Lifesize ED-209 Project - UK

n1cod3mus said:
Thanks, its a fair bit of work and I will be picking fibre glass splinters out of my hands for months to come lol
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Yes I bet you will. I don't like fibre glass but it is such a useful medium. Do you use fibre glass cloth or the chopped mat?
 
cavx said:
Yes I bet you will. I don't like fibre glass but it is such a useful medium. Do you use fibre glass cloth or the chopped mat?
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I use chopped mat, its cheaper here in the UK and comes in various weights, I will try cloth at some point but I have a ton of the mat kicking around.
 
n1cod3mus said:
I use chopped mat, its cheaper here in the UK and comes in various weights, I will try cloth at some point but I have a ton of the mat kicking around.
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I've not looked into the price difference but the cloth is much easier to cut to size and use than chopped mat. I became annoyed at the way the chopped mat broke up verses the cloth which stayed together much better.
 
cavx said:
I've not looked into the price difference but the cloth is much easier to cut to size and use than chopped mat. I became annoyed at the way the chopped mat broke up verses the cloth which stayed together much better.
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you have to use the fact that it breaks up to your advantage and use it to blend sections together so you don't have weak points where 2 layers meet up. i imagine with the cloth you just cut it to size and lay it over and then lay the next bit next to it which is going to be a weak point on that join.
 
n1cod3mus said:
you have to use the fact that it breaks up to your advantage and use it to blend sections together so you don't have weak points where 2 layers meet up. i imagine with the cloth you just cut it to size and lay it over and then lay the next bit next to it which is going to be a weak point on that join.
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Not 100% sure. I am no expert on this and am still learning. I just know that cloth was so much easier to use than chopped mat. It cut with scissors much easier and didn't just break up like the mat did.
 
cavx said:
Not 100% sure. I am no expert on this and am still learning. I just know that cloth was so much easier to use than chopped mat. It cut with scissors much easier and didn't just break up like the mat did.
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I cut mat with scissors without an issue it doesn't break up on me, I use dress makers scissors which are good and sharp. it also depends on how the mat is stored as it has a bonding agent in there that disolves when it gets wet so if its stored in a damp environment the mat will just break up.
 
n1cod3mus said:
I cut mat with scissors without an issue it doesn't break up on me, I use dress makers scissors which are good and sharp. it also depends on how the mat is stored as it has a bonding agent in there that disolves when it gets wet so if its stored in a damp environment the mat will just break up.
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I had brand new scissors the first time I used chopped mat and it was kept rolled and in a dry place. In the end of the day, I seemed to have cleaned as many loose strands as I bonded to the job. It was everywhere. The cloth frays, but doesn't fall apart like the chopped mat does (or at least mine did). I am now curious to see if there is a price difference or if it is just costed on weight. I'd happily pay more for the ease of use and now mess.
 
cavx said:
I had brand new scissors the first time I used chopped mat and it was kept rolled and in a dry place. In the end of the day, I seemed to have cleaned as many loose strands as I bonded to the job. It was everywhere. The cloth frays, but doesn't fall apart like the chopped mat does (or at least mine did). I am now curious to see if there is a price difference or if it is just costed on weight. I'd happily pay more for the ease of use and now mess.
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I will have to try the cloth at some point.

Looking at the pricing on MG Fibre Glass they seem like the same kinda cost for the same weight per metre about £3 so I guess its 6 of one and half a dozen of another. just down to personal preference and application. looks like the chopped mat is better for complex shapes but if you are just doing mould jackets for silicone moulds then the cloth would be fine.

EDIT

the chopped mat does get much cheaper when you go up in the amount of metres, for 10m of the chopped mat its £13 and for the cloth its £18
 
joberg said:
Lots of work on that prop...and lots left to do. So far so good; eager to see your next update:cool
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actually there isn't that much to do thats left, 99% of the details parts have already been moulded and cast so its a few bits here and there to do, I have a mould of the body and pelvis just need to prop the moulds and cast them, only parts that i need to make masters of still is the elbow joint, gun pod insert, a couple of details for the body and the rocket launcher for the right hand gun pod and then its just on to frame work sticking the details in and painting which should come together fairly quickly. Hoping to be done in the next few months doing it part time. Work gets in the way unfortunately otherwise it would be done much much sooner.
 
I thought I would update you guys on the progress, I finished the mould plug for the dome and I have cast the dome now which is awesome here are the links to those videos.

Dome Plug finishing

Dome Casting

I know its been slow going but I have to fit this in around my main job, if only I could do this stuff full time then I would have been done a long time ago.
 
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