Making your own minis, and why it\'s not working for me. Help!

[bakalla]

Hello.

I\'m trying to make some of my own minis. Using moulds and stuff i bought from a hobby store. I melted the metal and poured it into the moulds, and it looks like this:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/pics/pics5/img3f95853430d5b.jpg

Anyone got experience with this? The hands of the miniature is missing and the sword and the face looks very weird. It\'s like there is not enough metal to fill up the mould.

But i used enough metal, i tried several times. What could be wrong? Is the metal too hot, not hot enough, or did i use too little white powder?

Help please..

-Hakan/bakalla

 

[finn17]

Been there, done that...

This is largely trial and error I am afraid. You will have to experiment with a number of factors:

1) Mould temp: the first one (mebbe the second) out of the mould is normally crap.

2) Metal temperature: One possible reason for your problem is that the metal is not hot enough and has cooled before it has reached the extremities of the mould.

3) Mould halves clamped together too tightly/not enough white powder: The halves of the mould are supposed to be \'molten metal tight\' but not air tight!! If the mould is clamped together too heavily the air cant escape and becomes compressed in the extremities, giving results like yours. One of the jobs of the white powder is to provide a seal, but not an airtight seal. Once again, you will have to experiment. Moulds too loose = giant flash and possibly dangerous because of escaping metal. Moulds too tight = missed areas of figure.

4) Try diifferent casting metals: Different makes/grades of metals all have their own characteristics. I generally find the cheapest actually work the best.

Hope this helps

 

[KatieG]

I\'m just guessing here, but are you using a spin caster? You need the centrifugal force to pull the metal into the parts that are far away from where you\'re pouring. Ignore me if you are using a spin caster. As I recall there is a casting group on yahoo groups, go to the yahoo groups homepage (groups.yahoo.com) and search for the casting group (not sure what search term you would use, but be creative). Note that they will not help you if you are trying to make copies of copyrighted material however.
--Katie G.

 

[airhead]

looks too cold

Metal clamp molds? Like sinker molds?

Need to get the mold hot - not hot enough to melt the lead, but warmer than room temperature. Usually two or three pours to get it right - or a while in the oven at about 250*F.

Lead may not be hot enough either.
Not enough lead in the content. Lead has a lower melting point than peweter. More lead = less heat required. Less lead = more heat.

Rubber (centrifugal) molds?
Similar theory, but not experienced with them myself.

 

[kelmarng]

I\'ve tried pouring my own minis as well.

What Finn17 said covers most of the fundermentals.

Gravity poured figures will never have the same crisp finish as the ones come out of a spin caster.

I assume the \"white powder\" is talcum powder. It helps with demolding as well as helping air escape the mold when the metal is poured in. However, you shouldn\'t rely on it to vent the mold, you\'ll need to cut some vents for large amount of air to escape.

One way to get relatively good result with a gravity mold is to make a long mold with large and long gate volume. The added pressure from the gate will force the metal to flow better and gets better detail off the mold.

Still, you won\'t achive spin casting result without a spin caster.

 

[bakalla]

I see.. thanks for the advice!

Another thing..

I bought the most expensive metal, thinking it must be the best, and it seems to be almost only pewter and very little lead.

And there was another that was very cheap, with 40% pewter and 60% lead.

Which one would you recommend?

Isn\'t lead in the miniatures kind of bad?

Thanks again.

 

[bakalla]

Originally posted by kelmarng
cut some vents for large amount of air to escape.

One way to get relatively good result with a gravity mold is to make a long mold with large and long gate volume. The added pressure from the gate will force the metal to flow better and gets better detail off the mold.

Thanks but i\'m not sure i understand completely. Would you mind elaborating? You mean, cutting some extra holes into the moulds? To get it more air so the metal will flow better?

 

[finn17]

Badness V goodness....

Originally posted by bakalla
Isn\'t lead in the miniatures kind of bad?
Thanks again.

Lead is only bad if you eat it, breathe it\'s fumes or rub lead dust into your eyeballs. As long as you are sure that it isn\'t getting into your body (or anybody elses) lead is as dangerous as fruitcake.

Basic hygiene is essential however, don\'t work in kitchen, always wash hands etc, etc.

Lead is a dream to cast with, and the only reason big manufacturers are moving away from it is fear of being sued by the parents of the d*ckheads who rather eat minis than paint them

 

[kelmarng]

I think the 40% pewter 60% lead has a lower melting point that the 99% pewter alloy... not too sure.

Lower melting point allows you pour at the same temperature with the metal remain molten longer, for better flow.

Problem is in molten state, some lead will form oxide with oxygen in the air. You definitely want to have the place well ventilated. After the figure cooled, the lead should be save unless someone chew on it.

Oh, also, when the metal is cooling down, tap the side of the mold slighly. And when you see the top of the metal become solid, tighten the mold clamp a little. This should give you better details.

 

[kelmarng]

Some, most actually, minis have parts sticking out: Arms, weapons, etc.

When you pour, air will be trap in those area if there is no vents.

Vents are channels to allow air to escape. Take the minis from your picture for example. If you cut a small channel, less then half a mm wide, from the tip of the sword towards the top of the mold (where you pour the metal in). Air will be able to escape the sword tip easier allowing the metal to flow into the sword easier.

An easy way to demonstrate is to get a drinking straw, hold your thumb on top then dip the other side into water. No water will flow into the straw because of the air pressure. Let go of your thumb, water will rush into the straw. Same theory for casting minis.

 

[finn17]

Hmmm...

I agree with the advice above in principle, but if you have purchased a commercial mould, I would advise against hacking away at it, as it will have been tested already. If you have made your own mould however...hack away. Just watch for hot lead escaping on your skin/carpet/best table etc!!!

 

[Sjakkie]

I agree that from the picture it looks like air got trapped where the hand and the details of the face should have been. You can fix this by cutting air vents in your mold (but be sure to place them strategically).

Also check out the following two yahoo!groups:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/casting/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/1listSculpting/

 

[Vallan]

Perfect analogy

Originally posted by finn17
Lead is only bad if you eat it, breathe it\'s fumes or rub lead dust into your eyeballs. As long as you are sure that it isn\'t getting into your body (or anybody elses) lead is as dangerous as fruitcake.

Lead=Fruitcake: Don\'t eat it, breath it\'s fumes or rub it in your eyeballs. And as long as it doesn\'t enter anyones body it\'s safe.lol
Poetry finn17, pure poetry.:duh:

:flip::bouncy::flip: