creature from the black lagoon mask LATEX MASKS DONE! HUGE UPDATE WITH TONS OF PICS!

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

BTW, I just remember... try to send PM to Darth Pinhead... he has done a pretty good job on his predator rubber hand and is quite a great guy, always willing to share tips and tricks...

cheers!

thanks! ill have to contact him!

 

[BatTexan]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Nice job on the sculpt! :thumbsup

There is a way you could mold it that would let you cast it several ways, but it is a bit of a pain, and more expensive---I did it like this with one of my bat cowls. And I have a Swamp Thing sculpt I'll probably do this way eventually.

Make a silicone mold with hard mother mold, then use that to make a urethane flexible foam-filled master. You can then use that urethane foam-filled master to make a one piece ultracal mold (you can do ultracal in layers, reinforcing it with burlap). Once the ultracal is cured, collapse the urethane foam-filled master and pull it out. You can now make latex masks and latex foam-filled busts with the ultracal mold, and hard resin copies with the silicone mold.

There's more than one way to get it done, and a lot depends on what you want the final product to be. Good luck!

 

[BornKilr]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Wow, that sculpt is incredible! Can't wait to see it cast and painted.
And I know how you feel going into molding it. I make a lot of foam latex prosthetics pieces from a clay master and hydrocal mold. Most of mine are just partial faces, not full heads. The biggest problem I've had is misjudging an undercut and essentially locking the mold onto the sculpt. You may have problems with the extreme undercuts of the gills on the sides of the head. So a flexible material for the inner mold may be the way to go. I'm sure some of the talent on here can tell you what is best. Good luck.

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Nice job on the sculpt! :thumbsup

There is a way you could mold it that would let you cast it several ways, but it is a bit of a pain, and more expensive---I did it like this with one of my bat cowls. And I have a Swamp Thing sculpt I'll probably do this way eventually.

Make a silicone mold with hard mother mold, then use that to make a urethane flexible foam-filled master. You can then use that urethane foam-filled master to make a one piece ultracal mold (you can do ultracal in layers, reinforcing it with burlap). Once the ultracal is cured, collapse the urethane foam-filled master and pull it out. You can now make latex masks and latex foam-filled busts with the ultracal mold, and hard resin copies with the silicone mold.

There's more than one way to get it done, and a lot depends on what you want the final product to be. Good luck!

thanks for the info! so im guessing i was right about not being able to cast latex masks in the silicone mold?
i already have plenty of ultracal and don't mind getting the silicone, but how would i do the collapsible urethane foam filled master?

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Wow, that sculpt is incredible! Can't wait to see it cast and painted.
And I know how you feel going into molding it. I make a lot of foam latex prosthetics pieces from a clay master and hydrocal mold. Most of mine are just partial faces, not full heads. The biggest problem I've had is misjudging an undercut and essentially locking the mold onto the sculpt. You may have problems with the extreme undercuts of the gills on the sides of the head. So a flexible material for the inner mold may be the way to go. I'm sure some of the talent on here can tell you what is best. Good luck.

thanks, ive thickened the back of the gills quite a bit, but its still quite an undercut, thats why i would rather do a silicone mold, but i still dont know if latex will cure in it.

 

[MCL34N]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Hey there! Great work!

It's funny you should ask about Silicone and Latex, I was just reading the Bane mask thread and they talk about it pretty thoroughly towards the end. (I have always been curious about this too) Basically what I gather is that you can cast latex in silicone molds, but since it lacks the absorption of Hydrocal plaster, it takes much longer for the latex to cure. In your case though, I think it's worth it. You have some major undercuts and might run into trouble. Plus it's nice not worrying that if the mold is ruined, your sculpt was for nothing. Worth the price of silicone.

Also some constructive criticism for your mask, you might consider blending the forehead wrinkles a little more naturally into the scalp dome. You could do this by bringing the wrinkles a little higher up around the temple region. Take this advice or leave it, because your sculpt is already very close to the original. Also it seems to me that the creature's eyes "puff out" a little more.

Hope some of that helps

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Hey there! Great work!

It's funny you should ask about Silicone and Latex, I was just reading the Bane mask thread and they talk about it pretty thoroughly towards the end. (I have always been curious about this too) Basically what I gather is that you can cast latex in silicone molds, but since it lacks the absorption of Hydrocal plaster, it takes much longer for the latex to cure. In your case though, I think it's worth it. You have some major undercuts and might run into trouble. Plus it's nice not worrying that if the mold is ruined, your sculpt was for nothing. Worth the price of silicone.

