Foam Sculpting My First Bio - Beyond The Final Rung

[BonzRus]

I can't wait to see the outcome, just absolutely gorgeous work

Thanks oxtheii, I am excited to see this through.

Got a little more done overnight. Unfortunately, UPS has delivered my Smooth On materials to some place other than the front door of my house as the tracking information would have me believe so I contacted Smooth On this morning and they are tracing the order. No problem, only a slight delay I hope. In the mean time I added the acrylic lens templates to the eyes and filled the very small gap between each template and the helmet (from the front) with a small amount of clay. These will be removed prior to molding the inside of the helmet. I then clipped the extra layer of plastic signs to the flange base, supported the helmet up off the flange at three points with a block of wood and some clay and started to build the clay wall between the edge of the helmet and the mold flange. Here are a few pics so far.

That's all for now.

Steve

 

[BonzRus]

Woohoo! I got my Smooth On order today and to top it off I won an iPad2 at work but really have no use for it so I took it back to the store and now I have the cash instead. Also sold a guitar I had on Craigslist so i can now do a little more with all of this. nothing further to update as I have been sick with a pretty bad cold the last few days so haven't been able to do much on the mold. will update more as I can.

Steve

 

[Hippie]

Man Flu!  Oooh. Deadly mate. Take it easy. Chicken soup is the only known cure.

 

[BonzRus]

Man Flu!  Oooh. Deadly mate. Take it easy. Chicken soup is the only known cure.

I believe you may be right on that....certainly can't hurt. 

 

[REYALS1]

Right on Steven. Looks like you are well on your way to a beautiful piece.

Good to hear you got your product and are rearing to go.

Get well brother.

-Ricky

 

[BonzRus]

Hey Ricky, thanks a bunch. I am excited about making the mold. I got to see a picture of you over on the mugshot thread. Didn't know there was one. Do you still have the beard? It is neat to be able to put a name with a face. Merry Christmas!

Steve

 

[wonko]

I guess I shouldn't be as shocked as I am with the mold work, considering what you did to get to this point, but I am very impressed Steve.  Sounds like the last few days have been good ones, aside from the flu (which I happen to come down with as well).  Hope you get to feeling better, but even more I hope you and your family have a very blessed and merry Christmas.  Someday (hopefully soon) you and I are going to have to get together, seeing as we're so close.  I would love to see this thing in person!

Brian

 

[REYALS1]

Hey Ricky, thanks a bunch. I am excited about making the mold. I got to see a picture of you over on the mugshot thread. Didn't know there was one. Do you still have the beard? It is neat to be able to put a name with a face. Merry Christmas!
 
Steve


Haaaaaha! That is one of the first pics I shared. That one was a while ago.

No, the beard got shaved and now its a lot more grey, lol. Sporting a hybrid of scrag right now.

 

[BonzRus]

I guess I shouldn't be as shocked as I am with the mold work, considering what you did to get to this point, but I am very impressed Steve.  Sounds like the last few days have been good ones, aside from the flu (which I happen to come down with as well).  Hope you get to feeling better, but even more I hope you and your family have a very blessed and merry Christmas.  Someday (hopefully soon) you and I are going to have to get together, seeing as we're so close.  I would love to see this thing in person!

Brian

Merry Christmas to you too Brian! We are starting to get over the sickness, this has been a rough one. Not much in the way of stomach related problems but terrible cough, runny/stuffy noses and high fevers. Some bad stuff but I think we are starting to mend. I have been ordering a lot of stuff I will need to complete this project so hopefully very soon I will be making regular updates again.

Steve

 

[BonzRus]

Haaaaaha! That is one of the first pics I shared. That one was a while ago.

No, the beard got shaved and now its a lot more grey, lol. Sporting a hybrid of scrag right now.

My problem is not so much with it turning grey as it is with it turning loose.  Merry Christmas!

Steve

 

[BonzRus]

It is now ready for the first coat of silicone which I hope to apply this evening. Nothing too exciting about these pics, just the latest of where it stands.

The filler clay is complete.

Added a clay wall to contain the silicone.

Sprayed the clay with Krylon Clear Acrylic Satin to seal it prior to applying silicone.

