose your mold and maybe your form because the plastic will get sucked underneath the form....especially at the edge of the form. It will be a chore trying to get it apart.

It's looking very awesome to say the least! You're going to have one bad ass Bane. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the tips. The concept of drilling holes scares me I guess if I go slow I won't crack it. Should the wedge be flush to the peg board or should there be a small gap there.

While I wait for more plastic I thought I'd turn to working my trusty side arms





Maybe I'll name them....

Well no vac forming tonight, but I did get some more work on my sidearm

Marvinrobot wrote:Thanks for the tips. The concept of drilling holes scares me I guess if I go slow I won't crack it. Should the wedge be flush to the peg board or should there be a small gap there.

While I wait for more plastic I thought I'd turn to working my trusty side arms





Maybe I'll name them....

The wedge should be flush with the table top. This will help draw the plastic away from your mold allowing you more ease to demold and help save your mold for more pulls. You'll also grab more side detail with the wedge in place. You can hollow a TINY bit of the wedge underneath where your drill holes come through. This will help suck the plastic down into those fine areas on your mold as it will create a chamber of sorts underneath the mold (Hope that makes sense). The thought of drilling is scary, but a little bit goes a long way. It doesn't have to be a large hole. It just needs to be large enough to allow air to flow through the mold. You'll be surprised at the difference of detail once you have holes drilled.

I'll see if I can do a demonstration for you through video. I just need to get some time and something to do for it. I'll work on that.

judge_hellfast wrote:
The wedge should be flush with the table top. This will help draw the plastic away from your mold allowing you more ease to demold and help save your mold for more pulls. You'll also grab more side detail with the wedge in place. You can hollow a TINY bit of the wedge underneath where your drill holes come through. This will help suck the plastic down into those fine areas on your mold as it will create a chamber of sorts underneath the mold (Hope that makes sense). The thought of drilling is scary, but a little bit goes a long way. It doesn't have to be a large hole. It just needs to be large enough to allow air to flow through the mold. You'll be surprised at the difference of detail once you have holes drilled.

I'll see if I can do a demonstration for you through video. I just need to get some time and something to do for it. I'll work on that.

Well...there is that Baroness costume we have been talking about, Chris. Just sayin'

Well I'm getting closer...turned out I still had a bad seal on my vac table will try again tomorrow. I did apply the wedge and poked some holes in the plug now I need to get some cotton gloves so I can manually shape the parts that are still coming out too soft like the wrists and the top details.

Well I finally decided to pull an under side...while I'm still perfecting my pull tech, this allowed me to put together for the first time a gaunlet based on the model I built. I cut this very roughly and put it together with tape and gave it a quick painting...this was a moment of truth was it wearable...



Seems like it any feedback is welcomed...I believe I can get better pulls with practice. I plane on continuing to make more pulls till I get it as right as possible. I still need to sit down and make more greeblies...the devils in the greeblies

Looking great, Wally! Wide-brimmed hat's off to you and to everyone who has the patience and tenacity to stick with creating your own molds and working with vac tables. My talents definitely do not lie in those directions, so to see you work and work on getting the gauntlets just right is quite impressive to me. I'm not a Cad Bane expert by any means (finally just saw his first appearance when I bought the Clone Wars first season on Blue Ray last week), but your work certainly looks much like what I remember. I'll keep watching your build, so keep up the good work.

That's really cool Wally! Great job.