BRDencklau
Well-Known Member
Yeah, the gating issues combined with degassing or lack there of.
Is that onyx?
Is that onyx?
Borderlands 2 Jakobs Pistol build
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cecrops props
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Yea, I think I may have figured out the gating issue (at least I hope so). Flat top pieces are sometimes difficult to gate correctly.
Yes, it's Onyx.
cecrops props
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I finally got back to trying my Jakobs castings. Here is my mess of failures (minus one or two that landed in the trash). I have tried adding gates, degassing the mix, degassing the poured mold, different mixing strategies, different mold release strategies, and I always end up with these tiny pimples all over the surface, caused by tiny bubbles under the surface. I have found from internet searches that Smooth-cast Onyx in very finicky, but I’m also beginning to wonder if I’ve just got a bad batch, as I haven’t been able to get even remotely successful results. Now I have to wonder if it’s worth while to spend more money to but a different casting resin. That order of Onyx was expensive, especially with shipping.
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cecrops props
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After a looong break, I have finally made time to try the new resin in the Jakobs pistol molds. Here are some first test castings, with no pigment. I still have a few areas of trapped air, but I think I can fix them by adjusting sprues. I do not have any of the all over surface blemishes that I was getting with the Smooth-on Onyx. That was clearly a bad batch of resin. I think I will patch up these castings and assemble them.
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These may not look like much, but they are the three last parts needed to make the Jakobs pistol into every variation. These are the two cheek pieces and rear sight for all of the Rex variants, including the Smasher that I’ll be making first. All I need to do is make a couple of molds for these parts, and I will be able turn out all of the parts that I need for every Jakobs pistol possible.
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I’ve finished the last casts that I needed to build the Smasher. After a few tries, and some adjustments to the molds, I finally got my first perfect casts! Thank you to all of you that have given me helpful advise. This is what I have learned:
A fine application of talcum powder really helps to cut down on the tiny bubbles, and gives a nice surface. I found that billiards talcum, from a billiards supply store, is a nice fine and clean talcum, with none of the oils in baby powder.
A secondary gate, or vent, really helps to let air escape during the resin pour, especially with small parts that require a small filling gate.
Flat topped parts cast better when they are molded with the flat top at an angle, and the pouring gate at the top corner. This keeps bubbles from getting trapped against the flat top.
Now I can finally start to assemble one of these suckers!
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A fine application of talcum powder really helps to cut down on the tiny bubbles, and gives a nice surface. I found that billiards talcum, from a billiards supply store, is a nice fine and clean talcum, with none of the oils in baby powder.
A secondary gate, or vent, really helps to let air escape during the resin pour, especially with small parts that require a small filling gate.
Flat topped parts cast better when they are molded with the flat top at an angle, and the pouring gate at the top corner. This keeps bubbles from getting trapped against the flat top.
Now I can finally start to assemble one of these suckers!
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To install the new larger cheeks on the pistol frame, I needed to grind off the original smaller cheeks. I also needed to grind in a notch at the top of the frame for the rear leaf sight.
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On all of the Jakobs Rex type pistols, the larger cheeks were clearly just added on digitally, and they overlap the hammer pivot pin (as seen on the Smasher). Although I have made the molds for the larger cheek pieces the same way, the machinist in me couldn’t stand it, I have ground out the edges of the cast cheek pieces to provide access to the fake hammer pivots.
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GreyHexagon
New Member
is there an update coming? looks really great!
cecrops props
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Funny that you should just ask. I was just in the process of posting this update!
It’s been waaay too long since I’ve posted any progress on anything. All sorts of things got in the way of my more fun projects. Anyway, I have finally made some more progress on the Jakob’s smasher. The parts are all assembled and partially painted. Here is a shot of the grip with it’s red and blue marbling over pearl white. This will all soon be covered with a transparent coat of pearl blue. Today I will be working on painting tests before the final coats.
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It’s been waaay too long since I’ve posted any progress on anything. All sorts of things got in the way of my more fun projects. Anyway, I have finally made some more progress on the Jakob’s smasher. The parts are all assembled and partially painted. Here is a shot of the grip with it’s red and blue marbling over pearl white. This will all soon be covered with a transparent coat of pearl blue. Today I will be working on painting tests before the final coats.
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How did you go about doing the checker pattern in the grips of your gun?
asalaw
Master Member
Gorgeous! So glad to see this project moving again.
Did you mill the embossed diamond pattern on the grip yourself, or use a found item?
cecrops props
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I did the checkering on the grip on my original maple master by hand with a scalpel and a traditional gun checkering tool. The grip here is a casting from that master.
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Wow, it turned out to be very tricky to match the blue-ish / purple-ish coloring for the Jakobs Smasher. With all of the marbling and shading, I have realized that the plain woodgrain and steel Jakobs pistol would have been easier to start with. Well, I think that I have finally matched it. Now it’s time to work on the coppery / brassy coloring. Hey! I might actually finish this thing!
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OK, I’ve run into problems with the metallics on the Jakobs Smasher, trying to use the limited paints that I had available at my small local hobby shop. It resulted in a blotchy mess. I have now ordered some Alclad metallics online. While I wait for those to arrive, I will be working on another related project. I have started a “quick” build of the Unkempt Harold from Borderlands 2, using a few of the extra castings from my Jakobs build. I’ve actually been working on this for a little while, so I will be going through the steps fairly quickly. You can watch the progress here.
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The new paint arrived and I was able to airbrush in the metallic areas on the Jakobs Smasher. This is Alclad copper with Alclad brass highlights. Once that was clear coated, I added brown and reddish tarnish as seen on the Borderlands screen shots of this gun. I really like the Alclad metallics, they airbrush on very smoothly, and go on in thin layers that can be either built up slowly and evenly, or used as subtile highlights. The blue/black areas of this gun all have subtile Alclad chrome highlights that make the surface look like slightly worn blued steel. I wish I could afford to have on hand all of the different Alclad metallics.
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asalaw
Master Member
What do you clearcoat your metallics with? A satin finish I assume?
cecrops props
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I have found that the best clearcoat for Alclad metallics is Golden Acrylic Polymer Varnish. It comes in gloss and matte. Unlike mineral spirit clearcoats, it does not dull or shift the Alclad metallic too much. I am using the gloss (mostly because that's what I have on hand), and will be using dullcoat on some areas to lightly dull the gloss.
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