I can tell that I am getting a little obsessed with making tool tips recently…
Knocked up these bad boys from some 2mm piono wire and some various aluminium rod. On reflection, I would prefer to make the handle out of some nice wood, but can’t find any.
Hello, as you know, am currently sculpting a large-ish version of the great Dornian Heresy Ultramarine Damocles armour variant, go check it out.
Am coming to the point where the armoured gaiters need a think about. Having done these at smaller scales, I know that they can be a pain the backside, so I decided to try and make a tool tip that will help.
This is what I came up with:
I know what your’e thinking, that should have been tube stock that I used, and you would be right to think that but I had none to hand so what’chya gonna do…
Have tested it on some flattened out putty and a blob of putty. You have to, ahem…lube it properly. But it should get some neat results. Will keep you posted!
N
So, I missed it and I bet you did too right?
The 100th post on double eagle came and went, no fanfare, no applause, it’s just not that kind of guy. He does his thing, and asks for nothing in return…He is alone, a warrior, some say a saviour, others sa…..hang on, I will stop that nonsense now.
Anyway, felt it needed marking with something so there you go!
N
Scale bolt heads. You can get plastic rod shaped as hex, but have found this a little expensive, as well as shipping this drives up the cost (you would have thought that shipping a little rod of plastic was real cheap, but hey, who am I to complain right).
So, what will you need?
Method:
Get your materials together and dust the work surface that you will working on with a little of the talc, you don’t want this sticking to you work tops. Mix up equal parts of you chosen flavour of milliput and break off enough to fill the underside of the slottabase. Squish it as flat as you can but don’t worry about the height, as long as you have a good coverage of the base, you will be fine.
Take you allen (hex) keys and dust a little of the talc onto the ends. I have used a 1.5mm, 2mm and a 2.5mm for this demo. Gently stab in the head of the key ,keeping it as perpendicular to the milliput as you can and try to keep it at a consitent depth too. Make as many holes as you like, but I found that too many, and they start to distort each other, so maybe only do half a dozen (in all honesty, you probably only need one as the melted sprue only really goes in one at a time anyway).
Leave to cure overnight then sand/file the surface falt and flush with the bases edge.
Next, comes the disclaimer bit - if you do not trust yourself with open flames and melting plastic DO NOT DO THIS. I will take no responsibility at all for this, and do not recommend doing this if you are not 100% sure you can manage this next step safely. Do this in a well ventilated area.
Get yourself a candle or some such and piece of spare sprue arm. Melt not burn or set fire to, the end of the sprue. It will ball up a little and look soft when it’s ready (I don’t have to remind you that this is very hot, do I?). Plunge the gooey end of the sprue into one of the hex holes in your mold and give it a little wiggle. Hold it still for a sec and then remove. Hey presto, a bolt is born! Trim off with a blade and clean up (shouldn’t be much, I haven’t gone mad on these ones as you can see). Done!
This method will also work great for producing rivet heads too, but not tried that one yet.
N
Hi all, so came accross this technique on t’interweb and thought I would give it a shot as occasionally, I need to cast up some parts, and the expense of mold making materials is a little steep.
So, what do we need? I won’t go into the process of casting here and will assume that if you are reading this then you have an interest, so this is mainly to cover just the recipe and the things I have discovered trying it out.
Recipe:
Method:
Take the bucket and fill it about a third of the way with some water, then add a lot, don’t cheap out, I mean a lot of washing up liquid. May be best to go out and buy some real cheap stuff for this as you don’t want the grease cutting power of your best Fairy brand here. Enough to discolour the water is fine. Try to keep the frothing bubles to a minimum (no reason, just annoying). Put this to one side.
Take the item to be molded and place on a non sticky type surface, I used some heavy duty card stock or indeed a piece of MDF at one point. Obviously, the orientation of the piece is up to you and will change depending on the model, I will let you work that bit out. Take your release agent (I used a vaseline&lighter fluid mix, be careful) and brush onto your model and the surrounding immediate area (not the kitchen walls, come on, be serious). If you want to make a fence, then you can, but the visco of the putty means it won’t go anywhere.
