Recent content by Wesman

Wow. 100? I've done these type projects in all of the materials you guys have discussed. If you had a big vacuumformer, that would be my first choice, but scrapping together a machine big enough for this job is not a good idea for time, expense and learning curve. My second choice (for me to...

I'm something of a knot geek, and I think you might find a book called The Marlinspike Sailor beneficial when it comes to your rigging details. Also, are you cleaning the burned resin off of the laser cut parts before glue up?

Hey, out there-- Any ideas on a stage fx solution to making Pinnochio's nose grow on cue?

Well, I love vacuum forming. Once you get your heat and timing right, it can be very reliable. If you are looking for maximum detail in the pull, you may want to consider a female mold (with lots of tiny holes drilled through to allow vacuum to pull the plastic in) because the outside face of...

Thanks for all the input. I do use the long ribbon pouring technique, and it seems to help. I also increased the heat to the melting phase, heated the mold to 275 and made a rotary mold device. Also no more stirring the dye in. I just slush the hot material in the pot and run it up the sides of...

Thanks for the reply, but I'm stuck with the bottle blend for its other critical properties. I'm trying to warm the silicone mold first now and see what that gets me.

Okay, Pundits, I'm making some breakaway Coke bottles for a production of Assassins, and I'm using a bottle blend from a special effects supply. I made a batch of brown beer bottles last time and they turned out fine, but these clear Coke bottles are problematic with micro bubbles decreasing the...

Try cooler water.

Quick and dirty--cotton batting dusted with baking soda. Old school enough for you?

I'd go with brass. Found some good stock for that too when I was building a wood strip canoe a long time ago. I imagine now you could look on line at a boat builder supply site.

Just a thought, but wouldn't thin 'memory' foam have a really cool, squishy quality? You might could use an electric knife to slice a mattress topper to your meat thickness.

Well, to my eye, plaster doesn't look like a successful choice for the first two part. The tray should work if you cast in the plaster and make sure the buck bottom is dead flat. Otherwise the pressure of the vacuum will snap the plaster. Of the first two, the one on the left will probably...

I don't know any of your parameters, but a simple mask is a good piece to learn on. You can probably deal with general purpose resin from Home Depot, and use the fabric or mat also from there. Make your pattern out of whatever, clay, wood, plaster, etc. and wax the hell out of it. Then cut some...

If you want expanding foam, check out US Composites. I found their prices to be pretty good. But Clonesix is right about it expanding and distorting areas of the dummy. Best go in small batches and give it room to expand (upward) in the dummy as you go.

Nice job. I built a couple of full scale models for movies and museums, and I think that the foil on the full scale was easier than what you had to deal with here.