Cheap Moulding/Sculptlng options

[capuchin16]

Hi everyone. Long time reader, first post so apologies in advanced!
I just had a quick question about moulding or sculpting props. I've seen lots of people create some incredible things, but all of the materials involved seem on the expensive side and only cost effective if your planning to make and sell casts of your work to recoup some of the expenses. What if you just wanted to sculpt a small one off item, like a belt buckle, or a logo or something like that. Do people know of any cheaper alternatives?

To provide some examples of the sorts of things I'm thinking about attempting, Deadpool's belt buckle or the hilt details on Link's Master Sword, thinks like that.

Also if I did then try and cast some of these things are there cheaper options for materials to do this? As a rough price option I'd rather not spend more than about $50 on materials, although this could be stretched if did decide to try and cast something, also I'm in the UK and would prefer online retailers.
Thanks.

 

[Spyhunter2k]

If the item is small then it shouldn't cost much to actually use good materials. You can buy a small quantity of Apoxie sculpt to sculpt your master, and a trial size of some platinum-based silicone like Mold Star from Smooth-On. I don't think the small quantities of each would run you more than $50.

 

[clarence]

When I first started I experimented with the bathroom silicone sealant, although not ideal moulds can be made from a tube of clear silicione Th mould for the serpent helmet in the picture was made from twenty various colour tubes of bathroom sealant ,there is a moulding powder called Herculite a harder version of plaster of paris can be aquired of E-Bay in large or small quantities or craft shops this can be used for simple moulds. When starting the prop making hobby keep it simple don't run until You are able to walk.I learn everytime I log on to this site there are some great people on here willing to point You in the right direction. I spent the first three months searching and reading what others were doing .

 

[Pro Mod]

If you’re producing relatively simple pieces such as the buckle and hilt as one-off's, I'd personally fabricate them from solid materials such as plastic sheet, mdf, Milliput and car filler etc and then paint them.
With these two examples I'm really not sure why you would need to mould or cast anything.
If you’re unfamiliar with any of the materials mentioned I'll happily send you a few samples to try if it helps you out.

 

[TuskenRaider]

I haven't used it myself (yet - although I plan to) but Hobbycraft sell this re-meltable PVC for making moulds for £15.99/kg. It looks like it would be a really cost-effective way of moulding relatively small and simple shapes like your belt buckle etc. Silicone seems really expensive in the UK so will be interested to see what alternatives other people come up with. For casting I bought some mouldcraft SG2000 fast cast resin on E-bay from a supplier called Mouldcraft.co.uk. It was pretty cheap, easy to use, doesn't have a strong smell and cures in minutes.

http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/trylon-remeltable-pvc-compound-1-kg/565719-1000

video of Trylon's PVC being used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6PEnBG3T4E

Good Luck,

Rob