If it helps, you can tack down the piece with some double sided tape or whatever. If you need to, make a small step from some non-sulphur based clay, to give you a lip on the mold to slightly over fill when casting. You know what you’re doing.
Get your mixing tub ready and squeeze in about 3 good pulls from the silicone gun (obviously, depends on what you need to cast to determine volumes). Pick up your Glycerine and add about 6-7 drops. Add to this mix, a few drips of your chosen acrylic paint in whatever colour you wish (I don’t think metalics would be the same tho, but go ahead and try).
Mix thouroughly, the paint will help you identify the mix and see if it’s good and blended (the paint also acts as a catalyst to the curing process I believe, go figure). Be aware that this stuff will make your eyes water and take you breath away as the acids in the silicone gas out, so please either wear a respirator or at least work in good ventilation. I don’t think it’s toxic, but certainly a VERY strong vinegar stench.
Put a little vaseline on you hands and rub it in. This will help as a barrier for the next step. Scoop out all your silicone gooey mess with you mixing tool and place into your hands and plunge it into the soapy water, then whilst submerged, knead it around in your hands for a min and it will start to become a manageable blob of putty. You are washing out the part of the silicone mix that makes it sticky and also starting the curing process a little.
Next step, take the blob (by the way, don’t dry your hands here, or it will stick to you) and start to work it around the model. Obviously, this isn’t for highly complex shapes etc. with lots of undercuts, but will work for a lot of basic items.
Get the putty blob worked into the sides and down onto the base. A good idea is to flatten the top at this stage, as this will give you a good base when open casting.
If you get some of this stuff where you don’t want, clean up with some of the nail polish remover (acetone) and you should be good to go.
Leave it overnight somewhere it can gas out and ventilate without stinking the place up and you will have a good workable mold.
Not tested the lifespan of this stuff yet, or even real complex molds. I do know that it’s a little bit of a bugger for trapping air bubbles. Also, always protect yourself and your working environment from spills and mishaps!
Have made my first cast today, so will see how that turns out and let you know!
N
EDITED: So, have pulled the first cast and the results are a little hit and miss. LOTS of air trapped inside that wasn’t there when I poured the resin, so I can only conclude that it was the out gassing of the silicone curing process that has put them there.
To that end, I am testing the same mold but am leaving it for a few days and will try the casting again. Will post results.
N
Well, I am not dead…that’s the main thing. Just you know how sometimes you have a different focus and then things slide…well that’s happening.
So nothing new hobby wise to post really. Have not been entirely out of the hobby, but more research theory than practice!
Will post something new soon, promise!
N
As the title says all! And one of my new years resolutions to break is that I want to work faster and get some stuff completed and off my desk.
I am the worst for jumping from one project to the other and not getting anything completed, so I have a new theory about work and that is, get it done and get it done now. Don’t procrastinate and have sleepless nights thinking about all the modelling projects that you want to do!
OK, so not really anything to do with modelling per se. Every year for the past several, I have taken great pleasure in carving a pumpkin or two for this season. I like it, and as around my way, we don’t see a lot of Hallowe’en type goings on, I thought I would have to make the effort.
Now, in work right now, we are having one of our annual pumpkin carving competitions, so hey, two birds as they say. Not going for the all out win this year, something real simple that my little boy can enjoy*!
*is that the right word for a scary monster face, can you say ‘enjoy’…?
So enjoy!
So, made my first attempt at sculpting anything other than a pouch or gap filling last night, and I have to say, I am really quite pleased with the results!
I trawled the internet [as usual] to find some information and some tips on sculpting and found a number of great sites out there, so if you are thinking of trying something like this, I suggest having a good look round (I assume you have already, if you are reading this!).
Onto the step by step then I guess. I will write this as a kind of tutorial and will post in the relevant sections and I may even produce a pdf or something to download, we shall see. Continue reading
Hi all, sometimes you just need a break. So I have had these kits for a while now as my good lady wife bought them Birthdays and Christmas I think I got one for too.
