#mould making

Silicone degassing in action. Look how all the bubbles are drawn out of the liquid! My chamber gets down to about 27 inches as it has a small leak somewhere. But I left it running for 90 seconds after it reached that point. After the silicone had cured and I took it out of the mould I found not a single bubble anywhere- a perfect cast. My home-made storage-jar vacuum chamber really makes a big difference!

i think this experiment could work well as a wall installation or a large scale repetitive pattern. i have been experimenting with smaller scale laying them on a white sheet but am going to start exploring how I can display it on a wall.

I’m very proud of those shoes, but I don’t think the epoxy + tungsten will be enough to help her stand. I figure if this doesn’t work out, at least I won’t have to completely redo the shoes.

The last mould for the #BJDwheelchair ! The frame. Pictured (top to bottom and left to right): 1- Prototype fitted inside the moulding frame, a base layer of silicone rubber already poured in, and the frame fitted with casting points and air channels. 2- Frame flipped upside down, resting on casting points & air channels on paper, being coated in a few layers of silicone to ensure full coverage on the bottom side once embedded. 3- Flipped back once cured, cutting off the paper where it got stuck to the air channels etc. 4- Placed in moulding shape, filled up with silicone. 5- Partially de-moulded (Lego removed), pouring the axle piece. 6- De-moulding, carefully cutting free the original. 7- Fully de-moulded! The original frame came apart when I had to use a bit of force to tear it off the wooden surface, but its job is done anyway, and I could easily repair it if necessary. The mould has suffered no damage. On to testing it, to get a nice resin replica of the original prototype! #BJD_wheelchair #PuppitProductions #mouldmaking  #mould_making #mold_making #moldmaking #prototyping #BJD #casting #silicone #resin            

Third time lucky. I haven’t done anything like this before (on this scale) and I’m learning from my mistakes, I just wish they didn’t have to be such experience mistakes. Oh well. My gecko dragon is finally finished and now I’m ready to pour a new one for tomorrow. Some of the resin didn’t go all the way into the tip of the spikes on the head so I need to try a different pouring technique (but I think I know how to fix it). Any suggestions would be amazing though. *** EDITED*** I would like to let everyone know that I have joined Etsy and my shops name is TeggysCreativeShop. I now have listed the last 2 unpainted Crested Gecko dragons. Until I can get my hands onto more resin later on. Thank you so much to everything for your amazing support though this.

Materials: casting plastic, silicone rubber, monster clay, cellophane, dixie cups, and some lace I found.

Tooth’s face flesh will be cast in silicone. Silicone costs more than latex but it is more durable, doesn’t smell and some people are allergic to latex.To make the mould we have taken the white plaster head front that was used earlier for the vacuum forming of the head shell, applied a layer of brown clay about 3mm thick and resculpted the face. We need to keep the clay soft and moist. As it is thin, if it dries it will crack, so we had about an hour to work. The pattern was sprayed with release agent and two dowel pins were fitted to the base board. A box was constructed around the head and filled with plaster. It was a warm day and it set a bit faster than I was expecting! After a couple of hours the box was removed and the two parts separated. The soft clay was scooped out, so now I have a two-part mould with a gap where the clay was, which is where the silicone will be cast. The dowel pins locate into the holes formed in the other part to ensure accurate alignment. Hope to cast the silicone in the next few days.

Casting the silicone flesh. Having made the two parts of the mould in my previous post it is time to cast the silicone. The face has powermesh pulled over it. Powermesh is a stretchy net-like fabric used for dancewear. Here it is cast into the silicone to strengthen it and stop it tearing around the eye and mouth holes. I used Ecoflex 30 silicone and added a flesh colour as I mixed it. I poured it into the mould and inserted the head form with it’s mesh into it, weighing it down with some bricks to make sure the moulds were fully together and the silicone properly displaced. After a few hours I found it wouldn’t come apart, so I made a jig to separate the parts using two bolts and pressure plates. I think it’s come out OK, but the original head form is rapidly falling to bits with all the alterations it has had over the years, so before I pull the silicone out of the mould I thought I’d use it to cast a new plaster head form. One for tomorrow...