Skyrim: Steel Axe (FINAL pg. 4!)

Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

thank you so much for posting photos of your mistakes as well. That's where we all learn the most so thanks again. Great job so far!
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

The new axe head mold is soooooooo nice. I've pulled copies of all the parts, going to be polishing everything up over the next couple of days. The head pulls very clean, no trapped air and makes for easy castings. I think this is one of the best I've made, which is nice after the complete failure of the brush-on mold.

Here's a shot of the axe head after the first round of buffing. This is cold cast with aluminum powder. Can't wait to see how the rest of the parts shine up!

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and click for super-giant-sized!
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Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

wow... just wow. I love all the work that goes into all the details in the elderscrolls games and this axe head is remarkble...
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

Thanks for the compliments guys. Here's a bit more info on the mold:

Vent channels cut with an exacto knife after the mold had set and was opened up. 2 in the back and one at the front make sure the resin gets all the way into the tip. Before I poured the silicone, I traced a line in the clay where these would be cut. This line was picked up in the rubber, so I made sure to trim in the same place on both halves of the mold.

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Mold halves are held together with two pieces of particle board and a couple ratchet straps. I've started writing down how much resin each of my molds takes so I don't have to keep measuring every time I do a pour of a mold I haven't used in a while.

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Here's one head straight from the mold, no trimming of flashing

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And after scraping off flash with a fingernail (pommel has the pour spout trimmed off)

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Going into buffing mode for a while, should have all the pieces polished up soon.
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

Gorgeous... hows the weight on that?

One fully assembled is just over 3lbs. Not too bad!

Tons of polishing later, all the parts are set to go.

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All of the axes got a steel bar inserted through the neck and into the axe head. I had one from the dud mold that I cleaned up to a decent shape, which will be getting a plain silver paintjob later on.

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They also got an aluminum post for the pommel mounts.

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Everything has been epoxies and they're all solid as a rock. I've sent them over to my friend Cathy to do the leather wrap on the handles, and once that's finished comes the weathering. Fun times!
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

That cold casting came out so great, I'm really impressed. If I can get a decent mold made of my longcolt, I want to try this !
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

such a amazing job, looking forward for more updates. But do you mind me asking what type of silver paint you used?
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

Volpin...that is absolutely insane!!!

I am in awe how guys like you, morganthirteen or matsuo set up the molds perfectly and get even more perfect casts :thumbsup

A few questions if you allow, since I´m also using SmoothOn´s products...
- What clay are you using ?
- Do you degas your silicone?
- Judging by the pics, you always (?) brush on a detail coat first and pour the rest then, right?
- Did you have any problems with MoldMax 40´s? (I found it to be too high viscos (sp?) sometimes) and switched to MoldMax 25 some time ago...
- How much metal powder do you add to the resin when coldcasting? Does it affect viscosity/ self-dagassing abilities much???

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

Again, GREAT work!!!

Markus
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

such a amazing job, looking forward for more updates. But do you mind me asking what type of silver paint you used?

No paint on these yet, they're just cold cast aluminum powder that's been buffed and polished. The handles have a little rustoleum brown satin on them though.

- What clay are you using ?
- Do you degas your silicone?
- Judging by the pics, you always (?) brush on a detail coat first and pour the rest then, right?
- Did you have any problems with MoldMax 40´s? (I found it to be too high viscos (sp?) sometimes) and switched to MoldMax 25 some time ago...
- How much metal powder do you add to the resin when coldcasting? Does it affect viscosity/ self-dagassing abilities much???

Clay is just cheap modeling junk I got from a local Samflax art supply store. Cheapest and softest I could find that's non-sulfur. I actually need to buy more soon, as my old stuff had a bunch of debris in it that makes claying up molds a bit like archeology.

I don't degas my silicone. I don't own a vac chamber, though it's on my list of things to make.

I always do a print coat brushed on first, yes. With a lot of detail like on this axe, it gives me peace of mind to know that the first micron of silicone will at least be bubble free.

The mold max 40 has worked great so far, though admittedly I've only used it twice. For block molds, I like the rigidity.

Metal powder is added to the mold actually. I dust the surface with it, similar to how people add baby powder to molds to help the resin flow better. Sometimes I add powder to the resin for a pour, depending on the shape of the mold. For these castings, I didn't - just dusted the molds and added dyed resin.

EDIT: I can't take credit for my moldmaking abilities. This post in the PKD Snub build thread is solid gold, and the reason my axe head turned out as well as it did.
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

This prop is so cool.

Do you have any completed pictures of it with the Handle?

Do you have any plans to do a run of them for the junkyard?
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

Bump for progress?

I have some!

Just got these back yesterday, the assembled axes were over at God Save the Queen Fashions for their leather handle wraps.

Still needs a few coat of grime and weathering, but almost finished.

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My axe is the red handled one, my client is getting the one with the brown handle.

As for kits, I will actually be selling raw castings in the store on my website soon, once this project is completed and I have some final images to showcase.
 
Re: Skyrim: Steel Axe

That rifle is sweet. This axe looks great too! I can't wait to see the weathering, you never disappoint.
 
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