GB's bucket progress - WOF plans ROCK

The temperature went up enough this afternoon that I thought I would take a chance casting the resin. It was a bit colder than it should be for casting, but the sun is shining brightly. I also used a tad more hardener to help the curing along.

HPIM1071.jpg


I used a level to ensure the mold was sitting horizontally before pouring. The resin is gelled at this point, but I'm going to leave it overnight. I had good luck last time I left the casting in the mold for longer than usual so I'm going to try it again.
 
Yes, it's bad. I don't recommend you continue to do so. The fumes can make you, and anyone else in the building quite sick. There are varieties of resin that can be used indoors without a fume hood, but they are specialty resins. What do you tend to use?
 
Gypsyboy said:
Yes, it's bad. I don't recommend you continue to do so. The fumes can make you, and anyone else in the building quite sick. There are varieties of resin that can be used indoors without a fume hood, but they are specialty resins. What do you tend to use?
Click to expand...

smoothcast from smooth-on. it's a 1:1 mix stuff and has no particular smell to speak of.

i do have an externally vented hood in the basement, but i've found that i don't even need to use the resin in that area.

if anything it actually smells sort of nice :)
 
Smooth cast is not so bad. I thought you were talking about the kind of resin I'm using... the really stinky noxious stuff. I don't think you're going to cause any great harm with that stuff. Sorry for the alarm bells going off.


I have a question about the ESB color scheme (yes, I do bounce between the US and British/Canadian spelling of the word) - is the right ear painted the same yellow as the kill stripes? That's just about the only color issue I haven't quite figured out yet.
 
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Took my casting out of mold today. Although there are a few minor blemishes and tiny bubbles it is over all a good casting.

HPIM1073.jpg

HPIM1074.jpg


I also noticed a little wobble on the curve at the top end (from my original, the mold was true). Wish I had caught that before molding it, but at least it's a minor fix. Same with the little bubbles, minor work. Most of the other areas that look blemished are actually internal features, or just bits of loose flash.
 
Thanks.

It will take very little filler to fix these minor flaws. I had to level the back of it though, because the resin sort of shrunk more in the middle than at the ends. Didn't expect that. It meant that there was a gap between the earpiece and the helmet. I didn't want to loose any thickness, so I mixed up some auto putty and made a splat in the middle of a piece of acetate which was sitting on a very flat surface. I then pressed the earpiece onto the splat so that it made a flat back when it hardened. Before it cured completely I took a blade and trimmed the extra away from the edges.

It is currently sitting overnight again to cure more before I continue to work with it. It had the slightest bit of tacky surface when I released it... not enough to make it a problem, but enough that I want to leave it just a little longer before I start working on it.
 
Well, I shot a coat of primer on the left ear, and started filling the small bubbles. They're small, but they're taking forever to fill for some reason. I'm on about the 5th application and they're still not completely level :confused

HPIM1076.jpg



In the meantime I have started the right ear pieces. Just looks like a mess right now, but it's going well so far. I like working with balsa wood for models like this.

HPIM1075.jpg


It occured to me as I started the upper right piece that the complexity of the shape means I will have to make a two part mold. This will be interesting.
 
The basic construction of the right earpieces are done. I need to fill some gaps and smooth out the surfaces. I haven't decided if I will add the three holes between the "goal posts" in the sculpt or drill them in after the casting is done. Either option has it's plus and minus.

HPIM1078.jpg


right-ear-front-back.jpg
 
Thanks webchief.

I have a question about fitting the earpieces against the side of the helmet. I'm finding that there is enough curve on the helmet that there is a gap at the front and back edges of the earpiece when I put it in place. Do others have this problem, and if so how do you deal with it?
 
I had the same issue with mine. On my first helmet, I simply filled in the gaps but on my final helmet i sanded the back of the ear piece so that it had a concave curve to it. Thus allowing it to sit flush against the helmet. ;)
 
I thought about making a concave surface on the earpiece. I wonder though if it would be easier to take a sander and make the surface it rests against flat instead.

Did you just sand and sand in a lengthwise direction until the center was dipped in? And what about the ends? Doesn't doing that take some of the end shape away?
 
Yeah, I simply sanded down the center lengthwise.

The amount that you have to dish the ear pieces, you hardly notice once the ears are fully installed.
 
I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't checked out this thread until today.

GB, you are doing a great job!(y)

I plan on casting mine after the first of the year. Where did you get your silicone rubber stuff? Would you be willing to post (or PM) the company name, address, and cost? Thanks!

Keep it up!

David.
 
I still have no idea how I'm going to build my earpieces. I'm throwing around ideas of assembling them from plastic, or carving from foam and coating with latex plaster, or bondo... yours look great, tho! Wood is an idea I hadn't thought of. I don't know what I'm going to use to make my stalk yet, either. Ugh.
 
Jaiden said:
I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't checked out this thread until today.

GB, you are doing a great job!(y)

I plan on casting mine after the first of the year. Where did you get your silicone rubber stuff? Would you be willing to post (or PM) the company name, address, and cost? Thanks!

Keep it up!

David.
Click to expand...

Thanks David,

I have read through your thread a few times and I am quite interested in your technique. When the day comes that I get power tools I will probably try something like that.

I am using a Smooth On product called Rebound 25. It's a brush-on 1:1 mix ratio silicone that I absolutely love. I've used it for a good number of molds now and it's awesome stuff. Easy to mix, easy to use, great stretch and memory, and I've never had a problem releasing anything. As for where to get it, well, I'm in Canada so I get it from a Place in Toronto, but I expect you will be able to locate a retailer in your area. Just go to www.smoothon.com and look for the suppliers link.

The silicone is kinda expensive, but you end up with very durable molds you can use over and over again. As for quantity, I got a 1 gallon kit last time and so far I'v made a mold for my Fett, a Vader mask and helmet, Vader shins, my left Fett ear, and will have enough left for my right ear pieces and one or two more molds, depending on their size.

I plan to make a custom Mando at some point after I finish up a few other projects. I'll just cast a new Boba and fill the dent and start customizing the details. I like the idea of adding a fin on top.
 
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