First post and request for Help

[LaneLander]

Hello, good afternoon or good day. This is my first official post and on this forum. I have been lurking here for months drooling over many of your projects. So much to look at and so very hard for me to find the information I need not that its my turn to build.

With that said I am currently working on a, shall we say scale replica of Optimus Prime. What scale? Heck, I am doing it all by eye and have no clue. If I were to guess based on DSotM images I would say that it is about 1/5th.

This is where I am at so you can see.

The issues that I have are for what follows. The foam is actually a shipping product called instapak (a firm version) cutting and shaping I can deal with but what I would like to do is cover it with something like clay and then creating a mold with fiberglass so that I can make 10 final pieces. This is why I am posting here. Can someone help me with:

• Which clay or product to cover it for glassing
• Will any Epoxy/glass work
• any other tidbits tips or tricks

As I said I tried to do a search but unfortunately the 5 pages of responces for FOAM CORE come back a little different than I need.

Again, Thanks for reading, replying and understanding my plight.

Regards

Lane AKA LaneLander

 

[Pobbrett]

have you considered using bondo to finish the surface ??

 

[Ozymandius]

1. Any oil clay will work, but you are best off avoiding anything that contains sulfur. I prefer Chavante NSP Med.

2. Epoxy/glass will work for a mother mold, but you will need a layer of silicone against the clay (daughter mold) first. It's a simple rule. Cast a hard part in a soft mold, and cast a soft part in a hard mold.

3. Do a lot more studying. Go to Smooth On's website and watch their tutorials. Tons of tutorials on You Tube as well.

 

[LaneLander]

This is me reference in the background

It's coming along.

 

[LaneLander]

have you considered using bondo to finish the surface ??

YES I HAVE was not sure how it would work on this material. The type I have used in the past was too thick. is there one that is easier to apply in thin coats?

1. Any oil clay will work, but you are best off avoiding anything that contains sulfur. I prefer Chavante NSP Med.

2. Epoxy/glass will work for a mother mold, but you will need a layer of silicone against the clay (daughter mold) first. It's a simple rule. Cast a hard part in a soft mold, and cast a soft part in a hard mold.

3. Do a lot more studying. Go to Smooth On's website and watch their tutorials. Tons of tutorials on You Tube as well.

I will have to look into this. I just hope the product is not god awful expensive.

 

[Ozymandius]

That looks like a Urethane foam (most likely Great Stuff), so Bondo should be okay on it.

If you want a Bondo surfacer that you can brush on, I recommend making some Rondo. It's a simple mix of fiberglass resin and bondo. Just mix the two in a cup till you have the consistency you want and then add the liquid hardener before brushing on.