Resin Casting Article

Sean Hert · Post by **Sean Hert** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:41 pm

I was wondering if there'd be any interest in an article on how to make molds and cast resin parts.

I'd be writing it; I used to work as a mold maker/caster in a Rapid Prototyping shop and I still teach a class on it in my hobby shop once or twice a year.

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:00 am

heck yeah i'd be interested. i've always thought about it. also.... if you could add on to it for making a master mold for fiberglass hulls? that'd be nice... lol. im thinkin i may just have to get a set of Maine plans and completely scratchbuild my own USS Ohio... and i know your the man to tell me how Sean. With you and Buddy on my side i cant go wrong! Oh yeah.... can you reply to that one PM i sent you specifying what i was looking for before i order? i really need to order soon so i can paint it by the 24th. thanks!

Francisco P. de Nanclares · Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:35 am

Interested indeed. I would like to give it a try.

zach b · Post by **zach b** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 6:12 am

Do you need ask? Spread the wealth! I haven't cast my own parts in a while, but any article about the subject is dually noted in case I have to make parts my own again. I might have to soon, I cheaped out recently and bought the mini hobbies MO kit, and, well, it will cost me allot more than I thought.

ARH · Post by **ARH** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 6:31 am

I voted yes, we could always do with more on the subject, and that was a cheap shot at my lego moulds, works for me, ARH

PS is it crap on Horabin month

zach b · Post by **zach b** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 6:47 am

I thought your use of legos to make casting boxes was genius! I wish I had some legos myself! Then matbe I wouldn't have bought that mini hobbies BB-63

ARH · Post by **ARH** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 6:52 am

[quote="zach b"]I thought your use of legos to make casting boxes was genius! I wish I had some legos myself! Then matbe I wouldn't have bought that mini hobbies BB-63

[/quote

thanks zach b

Sean Hert · Post by **Sean Hert** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:55 am

I've been using Lego mold boxes for about 10 years, so it wasn't a dig aimed at you, ARH. Using Lego molds is a time-honored badge of honor in the home casting world! I have yet to see a home casting article that didn't use Legos, because mine will!

Don't go looking for insult when none was intended, ARH. I don't know you well enough to crap on you!:big_grin:

ZachB: don't fall into the dark side of casting! Sometimes it is much cheaper and easier to buy a kit off the shelf and scrounge parts than to make a mold and cast. Consider that silicone (for the mold) is running close to USD30 a pound, and resin is close to the same. You need to have USD50-60 bucks in supplies to start. For somethine simple like say a 5/38" gun house in 1/350 is gonna cost you about 5 bucks in mold cost, assuming a simple mold. Then about .25 cents per resin shot. You can do the math.

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 11:03 am

ARH wrote:PS is it crap on Horabin month

Ron, lighten up. i haven't crapped on you in a while! and im the most prolific crapper on this site!

Oh, and just be glad nobody has explosive diahrea!

Post by **JIM BAUMANN** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 11:41 am

definitely interested!

there aren so many interesting parts that would benefit from being cast--when re-petition is the name of the game...

I have used( with limited success I have to admit!!) Plastic Padding/Isopon( Bondo in the US) in non-re-usable plasticine moulds for making 4.5" turrets for my 1/700 1943 QE conversion--they were not at all bad( I needed 10 off) but tyhe wastage of plasticene and filler was prodigious!!

So yes!--- Sean--get writing--!!

JIM B

mike mccabe · Post by **mike mccabe** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 11:41 am

Sean
I think that would be very useful and I would welcome the thoughts on somebody with some experience in this. Yes please.

Mike

Post by **JWintjes** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:32 pm

Very much interested indeed!

Jorit

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:34 pm

yes, if i could figure out how to cast a generic mold of those pesky AA guns i could outfit my Kumano with them and probably sell them to the rest of the Buckeye Battle Squadron!

Sean Hert · Post by **Sean Hert** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:37 pm

Kenny- do you mean the 12.7 AA guns? I still have a mold for them, I think. It's one of my early ones. I'll check.

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:39 pm

not sure... just a generic one i can put on nearly any ship.

If you have a mold for it your my new hero. i'd love to get ahold of it or a copy of it. i tried fashioning some out of nails and wood and plastic but let me tell you... im about as good at that as i am at talking politics with werner!

Victorious · Post by **Victorious** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 5:04 pm

I welcome this too!

In fact, it would be a good idea to have a Forum, just dedicated to How To Articles.

Mouldmaking could just be the start. A forum dedicated to other modelling techniques, such as Using Fibregalss & Resin, Casting with Resin, Airbrushing etc, which would all make good teaching subjects, for the less experienced.

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 5:26 pm

Vic,

they are all located in the Articles page.

Victorious · Post by **Victorious** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 7:55 am

kennylibben wrote:Vic,

they are all located in the Articles page.

Thank's Kenny.

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 8:06 am

anytime!

Pieter · Post by **Pieter** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 9:47 am

As I'm slowly moving into scratchbuilding most of my models I am very interested in techniques that make it possible to cast large numbers of small parts like ships boats, vents, winches and fairleads. For a currently 'sleeping' early 1900's liner project (Campania; hull is finished) for example I need to make 20 small vantilators, 10 large ventilators, 20 ships boats, 16 cleats, 10 faisleads and 8 steam winches in 1/700. An article in which different techniques are covered for making large numbers of small fittings like this wouls be very nice indeed. So far I have had limited success with casting ships' boats in plaster using ordinary rubber but this does not give the kind of detail I need fro winches etc.
NB forget buying the Academy Titanic as a parts source. Boats are hopeless, not enough of them (surprise..), and the rest of the small parts was unique to Harland & Wolff designed ships.

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