I'm gonna try making a bunch of small statues for use as scenery and was wondering how easy it is to make a mold from something that can be used to casting in plaster of paris?
I remember when I was 7 or something have a He-Man that I cast from plaster and then painted, but how do I make the initial molds from a piece?
Fri, 05/04/2012 - 09:11
#1
Casting scenery pieces in plaster
I think Latex to make the masters might be the way to go? PM GCT Gordon he makes moulds although i'm not sure of the specfics.
"To a real warrior, power perceived may be power achieved."
Master T is right, you would probably want to make latex molds to start with, liquid latex is fairly cheap, have a look on Ebay for a supplier (can't remember who I get mine from usually, but polycraft are a reliable maker and there are lots of sellers of it on there) It's not particularly hard but it is time consuming -http://www.ehow.com/how_6815489_make-rubber-latex-molds.html is probably the best simple tutorial I can find online.
hope this helps
Mick
Never tell me the odds: Han Solo;)
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I've always found latex to a lot of hassle, really.
If you just want to make a few items I recommend using Oyumaru. (It's also sold rebranded at inflated prices as Instant Mold.)
It's a reusable mold making material. You soften it in hot water (so you can't use it to cast anything hot). Holds detail wonderfully. (Much better than latex, in my experience.)
I haven't tried it with plaster, but it should work perfectly.
Here's a video showing how it works.
I follow the rules of bushido. I am a bushi.
Hi- I tried it with plaster once and it was messy and the results were poor (it survived, the plaster didn't)for the effort involved, its better with materials that set really hard like resin.
Mick
Never tell me the odds: Han Solo;)
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I think it works rather fine, actually.
While we were talking I actually made a mold, and cast a figure in it in plaster, just to see how it would turn out.
It was all made very roughly, as I wasn't interested in the details, but just how the plaster would act. I also managed to bungle the plaster mixing, and use a bowl that wasn't entirely clean.
Still, it turned out ok, for twenty minutes work (and time for the plaster to set), I think.
But it would have been better to cast it in Milliput or somesuch.
Next time I make a mold for plaster I'll roll the oyumaru out thinly first, to get a more pliable mold. And not stick the thin parts (head spike and base corners) deep into the mold.
I follow the rules of bushido. I am a bushi.
thats about the same result I got, though a bit neater:) , I found i got broken bits around the fine detail and not really fully realised on all angles, but if that's what you're going for it's certainly faster, cleaner and cheaper than latex:) the only advantage latex has is that you can do deeper undercuts and stretch the mold away from them when you're removing it. and by painting it on you can do it 360 degrees in a one piece mold (like the He-man kit Moosh mentioned, which I have to admit I also had:)) how do you manage 2/3 part molds in Oyamaru? I've been casting things of all shapes and sizes in loads of materials for about 15 years but I'm new to oyamaru and I'm finding the gumminess a little hard to overcome so I'd appreciate any advice:)
Never tell me the odds: Han Solo;)
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Latex is very good, and if you are doing a lot of castings it might be worth the while. But I've never really mastered it, to be honest.
I find oyumaru easy to work with, and I can always try out a mold, or make a couple at a time, and see what works.
It is fairly pliable, not at all like latex, of course, if you don't make it too thick. Using that you can make fairly deep molds, in particular if you don't mind breaking it to get the casting out.
One trick is to make sure it is really hot when you make the mold - it takes detail better and you can make it thinner, and so much more pliable.
It isn't that good for making truly threedimensional objects. Making a two part mold to press greenstuff in is ok.
But now I wonder if it wouldn't actually be possible to make a two part mold for pouring plaster. I'll give it a try when I have more time..
I follow the rules of bushido. I am a bushi.
Is this th kind of thing I'm after then - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silicone-Rubber-Mould-Making-Shore/dp/B004FPXDC8/ref=pd_cp_office_2?
Some loss of detail / bubbles is fine - its for old statues, so is prob cut ally desirable!
I did a similar thing once I swiped one of my wifes Buddhas she picked up in Singapore, I used a two part mix to make the mould and afterwards casting it in Hydrostone and it comes out pretty decent, except for the top of the sack that is stuck in the mould, air bubbles wise, its fine because the air bubbles are underneath the sack so you wont notice them without picking them up and scrutinizing.
Definitely a 2piece mould would be preferable but the one piece mould I made still works.
"Have you forgotten? Aku Soku Zan... To Slay evil immediately was the justice shared by the Shinsengumi and the Manslayer. I cannot stand seeing you like this anymore… "
Silicone seems like overkill to me, Moosh, latex (or oyumaru) would suffice. But it is absolutely
You probably will get some bubbles in the plaster, in particular if you're not that experienced with it.
If you want your statues to looke nicely worn, hitting your plaster statue gently with a stiff brush can make it look nicely worn.
I follow the rules of bushido. I am a bushi.
Just thinking about oyumaru (eg, http://www.ecrater.co.uk/p/10122362/clay-mold-making-oyumaru-single ) how do you get the original piece out to then pour the plaster in?
Seems like you can only do one half of it, as the bronze buddha in red stuff above shows.... Is that right or does it harden to be like a latex / silicon mold and so able to surround the piece?
masked-minstrel - is that latex or silicone you've used for the budda (and wall sections?)
@ Ret Moosh - Heyas, they are casted in plaster, Hydrostone - its real strong stuff not like plaster of paris.
http://www.kirkside.com.au/D84/rtv3428/ That is what I used to make the moulds (and the local shop I get my casting stuff from)
The stuff wasnt too cheap, something like $60AUD for the 1 kilo kit, but with it I made about 5 custom moulds including the buddha and still have probably enough left to make one more mould.
And the moulds made are pretty resilient
"Have you forgotten? Aku Soku Zan... To Slay evil immediately was the justice shared by the Shinsengumi and the Manslayer. I cannot stand seeing you like this anymore… "
Now I have had time to try casting plaster in a two part oyumaru mold.
It hardens about the same as silicone, so it's easy to make a two part mold.
I just did an awfully simple one here, a real hack. It took me 10-15 min, during which time I also made coffee (I was already boiling water for the oyumaru).
I broke of both hands when I took it out of the mold. I seldom work with plaster, and was impatient, so it hadn't really set. (Ordinary plaster, by the way, not hydrostone.)
I didn't even bother to make the mold in a box, but just squeezed it together. And held it together with atwo rubber bands when casting. So there's quite an ugly bit on the left side there. Also a bump on the top of the head, stomach and lips where I have managed to fold some air bubbles into the oyumaru.
I think that for small series of plaster cast it works rather good. Silicone and latex can probably give better results, certainly, but this is cheaper, faster and simpler, particularily for someone who isn't used to casting and moldmaking.
And if the mold doesn't turn out well, or you don't want to cast more of the same, you can reuse it.
I bought mine from Fred Aldous. For this I used less than two packages (some of it is tied up in other stuff I'm not done with yet).
Now you have seen the first figures I've cast in plaster in the last decade or two. I'm fairly happy with how they turned out.
I follow the rules of bushido. I am a bushi.
They look really good to me.
"To a real warrior, power perceived may be power achieved."
For such a quick job thats fantastic, going to have to play with my press moulds again:)
Never tell me the odds: Han Solo;)
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