Creating molds for parts/resin

Another thought... I also use fiberglass matte/cloth w/ Alumilite's casting resin in creating sheet stock and for chassis plate. extra strong when you need a thin sheet for scratchbuilding. Tubbed a 'glass body in scratchbuilding athe body for my AA?Fuel Altered in this fashion.

I do mostly scratchbuilding of older style straightliners and street rods in 1/8 scale. Not a lot of parts to draw from so I turned to creatingthem then molding and casting them for future use application. My web site www.bigscalemodelers.com has a section on "molding and casting in it if you are interested. I am a forum moderator on the Molding and castin forum @ Alumilite.com. Am willing to help any and all join the fun. "If someone finds out how much this is, they'' make it illegal!! Making my own rubber tires, floor mats, shift boots, cogged blower belts---not stuff in ANY kit.

Thanks! I've always wanted to try it as a substitute for regular casting resin. The price point is compelling, so I think I'll give it a whirl. Thanks for sharing your experience with this stuff.

Hey Woody,

Fiberglass resin casts very nice. But....it gets hot. So be careful. Its also very noxious so do it in a well ventilated area. Practice good safe working protocol i.e. gloves a respirator an aporn. I've used fg resin for several projects other than modeling and its pretty versatile stuff. Mix it carefully, it gets everywhere and sets up slow. You can pop it out of molds in a couple of hours and let it set up for 24. Paints well and depending on what you are doing can be textured fairly easily. I've used RTV, silicone with a plaster mother mold, and plaster. Coat the mold with vaseline and the piece will pop out o.k.
Made everything from decorative nail heads (just set a wood screw into the soft resin) to theatre and movie props. Big fun with chemistry.

Mike

Tell you guys what... (tongue firmly in cheek)

Try scratchbuilding 20 Mk2 40mm mounts (quad 40) in 1/350 for a Tamiya Missouri...then you'll understand why we don't scratchbuild each one!!

I'd be in the mental ward if I had to scratchbuild each of the AA guns for my ships, which I usually replace anyway.

Regards,

Jeff Herne
Modelwarships.com

PS: I just ventured over from the ship forum...how's the service is this bar? :-)

It lets you concentrate one making one good part and then replicating it as many times as you need. It's labor intensive for just a part or two but why not cast up a couple dozen? That's when it really pays off. There are tons of casting how to on the web, but most kits like the ones Micro Mark sell are pretty self explanatory. Has anyone used fiberglass resin for casting? I just wondered because it's so cheap!

Hi Dana Marine1 did a piece on this subject a few weeks ago i think it was on this techniques thread somewhere......Greg

found it, it is on page four and is titled.....making a two part resin mold to cast........Greg

If you could find a copy of Car Modeler 2002 there is a pretty good article about making molds and casting. Nothing to complicated but it may cover what you're looking for.

Dana,

Re: your second question. You may want to copy a part because it has better detail than a similar part in a different kit. Or if you have a really cool set of valve covers you could copy them to use on several cars.
Suppose you scratch built a super-accurate road wheel for your tank project. Instead of scratch building all of them, you could make a mold of your master and cast the rest in a fraction of the time.

Mould Making Process article!

Mould Making Process Article!

Good article if you ever thought about making your old moulds:

http://pub143.ezboard.com/fatomiccityfrm12.showMessage?topicID=7.topic

James

Let me add to this question. I've looked around some and I'm wondering why you would go through the trouble to do it. If you make your "dummy" part out of wood for example, why couldn't you use the dummy part? I've also seen where some guys would use the plastic tire and wheel from an aircraft kit as a "dummy" to make the same part out of resin. Why would you do this?

Dana