Howdy, all! Got a query for the list. We are rather poor, so I can't afford
fleets of
cool minis (sorry, jon@gzg :-( However, I came up with a great
alternative, since I don't want to push cardboard counters around for the
rest of my life (reminds me WAY to much of SFB ;-). I bought a variety
of balsa wood sheets and some pine dowels and I'm gonna build MY OWN minis.
HELP, I think I've lost my mind! :-) Anyway, I've built a propotype DD
and it looks decent. Not up to GZG standards, but with some more detail work
and lots of practice I think I'll do ok. Which brings me to my question. I
realized it's going to take SOME time to scratch build a fleet of minis from
wood. Then, my brain rolled over and thought what if I just make ONE prototype
from wood. Make a mold and cast it in lead. My dad and I are already
handloaders (translated: "firearms nuts") so I have some experience with
molten lead. How do I make my own molds???
> At 05:10 PM 10/22/1999 -0500, you wrote:
Well, you need a vulcanized rubber mold for each model, a suitable hot pot,
ladel, SAFETY EQUIPMENT!!!!!!, and some casting material. There's a
[casting] mailing list on http://www.onelist.com that can give you some
extra pointers.
> From personal experience, just the initial casting hardware setup will
Just a thought on the casting your own...
Has anyone thought of making _glass_ miniatures? I thought it would be
suitable for energy based or jellyfish alien races, where you could see
through the miniature. Or, maybe transparent _resin_ figures?
I tried Ice sculpture...Sure sped up the turns....
TROMPTROMPTROMP<whacketywhacketywhackety>TROMPTROMPTROMP
> -----Original Message-----
Try the casting FAQ at:
http://www.4nik8.com/altbob/moldfaq.htm
--Binhan
> -----Original Message-----
"firearms
> nuts") so I have some experience with molten lead.
> Michael Petska wrote:
Another set of reference pages are available at the Miniatures Page.
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/minipage/ref/miniatures.html
It's not a part of the hobby that I have aspired to go. We'd like to see any
of the results that you generate.
> Just a thought on the casting your own...
Castolite (in the US) produce acrylic-polyester resin, which
is clear. It's about $70/gallon retail but can be bought in
smaller sizes (quarts and I think pints). Usually used for casting biological
specimens.
Excerpts from mail: 22-Oct-99 Re: Casting your own... by
"Laserlight"@quixnet.net
> >Just a thought on the casting your own...
Check out Fortress Figures (www.fortressfigures.com) - they cast a lot
of plastic stuff (altho their plastic has the consistency of milliput -
it's easy to drill, cut, and sand) including some clear plastic stuff. In
fact, they have one alien egg thing that's translucent with an embryo (sp?) in
the middle...very cool. You might ask them what they use (if they're willing
to tell you) or ask if they'd be willing to cast something for you.
> At 11:32 AM 10/23/99 +1300, you wrote:
A friend of mine picked up some stuff called (I think) "Gak" from a local
drugstore. It's this geletanous semi-solid mass, which can be molded
into a cube shape. it won't hold it for long, but you do have the ability to
stick figures inside it and recover them later with no ill effects. He bought
it to use it as a geletinous cube, in fact....
> On 22 Oct 99, at 17:10, Michael Petska wrote:
> Howdy, all!
"firearms
> nuts") so I have some experience with molten lead.
Those cheap minis you want to make, the mold material is gonna cost you $35.00
a one lb kit, and no guarantees you'll get a good mold. Look for Dow Corning
products under RTV supplies in your yellow pages.
KR, Geo-Hex
> May Reason and Logic be with you, always... Mike Petska
> On 22 Oct 99, at 17:10, Michael Petska wrote:
> Got a query for the list. We are rather poor, so I can't
You have, yes, no question.
What you may want to try is getting a router or jig saw or
some such, and making a silhouette miniature--"as seen from
above" would probably be most effective, although if you like NSL ships you
may as well just cut a couple of rectangles and be done. With this approach,
you could make
a jig and knock out as many as you care to. I haven't any
idea how well balsa would work, but your local plastics place (see "Plastics"
in the yellow pages) will happily sell you Sintra (or a competing brand like
Komatex) sheet. Sintra is a graphics PVC board, more flexible and easier to
work with than regular PVC, and you should have no trouble working with it (in
a WELL VENTILATED AREA). 3 millimeter thick should do just fine although it
comes in other thicknesses as well. If you prefer styrene instead of
Sintra, that should work too, just a bit more fragile--and
you can cannibalize plastic model kits for weapons etc.. Note: plastic
distributors generally have an "offcut" bin
where you can pick up leftovers at a low price--usually
acrylic ("Plexiglas") but sometimes other things as well. If you don't have a
plastics distributor locally, try a sign shop.
Caveat: I haven't tried this myself since a) I have enough unpainted figures
already, and b) I'm not a
woodworker/craftsman type.
Well, during a recent recon to Toys-R-Us, I noticed a couple things of
interest. The company name fails me, though.
First, there is a home casting machine that uses little metal pellets
to make little charm-sized cars, spaceships etc. This was on sale for
$10 or so and, upon reflection, will be purchased by me tomorrow. <G> They
sell little vials of pelletized metal and extra mold sets as well.
Second, there was a plastic army man injection molding kit, also by the same
company and this was for $20 or so. They gave you enough plastic goo and molds
for several soldiers that are molded in a
top-half, bottom-half format.
Both of these were in the "educational" section near the
do-it-yourself alien autopsy kit and the "night vision" goggles for
Juves. Since both of these are boxed in the patented REALLY BRIGHT
COLORS TO ATTRACT KIDS, I can't see the molds being that high-temp
resistant nor difficult for us fogies to reverse engineer.
Waiting for a Röt Hafen Rematch,
-=Kr'rt
<G>
Excerpts from mail: 25-Oct-99 Re: Casting your own... by
Kr'rt@optonline.net
> First, there is a home casting machine that uses little metal pellets
What was the company/product name?
Thanks!
Well, the TRU was sold out of them. Serves me right for waiting. Happens to me
all the time, Historicon, Origins...
Fortunately Tom Pope picked up my dropped ball and came through with the
company info. Check below... <G>
The Metal Molder (tm) (r) (c) etc etc etc
http://www.toymax.com/index.html
-=Kr'rt
> Excerpts from mail: 25-Oct-99 Re: Casting your own... by