Resin Casting

K

Klute

New member
Hi all.
A while ago I sculpted a big cyber dude who is now called Kurgan btw.
I promised myself (and others in a roundabout kind of way) that it would be cast.
Well after much messing about and effort and a great deal of swearing at the dog I have managed to get somewhere near with the resins.

The problem I have is that I have never had a resin miniature so dont know what quality level to aim for. The main thing is trapped air.
You can see from the pic I have filled in the few bubbles with greenstuff to show how many there are.
Air bubbles aside the casts are very nice, every fine detail spot on and the pieces fit great.

So can any of you guys that have bought resin figures let me know what is acceptable.
I think I would be quite willing to fill in any imperfections myself.
I also want to claw some cash back to fund my next project so what would be a reasonable price to ask for these ones.
I would think the figures would be very limited too. Im thinking around 25.....but definitely 50 figures max.
He is 60mm from sole of foot to eye level.

kurgancast.jpg


Cheers
Mark
 
A

Anatora

Guest
This had nothing to do with your question, but I\'m not sure why you are getting bubbles. Do you pour the resin by hand into a mold you made? I cast skulls in resin and the higher distance you can pour the resin from into the mold, the less air bubbles. Same thing applies by just applying constant shaking (like a paint shaker) to the mold when pouring the resin.

I\'m not an expert on resin minis, although I have quite a few, but I like a clean cast when possible. Occasionally, I get one that has bubble syndrome, so I just the space fill in and go on from there. I think I would personally accept a few bubble spaces if they are not over a few millimeters and can easily be filled in.

As I told you before, I like this sculpt and I would be glad to get one, bubbles or not:)

Ann
 
S

supervike

Super Moderator
I\'m no resin expert either, but I do play one on TV...

Having bought my more than fair share of resin products, I\'d have to say I\'m not bothered by a few pits or bubbles. That stuff seems easily fixable.

I\'d be more worried about pieces not fitting well together or warped/twisted pieces.

I ordered that cool Treeman from UltraForge, and have to say that is about as perfect a cast I could ever expect. No mould (get me I\'m spelling like I\'m an Englishman!) lines, parts fit together almost seamlessly. That may spoil me a bit.

So, when you say 25 or 50, I assume you are talking pounds...
 
K

Klute

New member
@Ann.....Im pouring the resin into a silicone mould. I have a setup for pressure casting but holding off for now.
The air is what is trapped as the resin rises. Ive done a few moulds to try different configurations.
The resin itself is very thin and gets every detail just some undercuts catch air on the way out.
The mould is virbrated and also a wire is used to free air.
I need to try one with a dusting of talc as this supposedly reduces the surface tension or something.

@Jim.....25-50 is the number of figures I am thinking of not the price.
Im thinking more like £10 GBP for the figure ???

The joints are a great fit its only a few bubbles.....as you can see from the pic they are about 1mm max.
Oh no mold lines either.
 
D

dauber22

New member
I think you should change your name to KluteForge (or ForgeKlute or Klute-in-the-Forge) Then you could charge 120 GBP or so for it :D
SEriously, looks like a very cool piece. :cool:
 
S

Sophia

New member
*blush*

Well, we do our best, hehe. Thanks supervike. Cheers.

I\'d be happy to impart any knowledge that I have on the matter Klute. I am very similar to you, having just started resin casting very recently.

Air bubbles are your biggest enemy, after having found the best quality resins, and rtv mold rubber. There are two main things that I have to always be aware of when creating an air-bubble resistant miniature...

1. the mold box pattern. By that, i mean the way that you arrange your miniature components in the mold box. The air goes up, so you simply vent each area that the air wishes to escape. Like this...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y241/ultraforge/example1.jpg

This is the water-cooler method of having resin go under the miniature, then fill it while replacing the air. I am not sure if this is what you are already doin, but I would highly reccomend it. That one mold in the picture was vented almost flawlessly, and that was due to correct peice positioning, and careful vent cutting.

The second thing that you can do is...

2. proper pouring. Remeber, even if you pour it properly, it doesnt matter if your mold is catching air bubbles. The way i pour is...

1. careful stirring of the two resin components, with out creating more air bubbles. Do not pour each part into the other at a distance, so as to kick up more air. Stir gently, as the two parts are inclined to mix almost on their own. Use a plastic spoon or fork, as they tend to be smoother then wooden stir sticks.

2. Pour at a distance from the spout on the mold. You want a very thin stream. As thin as you can pour it without having your resin hardening with a half filled mold. A super thin stream so as to pop the air bubbles in their journey down into the mold. Pour it about 2 inches from the spout. If it is hard to aim, cut a wider spout.