Also some constructive criticism for your mask, you might consider blending the forehead wrinkles a little more naturally into the scalp dome. You could do this by bringing the wrinkles a little higher up around the temple region. Take this advice or leave it, because your sculpt is already very close to the original. Also it seems to me that the creature's eyes "puff out" a little more.

Hope some of that helps

thanks for that! ill have to check out the bane thread. and that's what i was hoping to hear!

and as for the forehead wrinkles, ive been using high res pics, and also my bust of the underwater mask as reference, and the wrinkles end pretty abruptly at the forehead leaving a relatively smooth top of the head, and as for the eyes, im going to leave them recessed a bit because you'll have to cut them out for the masks and id like to keep them closer to the face.
thanks for the compliments and tips!

 

[clonesix]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

I don't really do latex casts but this place does: TheEffectsLab.com :: View Forum - The Laboratory

The thing that makes this a tough mold is that even after you make the mold, you need to dig the clay out of the mold, and it will be tough with those deep fins.

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

I don't really do latex casts but this place does: TheEffectsLab.com :: View Forum - The Laboratory

The thing that makes this a tough mold is that even after you make the mold, you need to dig the clay out of the mold, and it will be tough with those deep fins.

thanks for the link!

 

[BatTexan]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

thanks for the info! so im guessing i was right about not being able to cast latex masks in the silicone mold?
i already have plenty of ultracal and don't mind getting the silicone, but how would i do the collapsible urethane foam filled master?

Yeah, like MCL34N, latex cures faster in stone molds (plaster, hydrocal, ultracal, etc) because it absorbs moisture from the latex. Especially with those gills, latex would take forever to cure in a silicone mold.

Basically, to make a urethane foam-filled master, you build up a coat of urethane inside the silicone mold by a combination of brushing and rolling it around to get into every nook and cranny. Probably about 1/8" thick, and as evenly as possible. If I remember right, I used 30 shore urethane for that. After the urethane has set up for a few hours, you then fill it with the flexible foam (I used FlexFoam-iT III from Smooth-On).

After everything has cured, you'll need to use something like a bread knife to take out some of the core of the foam, enough that allows you to reach in and collapse the whole thing and remove your urethane foam-filled master. That may be tricky, given the gills---wasn't too hard with a bat cowl, but your gill man could make that more difficult. You may have some difficulty in pulling your master out of the ultracal mod, too, as well as your actual latex castings. But I think it can be done, as long as you don't rush it and are careful.

That's my 2 cents

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

I went back an reworked the right side underneath the eye. It was a little too puffy and didn't match the left side.

 

[chimmera30]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Great changes,this turned out epic!
Can't wait to see how your casting goes,please post how you go about the process!

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Great changes,this turned out epic!
Can't wait to see how your casting goes,please post how you go about the process!

thanks! and i definitely will!

 

[HMS Mike]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Hi,
Do the silicone first and then make a urethane flexible foam-filled master. It is the best way to what you want latex casts and hard casts.

HMS Mike

 

[d_jedi1]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Thats a beautiful sculpt. This was always my favorite classic movie monster.

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Hi,
Do the silicone first and then make a urethane flexible foam-filled master. It is the best way to what you want latex casts and hard casts.

HMS Mike

Yeah, this is how im gonna do it. I've just got to wait until my birthday later this month to get some silicone and stuff.

Here's another question, can I use the ultracal for the hard outer mold of the silicone mold?

Also, I've been doing some more work on the sculpt. There's just little things that actualy make a pretty big difference once fixed. I'll post some pics either later today or tomorrow when I finish the changes!

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

Thats a beautiful sculpt. This was always my favorite classic movie monster.

Thanks!

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

ok, heres where the creature is..
I extended the sides out in the front and added the splits where their supposed to be.

 

[xmr1]

Great work, it's spot on. I loved the creature when I was a kid, brings back great memories

 

[MrGzilla]

Re: creature from the black lagoon mask SCULPT DONE! need advice on molding

stopped by the engineer guy in atlanta yesterday and picked up some rebound 25 and just got the first coat on!