Thank you my friends!
Yes, a set of such mithological and historical famous characters is a good idea!
sberry
Wow! This Asklepios is really stunning! And it is one of those things that have (to my knowledge) never been done before in our 1/72 world. Which means it really fills a gap, given the popularity and omnipresence of this god in antiquity.
As far as I know the only relatively similar figure existing was the man with the stick from the Atlantic set "Life in the Acropolis"
I thought to use it some time ago converting him in some kind of Asklepios, simply rolling a snake in a spyral on his stick... but now I preferred to make a totally brand new proper figure for such important character.
And this time Asklepios came out better than the previous figures... I definitely needed a little practice to return at ease sculpting figures… after some months spent making buildings and casting!
Mr. Cryns
Thank you so much for answering my questions and explaining all these techniques
I love your Asklepios!
And sorry for messing up your topic with items and jokes that are very off topic
To stop that I started my own casting, molding & sculpting topic yesterday.
Perhaps all those off topics would deserve a thread about moldmaking and casting…
but with the right keywords on forum search engine and a little patience who's looking for these subjects can find our discussion anyway.
And jokes are always welcome and mostly appreciated too!
Mr. Cyrns
That is what I would expect to happen too. Phersu what kind and brand is that grey resin you use?
I used Syntafoam resin from Prochima, I colored it green just adding a drop of matt enamel in the compound.
I discovered colored resins recently, and I started few months ago because the details become much more visible, and imperfections too (so I can avoid primer and paints)
Details can be seen much cleare both in reality and in photos… and I think the colored figures look nicer too, compared to white or light yellow raw resin.
Sometimes I use dry pigments powder, I know someone uses inks but I think it reduces less the translucent look of resin, I perfer matt looking.
I'm not expert in this, I'm still experimenting...
The only recommendations I know are to avoid too hich percent of extra addings that may alterate the compound (I never exceed a 5% ot total)...
And water based colors are to be avoided, as water and even just excess of humidity cause many problems to the castings!
Of course coloring resin have pros and cons...
A slight change of of the hardened resin thickness and structure is obvios, which may be a problem or not, for example I noticed that dry pigments podwer don't alterate much the hardened thickness, while with enamels instead I noticed is more difficult to smooth the surfaces once hardened, and the resin seem to remain slightly more flexible.
What else... most modeling resins are transparent when liquid, they become translucent and gain opacity hardening, so when pouring you can see eventual bubbles remained in the cavity and remove hem before to close the mold, the colored resin, colored resin loses transparency already when liquid.
Mr. Cyrns
I tried all that. Small pieces of plastic (in my case a glue membrane) worked very well.
Several one valve cylindric molds were less succesfull: with or without talcum powder inside, injecting or pouring the resin, even with a simple amphora shape I still kept having problems with filling up the lowest parts of the mold properly.
Single valve molds are very good for large objects without deep protrusions, especially when they miniature have a large base which makes easier to pull it out from the mold.
I don't make any air vent in the single valve molds, and I don't pay much care about bubbles when filling the cavity,.. once almost filled I deep a tip in the liquid resin, and move it along the corners where eventual bubbles may get stuck, gently but quickly... so hopefully all the bubbles (or at least most) come up to the surface and can be eliminated, before to fill completely the mold.
Those problems of bubbles made me gave up the traditional castings, in my case I would just fill manually the beards and other protruding sottosquadras, before to fill all the rest... like for Dionysos glass of wine.
Despite this way I can't cast more than 2 or 3 figures at time, and just one in case of difficult shapes... of course i want to avoid scraps and get good quality castings.
Mr. Cyrns
Thats just a word I copied from Sho but he may use an unusual translation for this temporary clay or plasticine mold.
Oh, I get it now...
Yes, that's what I mets as forst provisory bottom base, I'll explain below with the moldmaking.
Mr.Cyrns
Where do you apply wax? And why? Since the sculpting will not stick to the silicone. I do use cooking oil as parting agent but only to keep the two rubber valves separate from each other when casting the second valve.
