The virtue of scale ( revisited.)

[SIGIL]

AH see, I knew this topic would be enlightening given the chance..... I figured \" hey, why not make a bunch of bold assumptions stated as fact and mix in a little BS and see what truths are revealed. \"


I used you all........ MwaHaHaHahaaaaaa........


Thanks for all the info guys I really appreciate the education. Since I have such limited experience ( read NONE ) I will certainly take your word for it on all this.


Personally I like the idea of 54mm scale but I can see the impracticality of it.

But screw it I have decided to go with a 40 mm scale for all of my Human sized ( between 6 and 7 feet ) figs, while I will have some monsters and such in 50 and 60 mm, and elftypes will be about 30 mm, dwarves will be about 20 to 25 mm and gobs about 15 mm ( maybe.......... I have not been able to get under 25 with any good detail but we shall see )


I am still curious about various materials virtues.

 

[UncleHex]

Originally posted by Tuubje
Don\'t the resin moulds break after a certain series of casts? I\'ve heard such a thing and wonder if it\'s true

As resin cures, the chemical reaction causes it to heat up (exotherm). Under the wrong conditions this heat can be intense enough to vaporize the styrene in the mould rubber and cause it to (quite literally) dry-out, ruining the mould surface.
If you use good quality materials and do not try to accelerate the curing process, the moulds should easily produce hundreds of casts.
Shortcuts (like cheap resin or heating up the moulds to give the curing process a \'kick-start\') can destroy your expensive moulds after only a few dozen casts.

Originally posted by Sigil
I have decided to go with a 40 mm scale for all of my Human sized ( between 6 and 7 feet ) figs, while I will have some monsters and such in 50 and 60 mm, and elftypes will be about 30 mm, dwarves will be about 20 to 25 mm and gobs about 15 mm

If you decide to spincast in pewter from vulcanized rubber moulds, you should take into account the maximum depth of 26mm for your minis when using \'industry standard\' mould sets.
Thicker moulds can be made but many mouldmakers are reluctant to do so due to costs. If you go this route I\'d check with whoever you intend to use before finalizing your designs.

 

[SIGIL]

If you decide to spincast in pewter from vulcanized rubber moulds, you should take into account the maximum depth of 26mm for your minis when using \'industry standard\' mould sets.

AH I feel a question coming on........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Yep here they are;

You mention the depth of the mold. Please forgive my ignorance but But I was under the impression that minis had to be somewhat flat with mostly even depths on both sides of the mold. Is this correct or just the ideal? What is the ideal shape ( roughly ) for a miniature to be cast in a single piece?

Also can a piece be cast \" into \" a mold? By this I mean to say that if you had a mini fig that was mostly straight ( upright standing posture, legs straight in line with torso, right arm straight down to the side ) but had one limb extending straight forward from the rest of the sculpt equal to it\'s own length ( the left arm fully extended straight ahead of the fig. ). Would this be castable as a single piece?

Also..... I would really like to do all of the casting myself but I understand that tthere is probably much more to it than I can teach myself in a reasonable amount of time. Do you have any recommendations as to who to contact for such work? You certainly seem to be the one to ask.


Sorry for all the questions Uncle Hex.:innocent:

 

[UncleHex]

SIGIL;
You are quite correct, minis are easier to mould and cast the flatter they are. Shape really doesn\'t matter so long as the piece fits on the mould, is under the maximum depth and is pressed by an experienced mouldmaker.
Try to imagine your work being sandwiched between the mould rubbers (if you have difficulty doing this simply take some new unpainted minis and draw along the mould lines with permanent marker) to get a feel for what can be done and where the mould is likely to divide.
Areas of a mini \"cast into\" or emdedded in the mould will make it harder to mould and cast, but not impossible. The trick is to strike a balance between \'flat\' and \'dynamic\'.
Your question;
\"... one limb extending straight forward from the rest of the sculpt equal to it\'s own length ( the left arm fully extended straight ahead of the fig. ). Would this be castable as a single piece?\"
Such a figure can be produced but it would be difficult to cast and your moulds would not last long (every time this piece is removed after casting, the embedded part will scrape detail from the mould on its way out.)
I firmly believe that if you invest in reasonable quality equipment and metal, there is no reason why you cannot teach yourself to spincast...it\'s not rocket science.
Mouldmaking is another matter, it could easily take you years to master this black art, so stick with the professionals on that one.
As for recommending anyone, it depends on your location.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach

Originally posted by kittykat23uk

Originally posted by supervike
I prefer the 1:1 scale, but the stupid forest dragon has really destroyed my garage. Plus his tail sticks out in the yard, and people are starting to wonder.

lollol

COOL!! Where can I get hold of one ??? lol

Regards

Kat

Noooooo you can\'t ride it to Gamesday next year. Think of all the little kiddies it\'ll eat..........Hang on a minute recind that lest comment! lol

I\'ll give you a lift on him if you like!

Dragonsreach: whoa look at the queue! we\'ll never get in.

Dragon: :flame:

Kat: You were saying??

lol

 

[SIGIL]

AH thanks Uncle HEx.


Are there any Casting / Mold making companies that you would recommend in the US?

 

[UncleHex]

I can\'t recommend any myself but I will ask some of my associates who are better informed of the situation Stateside and let you know.

 

[SIGIL]

Many thanks.

 

[Joshua]

Orginal gepostet von No Such Agency
If all minis were 50mm, none of us would have any space left in our houses to display them all! Army transport would be 4x harder as well(twice as tall = 4x volume and mass). I assume this is why 25mm was originally chosen, it\'s about an even inch and it\'s small enough for practical gaming.

wrong, it would be 8 times harder
imagine a 25mm cube
25*25*25=15625
50*50*50=125000
so twice as tall = 8 times volume and mass