Notbob
Active Member
Here's a project I am on the verge of finishing up. I thought this might be a project right around my skill level. Last fall someone had asked me if I could do a Cyclops visor. I couldn't quit figure out a way to fabricate something like this without it being all sorts of flimsy.
After thinking about it for a couple of months, I thought the best way would be to sculpt it to a lifecast. That was a whole other adventure.....
I managed to talk my wife into letting me get my head cast for a future project. This way I figured I could get some practice sculpting right to a casting of my head.
I used some whiffle balls for the curves and basic shapes. I used some plastic card on the ear muffs for the flat space and the ring around the "X". I used a medium hardness plasticene. Smoothing was a huge challenge and someone recommended charcoal lighter fluid, which works pretty awesome. Symmetry was also a major challenge for me.
So far I have molded the project 3 times. Each time I cleaned it up a little more. I used rebound 25 for the silicone mold. I used chopped strand fiberglass and polyester resin for the mother mold.
They are slush cast with Smooth-On 300. I broke the first one out of the mold! I started backing them with chopped strand and polyester fiberglass. I also used some Evercoat Kitty Hair for backing in tight spaces. They've been pretty durable, but I did crack one when I was sanding on it.
The visor is a red piece of acrylic from Tap Plastics. It's a little thick. I may try and find another material if I do any more of them.
I painted them mostly with Auto Air colors. I did use some Liquitex in there as well. I also did a pair using the Auto Air candy colors. I think I prefer the solid colors to the candy ones. I used some Auto Air Hot Rod Sparkle gold mixed into the colors for the pearls. I also used some powder pigments, but I much prefered the Auto Air pre mixed. I also tried some Liquitex Irridescent medium which added a nice sparkle but turned things silvery. Martha Stewart Pearl colors also have a high silver in them. Unfortunately, the pearls don't get picked up by the camera.
I couldn't decide which color to back the "X" in. I ended up doing two in red and two in black. I put a little pearl blue on top of the black and it really shows up in the photo.
I don't really have any interest in doing a Cyclops cosplay, but I thought it would be an interesting project. I sure learned a lot and really have a deeper appreciation for true sculptors! And this forum was a great resource. I wanted to post this in the hopes it helps someone further down the road.
I will probably wear them around SDCC next weekend. If you see me say Hi!
Thanks for reading and feedback is always welcome!
A link to what few pictures I took of the buildup....
http://s221.photobucket.com/user/krozathotep/library/Cyclops Visor
After thinking about it for a couple of months, I thought the best way would be to sculpt it to a lifecast. That was a whole other adventure.....
I managed to talk my wife into letting me get my head cast for a future project. This way I figured I could get some practice sculpting right to a casting of my head.
I used some whiffle balls for the curves and basic shapes. I used some plastic card on the ear muffs for the flat space and the ring around the "X". I used a medium hardness plasticene. Smoothing was a huge challenge and someone recommended charcoal lighter fluid, which works pretty awesome. Symmetry was also a major challenge for me.
So far I have molded the project 3 times. Each time I cleaned it up a little more. I used rebound 25 for the silicone mold. I used chopped strand fiberglass and polyester resin for the mother mold.
They are slush cast with Smooth-On 300. I broke the first one out of the mold! I started backing them with chopped strand and polyester fiberglass. I also used some Evercoat Kitty Hair for backing in tight spaces. They've been pretty durable, but I did crack one when I was sanding on it.
The visor is a red piece of acrylic from Tap Plastics. It's a little thick. I may try and find another material if I do any more of them.
I painted them mostly with Auto Air colors. I did use some Liquitex in there as well. I also did a pair using the Auto Air candy colors. I think I prefer the solid colors to the candy ones. I used some Auto Air Hot Rod Sparkle gold mixed into the colors for the pearls. I also used some powder pigments, but I much prefered the Auto Air pre mixed. I also tried some Liquitex Irridescent medium which added a nice sparkle but turned things silvery. Martha Stewart Pearl colors also have a high silver in them. Unfortunately, the pearls don't get picked up by the camera.
I couldn't decide which color to back the "X" in. I ended up doing two in red and two in black. I put a little pearl blue on top of the black and it really shows up in the photo.
I don't really have any interest in doing a Cyclops cosplay, but I thought it would be an interesting project. I sure learned a lot and really have a deeper appreciation for true sculptors! And this forum was a great resource. I wanted to post this in the hopes it helps someone further down the road.
I will probably wear them around SDCC next weekend. If you see me say Hi!
Thanks for reading and feedback is always welcome!
A link to what few pictures I took of the buildup....
http://s221.photobucket.com/user/krozathotep/library/Cyclops Visor
Your paint job turned out really well!