3. I like to \"flick\" and gently shake my mold box after it is filled with resin. This maybe pops out any trapped air there may be inside. I am not sure if this even works that well, but I will do anything to make a perfect peice.



I hope some of that helps. If you have anymore questions, feel free to leave them here, so everyone can benifit from them.

Sophia.
 
K

Klute

New member
Thanks Sophia
I was sort of hoping you would catch this.:D
Ive been keeping an eye on your site waiting for the tutorial to go up.

Yeah after a few moulds I am using the water cooler method.....that is the resin enters the cavity from the bottom.
The resin is fine,very thin and no air in it at all. Its just a few spots catching in the mould I think.
I also vibrate the mould by hand.
 
S

Sophia

New member
Perhaps hand cut a few more vent lines with a sharp exacto knife, and that might help.

I sometimes hand cut my own channels to \"dig out\" and cut certain air traps. These channels do not need to be very wide, so make some really thin ones where the airs natuarally wants to travel up and out.

Also, I have not been able to solve the \"thin protuding peice\" bubbles yet. If an area is really thin, and sticks out, it is almost always gonna get an air bubble. The easiest way to solve these constant recourring bubble areas is simply resculpt the original so that the part is thicker or skicks out less, and keep these things in mind while sculpting new miniatures. I have resculpted two of my own miniatures now, and I think about venting while sculpting all the time now. It really helps. This is why I am confident you will be pouring perfect casts very soon, on your subsequent miniatures.
 
S

Sophia

New member
...and to tell the truth, my molds werent any good until the fourth or fifth.

The first Ultraforge miniature was about my fifth or sixth attempt at it (the old Lord of Pestilence).

You are already ahead of the curve :)
 
K

Klute

New member
Thanks again Sophia.

I cast this mould in one go and cut the joints. Its not perfect and I will do 2 part moulds in future but it seems to work ok.It means I cannot add extra vents though.

Yes I have already re worked the sculpt, reducing undercuts etc and from now on intend to sculpt these with casting in mind.
 
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supervike

Super Moderator
Originally posted by Klute
@Jim.....25-50 is the number of figures I am thinking of not the price.
Im thinking more like £10 GBP for the figure ???
Click to expand...

Oh....tee hee....Me not so smart sometime.

I want one.
 
G

Garyo

New member
I\'ll add my experince here... Klute are you dusting your mold with talc? I find this helps break surface tension for areas that are problematic for venting. If you are not going to do the presure pot route and are not in a hurry to produce pieces use a slower setting resin. I like using Smooth Cast 300 (fast) and 305 (medium) for non-pressure pot castings. Another trick I\'ve learned is sometimes I fill a mold half way and tip it to gentley slosh and pre-coat the inside of the mold. This can also significantly reduce surface bubbles.

Good luck with your casting adventures.

Garyo
 
K

Klute

New member
I like the coating the inside idea......I used smooth on 300 for this its bloody quick setting.
Thanks

\"That miniature is pretty cool. I\'d like to see one painted up sometime.\"

So would I....
 
M

marineboy

New member
Klute, cool figure! I\'ll get one of these when you release them.

Super, gotta agree with you on the Ultraforge minis, casting and fit is a#1.

Sophia, how about a casting tutorial on the Ultraforge website? I\'m gearing up to cast some homemade tech bases (just for fun) and it\'d be great to be able to look over you casting shoulder. BTW, gotta order the new LoP and and Giant figures...:)
 
L

Legacy Account

Active member
I\'m working up to a tutorial on making two-part moulds as well Mark.

The one I have just done for Leo, I cut gating into so it fills from the bottom upwards. This works really well, but you STILL get bubbles in the fiddly extremities of the moulds - especially in fine things like rivets, noses etc.

The thing to do is to identify the problem areas and to manually fill these with the mould open. Use a cocktail stick and work the resin into the mould. Allow it to dry and then put the pieces together and inject/pour.

Like I said to you before, it\'s a real bugger without a vac chamber!!
 
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abstract_incendiarie

Guest
Originally posted by Spacemunkie
I\'m working up to a tutorial on making two-part moulds as well Mark.

The one I have just done for Leo, I cut gating into so it fills from the bottom upwards. This works really well, but you STILL get bubbles in the fiddly extremities of the moulds - especially in fine things like rivets, noses etc.
Click to expand...

On that subject I would like to express my gratitude again and if you want the subject for the tutorial I can send my Custodian to you over whenever you are ready.
 
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