I apply liquid wax because not all silicons don't stuck to models, sometimes it depends from the materials of the model is made of… resin also seals eventual tiny holes and gaps in the sculpting, which tent to grip to the mold.
I still remember when I was a beginner, when I ruined a couple of quite valuable figures because they welded to the silicon of the mold!
However, after that bad experience, I always use wax just for safety, also because it makes much more easier the releasing of the master, reducing the risk of damages and breaking...
Another good point for using release agents is that liquid wax comes in two kind: glossy or matt finish... it doesn't work with all silicons and resins (and I stii haven't understood why
)
Of course I prefer matt finishing, so the castings surfaces are still smooth but a with a very fine and invisible roughness, which make the painting much easier afterwards.
Mr.Cyrns
Why use non liquid bi-component silicon in the first place?
How do you apply that? With a brush? Or pressing it?
What I do not get: you press your figure in the first valve when it is a wet, silicon surface.
After 3 days that is dry.
How do you add the other valve: I would say: pour it on top of that.
But that is not possible with silicone kit.
Do you press it on top of the first valve?
But then there will be air bubbles under it.
Or do you apply different thin layers by brush, like when making a latex casting?
Paste silicon is very useful in some situations, and can be a practical alternative to the first bottom base in plasticine... which I find very annoying and difficult to remove
A provisory bottom base in silicon instead comes away completely in just one piece, withour any remains, and it takes fes seconds just pulling it away gently.
Usually for bi valves I fill a frame of lego bricks with paste silicon, and flat the surface with a wet finger, then I press the figures on it at the right depth. Sometimes I leave the flat surface, sometimes instead I add more silicon bits to reach the parts lifted from the surface... just like with plasticine, despite it's more difficult to flat the silicon surface (evrything have pros and cons).
Ar this point the first valve (or the provisory bottom base is done, just like in the previous photo of the Chimera and Dionysos molds.
Once hardened I add further lego bricks to make the frame higher, apply liquid wax, and then I may drop the liquid silicon for the first valve….
Or otherwise, I can apply the paste instead, directly from the silcon tube nozzle in cae of simle shapes, or with a spatula (a bit tricky) to be sure all the figure surface is covered and the details filled, and no air bubbles remain on the mold surface… hopefully! (and possibly also inside, especially close to the figure cavity, to avoid bumps in the casting.
Is possible to make more layers with paste silicon, but sometimes is not advisable as the mold would result weaker, and probably it will suffer more and more unregular shrinkage… different silicone parts hardened at different times don't weld perfectly, is not like one single block.
Once the paste silicon is dried the mold is ready… In case of first provisory valve I open the bottom of the frame and I pull it away, and I repeat the process to make a second (third actually) definitive valve.
Mr. Cyrns
I love your Pompeii dog! Thats the most difficult shape I have ever seen.
Please don't show this to Stenfalk, he will not sleep for days after seeing this suffering animal.
Why didn't you finish the rest of the Pompeii figures?
Thank you, the Pompey dog has a shape that is a real nightmare for moldmaking and casting.
I didn't make human bodies because other works to do, despite quite simple and easy to do... pity! also because we didn't went ahead planning which bodies to do with the friend who asked for this first dog at beginning.
Kostis Ornerakis
Kostis do you cut (in this case: drill) air canals in your cylindric molds?
No but I make a cut with a fresh 11 blade through the hole, after I have pull out the master. In the copy you can see a much thinner line than this remaining from a 2 parts mould. Practically, I convert the single to a double mould, without having 2 pieces.
The advantages: you have not to worry if the 2 halves fit together and having cut much lower than the head top, I can brush resin to every detail of the face. Don't forget to shake the mould half full with resin to any direction as an extra measure against bubbles.
That's another good way! is very practical with some shapes and especially with softer molds... despite is a bit difficult to cut the mold in the right and better way, and sometimes there's the risk to damage the master inside.
Another problem is that without positioning dents and studs is difficult to keep the two valves perfectly alligned... besides, sometimes the mold don't have to be completely splitted in two, in some cases it can be enough just to cut till one half, which is sufficient to release some pieces, while the mold will keep positioned automatically by itself, kept hold from the part uncut.