Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build
Now what type of casting agents did you use? Like what was the stuff you made the hollow helmet out of? And how long did it take to set up?
The Thomas helmets were slush cast out of 65D resin. This stuff works very well for slushcasting, as it tends to "cling" more easily to vertical surfaces. in the past I used Smooth Cast 300, because thats just what I had on hand.
Comparably, slushing with 300 is more difficult. Its much thinner and tends to cover the inside of the mold similar to water - very thin coats and lots of pooling. By contrast, the 65D will cover more like syrup. This can be a little tricky with getting small bubbles caught in tighter crevices, but a toothpick and a little caution takes care of most of that.
I'm still making the ear pucks out of 300, because those are just pour molds.
One Thomas helmet takes around an hour to cast, without ears. I have about 7 small pours which gradually build thickness.
By any chance would you consider taking on an apprentice?
Heh, likely not. I work on this stuff in my free time, and out of my already cramped house. Believe me, the entire operation is a lot more rinky-dink than it looks.
AYou said you used the Smoothcast 300 on the primary mold (when you covered the styrene). Now you used the 65D to make the final cast. My question is there a difference in the two of these products? could I use one to do the other job? Because as you probably know the smooth-on stuff ain't cheap.
See above. They're not completely interchangeable. If you were to only buy one, I'd say get the 65D. It would probably brush over a foam master more easily than the 300 would.
Sweet custom katamari.
Honestly, boy, I don't know what to say to you anymore :I
You coming to DragonCon again this year? You can not know what to say in person then! I think I got to talk to you for... 10 seconds last year?
So starting to gather electronics. I've got 450 LEDs on their way in, and have been starting to design the boards as well as the illumination in the corners of the visor. I've also got one of these little guys on order:
Arduino with WiFi! The gent doing the programming on this piece (James Moss, same guy who programmed the Guy helmet) will be making an iOS app that will even be available in the app store for anyone else who wants to put one of these things together. Should be pretty sweet!
