ARAH Female Cobra Trooper part II complete

**billythekidd_527** · 08-03-2010

there things look great. how much are you going to be selling them for?

**Falcone** · 08-03-2010

Originally Posted by billythekidd_527

there things look great. how much are you going to be selling them for?

That's a good question. I haven't figured that out yet.

**Falcone** · 08-09-2010

When you fix one thing, something else will always go wrong. Why is that? Pictured below is the first parts to come of my new molds, so these are the first test shots. I guess it's hard to see in the pic, but the torso is dull and slightly a different color, than the other parts that are naturally shinny. The torso I cast had been painted so it has a texture to it. Aparently having textures prevents cast parts from being shinny!? So now the torso is noticably different from the rest of the figure. So now I'm stuck with a difficult decision, I either live with it, which will irritate me greatly. Or I have the resculpt the torso from scratch. Getting paint off an entire piece is impossible, so I'd have to start completely over with that part. Needless to say I am

.

Some of the parts are not fitting together tightly either. The joint that gives a figure it;s swivel grip is loose on both arms. Plus the hands do not stay in very well. They fall out when trying to put a weapon in the hands.

This post is to vent, more than anything.

**remster_9** · 08-10-2010

Still regardless of your issues, this looks very promising buddy. So did hotdog provide you with a vacuum pump and pressure pot system? He's like the king of casting

I so need one myself - if only I knew how to translate all the specs to French measures.

Although hotdog's been incredibly patient with me and ran me through his technique, I still have little idea of what to look for in French terms!

Anyway... if you're into sculpting as well, I think these troopers would benefit from thinner legs. I don't know how one would go about sculpting those though. Maybe start from Lady Jaye's legs and add/remove details?

I'm impressed by the overall quality of your project though. I have been following this for a quite a while now. I think we both took up casting around the same time (I started about 20 months ago), but you're way ahead of me here bro. Keep up the great work, that is amazing stuff!

**hotdog** · 08-10-2010

one bad thing about silicone casting is it will pick up every detail, even sanding or brush strokes. I'm not exactly sure why your casting would go from gloss to matte finish. I usually cast toy parts or accessories, so figure casting is a little uncharted for me. but there are plenty of places that do cast custom figure parts, some have forums that may be able to help.
as an experiment, try spraying it with a gloss clear coat. I know sometimes when I switch chemicals (task series vs 321 series, or even some pigments) some are less glossy, more flat, but they spruce up really nice (after a good bath to remove the mold release) with a coat or 2 of krylon clear gloss. sometimes i use matte finish when I get a really shiny part that i want to dull down.
but the obvious thing to remember is how the old figures were made, wax sculptures were cast.
heck it took me like 5 years to figure out how to make really good castings (because of a lack of information) so you are years ahead of that.

hey remster_9, nice to see you around again!

**Falcone** · 08-10-2010

@Remster, I did some casting around 4-5 years ago as well, so I had some extra experience to go from. My art teacher in high school also showed me how to do it, so I got to see it done first hand.
edit: Thanks to hotdog's tutorial, I was able to build a vacuum chamber. I don't have the pressure pot though. I don't have the means to get one right now.

@hotdog, Thanks for the tips. After sleeping on it, and cooling my head, I went ahead and stripped most of the paint off. The rubber is setting on the new mold now. I'll know sometime tonight if it turns out any better. I'm actually glad I was forced to recast though. I broke the rubber tab that creates the back hole, so I would have had to drill it out on every part I made anyway.

**hotdog** · 08-11-2010

Originally Posted by Falcone

@Remster, I did some casting around 4-5 years ago as well, so I had some extra experience to go from. My art teacher in high school also showed me how to do it, so I got to see it done first hand.
edit: Thanks to hotdog's tutorial, I was able to build a vacuum chamber. I don't have the pressure pot though. I don't have the means to get one right now.

@hotdog, Thanks for the tips. After sleeping on it, and cooling my head, I went ahead and stripped most of the paint off. The rubber is setting on the new mold now. I'll know sometime tonight if it turns out any better. I'm actually glad I was forced to recast though. I broke the rubber tab that creates the back hole, so I would have had to drill it out on every part I made anyway.

err.. you gotta be really careful about using vacuum to fill molds without pressure casting them afterwards. if you pull too much vacuum and the resin foams, it can mess up the item you are casting. I thought I mentioned that in the video. but with some practice you should be ok, but the added step of pressurizing just ensures good results. the good news is it doesn't take much pressure (20-25psi) to safely crush out the air bubbles. I got an antique pressure pot at a flea market (heavy duty 2 gallon job, all aluminum) for 10 bucks, and i got a husky compressor for 20. I used them very successfully for several years. I now pressurize the molds to 60 pounds, because i saw it in a smooth-on flier. but I honestly can'y tell any difference (even if i snap an item into to look at the cross section) between 20 psi and 60 psi.
I mainly use vacuum to fill molds so I can have no seem lines, and 1 sprue for any type of item, even tiny items that would otherwise not cast very well- like the airhose.

**remster_9** · 08-12-2010

Originally Posted by hotdog

hey remster_9, nice to see you around again!

Hey buddy yeah! Long time no speak! Did you get my recent emails?

@Falcone: regardless of your experience in casting, I'm still very impressed buddy. Keep up the great work!!

**Falcone** · 09-30-2010

Originally Posted by hotdog

I got an antique pressure pot at a flea market (heavy duty 2 gallon job, all aluminum) for 10 bucks, and i got a husky compressor for 20. I used them very successfully for several years. I now pressurize the molds to 60 pounds, because i saw it in a smooth-on flier. but I honestly can'y tell any difference (even if i snap an item into to look at the cross section) between 20 psi and 60 psi.

What type of pressure pot do I need? The only ones I can find on craig's list are paint sprayer pressure pots like this one.