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He is right, it wouldn't hurt to at least make one for yourself and decide whether or not to cast later on. Maybe you will run across some bulk resin or something cheaper.
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"Steel-like jaws clacked away, each bite slashing flesh from my body - I used my knife and my hands, and when they were gone, my bloody stumps - and yet the turtles came." -
I know you started the thread by asking about making resin copies, and I'm sure that would be expensive especially given that there's apparently one available on the market.
I was primarily encouraging what sounded like a cool art project. Design a Mego-like Lawgiver.This profile is no longer active.Comment
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I think it still is a cool project. We have some ideas in the works. Lets see what happens and we'll keep you posted.
Too bad you can't melt down some of those crappy resin figurines out there and simply reuse it to cast better stuff."Steel-like jaws clacked away, each bite slashing flesh from my body - I used my knife and my hands, and when they were gone, my bloody stumps - and yet the turtles came."Comment
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That Smooth-On kit is about a 1/4 of the rubber to cast a project like this. And it's a big difference in casting a one piece head the size of your thumb to casting a multi-part part piece that has 1 part at least 10" tall.
If you go the hydrospan way. You have to mold the Greatest Ape Figure. Going by the pics: main body, 2 arms, table, a couple scrolls. At least 6 or 7 molds have to be made. These will be throw away molds and some short cuts can be made, if you know how. Now you are ready to hydrospan them. Got a pressure pot? Cause to get hydrospan to work correctly, you have to pressure cast them. A couple weeks go by and lets say the parts have grown correctly. Now it's time to mold these parts that are larger and will take more rubber than the first molds. These will be master molds, so no short cuts here. Each mold will have a "mother mold" too. A mother mold is usually made of plaster or a harder rubber and goes on the outside of the regular mold for support. A 10" casting will need a mother mold if you want the molds to last. Now we are ready for production. I use Smooth-On products all the time. Their sample kit isn't very good. The resin is fine, but that rubber is crap. I use their OOMOO rubber and it's cheap: $115 gallon and their 305 resin $75 gallon. Those give me great results with keeping my pricing down. Also keep in mind this not a project for the dining table. These are toxic products that need to be used in a open room like a garage or side building. Another thing to consider: time. Any casting project is going to take time and most take alot of time. Your time is worth something. I mean you can give away stuff, but put you in the poor house quick.
I'm not trying to be a "know-it-all", "killjoy" or an ***** either. I'm just being honest and try saving some of you some headaches, time and money. I've been casting projects like this over 10 years. Been there and threw alot of money out the door before. My wife will agree on this.
BobComment
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Bob, your comments are appreciated, and acknowledged. Seriously. Nobody wants to throw money away especially when it comes to stuff we don't REAAAAAAllly need in the first place.
The ideas do grow on each other and using everyones expertise and experience can help determine the best route, which may be to simply find a better alternative, bag the whole thing or melt down some some brass statues from a garage sale and cast it in bronze.
The hydrospanning does sound pretty labor intensive, but I haven't messed with it and don't intend too. I basically sent this thread so we could throw the idea around, exactly like we have done. Thanks for everyones input."Steel-like jaws clacked away, each bite slashing flesh from my body - I used my knife and my hands, and when they were gone, my bloody stumps - and yet the turtles came."Comment
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