The Making of BO9 - Production
The production of BO9 has proven to be the most challenging process of the entire project. Though it may look simple, it involves loads of hardwork. To achieve the best result, each BO9 has gone through many hours of sanding, puttying and priming over and over again. On the average, each BO9 used up approximately 3 x A4 sheets of sand paper. Although I do understand the difficulties working with resin, I still aim for perfection.
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2 comments:
yo if you dont mind, what did you make the molds out of, i get to make the toy out of sculpty and sand it down to smooth it out, but im lost after that, any help or how to would be GREATLY appreciated
thanks
Hi :)
I have yet to cover this topic in my upcoming posting (if i can find the time)...but here a quick one :)
Let assume that you will need a 2 part mold. After you have smoothen the surface, its advisable to add a few coats of primer to seal off hairline cracks and also giving it a smoother finishing. Next prepare a good flat working surface(I use a piece of acrylic) and start building a retainer wall - I use lego bricks...though some use cardboard, clay, plastic or any material that you can get. One good thing about lego is that it allows you to build to the desire height for easy working and they can be re-use again.
Next, use some soft clay and fill up the space within and level it up like a bed. Position your parts on the clay surface, and press it within the soft clay until you get the desire depth(usually midway). Then use a molding tools or a pen knife, work on the seam line to make sure they are level and perpendicular to your part. This is an important steps and it will determine the cast later.
Add in your inlet or well for the pouring of resin, you can use clay, plastic rod or even used bottle caps. Sometime, you can skip this as your design have flat base to be use as a well.
Next, use the back of a ball point pen or any round ended rod, poke small dent on the soft clay to make a negative register for the 2 halves to fit to each other. Then start to build up the lego brick further to the desire height and you should form a "swimming pool with your toy half submerged" :)
Prepare your silicon resin and start pouring into your mold. Do pour at a height to reduce air bubble till a quarter filled. Use a small brush to "paint" the surface to ensure the the silicon covers all area. Pour in the rest and start banging or tapping on he mold on the table to get any bubble to surface. let it cure overnight. Once done, flip over to the other side and start removing the bricks and clay to expose the completed half of the mold with the part still intact. Clean up the surfaces and start building up the bricks again and you are ready for the second half.
Don't miss this step, use some releasing agent like mold release, vaseline or baby powder to add a layer of protective to prevent the silicon fusing together. Though some people do mold their toy as a single solid silicon and later cutting into two using a pen knife. My choice will be 1 -2 coats of mold release and 1 coat of vaseline on the silicon.
Repeat the earlier step and you should have a complete mold. Leave the mold aside with the parts still intact for an extra 1-2 days to allow it to cure completely.The reason is that if you cast it right away, the heat generate from the resin will "surface" any bubble expanding under the silicon skin form at the earlier stage. This will affect the cast quality.
Important tips
Do spent some thoughts on how you want to lay your part. The idea is to create a good flow of resin during casting and also for easy extracting of parts. Do design and plan your seam line carefully to allow easy cleaning up and parting. One simple illustration and a quick way to determine, is by submerging your parts(mid way) into water in a clear tank. Though, there are more complex design that require more complex mold design such as i have used in my project. Its really impossible to put everything in words, do some research online and experiment your self. Do study your toy and determine the best option. Try and error and don't give up. :)
Enjoy :)
Cheers!
Do leave a name next time and awaits your creation :P
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