I will be using Smooth On Mold Max 27T with Silc-Pig to tint the different layers and Thi-vex to thicken it for better control. This will be my first ever attempt to use silicone to make a mold so I will be brushing up on a few video tutorials prior to trying this.

I have also ordered my resin, a respirator mask, the leather I will use to finish it with, some 9V battery holders and some laser diode modules. That's it for now.

Steve

 

[wonko]

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Sooooo close...

Brian

 

[BonzRus]

Me too Brian...me too.

Steve

 

[PredatrHuntr]

Now that's what I call preparation...well done!

 

[Eaglewood]

This setup in preparation for  silicone is just nothing short of incredible. Your attention to detail and clean lines is to be commended. This will be a great mold when it is completed and you should be able to get a lot of good pulls from it. Well done Steve!!!

 

[BonzRus]

Now that's what I call preparation...well done!

This setup in preparation for  silicone is just nothing short of incredible. Your attention to detail and clean lines is to be commended. This will be a great mold when it is completed and you should be able to get a lot of good pulls from it. Well done Steve!!!

Thanks guys, I greatly appreciate the comments. I have delayed applying the silicone until I have a full day to do it. As I looked at the process of doing this I noticed that when one coat gets tacky it is time to apply the next coat. I inquired with Smooth On about if the application of subsequent layers of silicone would be a problem if the previous coat were allowed to cure overnight and they recommended not waiting that long. Since I have no experience with silicone I am reluctant to apply one coat per evening for fear there may be an adhesion problem between coats so my only other option is to wait until I have a full day to work on it so I can build up the layers as soon as they become tacky. If anyone has any experience with what I am talking about, your input would be very welcome.

Steve

 

[Eaglewood]

Thanks guys, I greatly appreciate the comments. I have delayed applying the silicone until I have a full day to do it. As I looked at the process of doing this I noticed that when one coat gets tacky it is time to apply the next coat. I inquired with Smooth On about if the application of subsequent layers of silicone would be a problem if the previous coat were allowed to cure overnight and they recommended not waiting that long. Since I have no experience with silicone I am reluctant to apply one coat per evening for fear there may be an adhesion problem between coats so my only other option is to wait until I have a full day to work on it so I can build up the layers as soon as they become tacky. If anyone has any experience with what I am talking about, your input would be very welcome.

Steve

Steve,
Depending on the type of silicone you are planning on using-- there should be no problems. I have poured a skin and then 3-4 days later more coats with no problems whatsoever in adhesion-- Couldnt get  them apart if you wanted to. I actually even did a block mold and poured half of it, wanted there to be a separation and used the wrong release agent-- poured the second half a couple of days later and had to cut it apart-- ruined my clean seam line .

Silicone loves itself that way. With the Mold Max you should be fine.  Do the first beauty coat with NO thivex so it covers well and no bubbles. After it cures then you can go to town and thicken it up with a couple more coats. Keep us posted.

 

[BonzRus]

Thanks Clay. That helps my confidence level a LOT! I am sure that once I get this one behind me I will be more at ease about it.

Steve

 

[Eaglewood]

Steve,
another little trick  when you are using the silicone that has been thickened with the Thivex--if you accidentally use too much and its too thick, use a  cake frosting knife to smooth it, then lay a piece of saran wrap over it all and smooth it out. Leave the saran wrap on til lit cures-- peel it off and there ya go-- a pretty smooth finish-- a few small craters and such  but wont affect the finished piece-- makes it smoother for the mother mold. You can even pour another thin coat over it to smooth it further before you add the mother mold. Before that you could even use the thickened silicone to make some "keys" for the mother mold-- you know some ridges going a couple of different directions, or even put some half spheres in the wet silicone to act as keys-- use your imagination.

 

[wonko]

I have yet to see you do ANYTHING half assed Steve, and don't think you'll start now.  I think all you need is a little confidence that you can do it, and it'll turn out just fine.  I haven't molded anything the way you're doing it (yet) but know the feeling of not wanting to screw anything up.  What i learned long ago was that if I follow the manufacturers directions on anything, you'll hardly ever go wrong (even cooking frozen pizza applies here lol).  Good luck bud, you'll do just fine!

Brian