Foam Sculpting My First Bio - Beyond The Final Rung

[BonzRus]

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.

Clay, that makes good sense. Thanks for the trick , I may have to give it a try.

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

Brian,  thanks for the vote of confidence. Maybe I will get the opportunity to start applying the silicone this weekend. It is a 'grocery weekend' though (ugh!) so we shall see. 

I did get the leather I ordered today...it is going to look so nice in a finished helmet. Also got my casting resin and respirator. Getting closer.

Steve

 

[BonzRus]

Well, I decided to remove the clay dam so I could do more with registration keys in the silicone for the mother mold. I am up to 4 layers of silicone at the moment. Things seem to be going OK although it has taken much longer than I expected for the silicone to tack up to where I can apply the next coat. It sets up much faster where it is thicker but this is a learning process for me. I still have some undercuts to get rid of but I figure about two more applications of silicone and it will be ready for the mother mold. Again, I am using the Smooth On Mold Max 27T Silicone, tinting it with Silc-pig and thickening it with Thi-vex. I applied Ease Release 200 as directed prior to the first application of silicone.

First pic...a thin red brushed on beauty coat.

Second pic...a thin blue brushed on coat.

Third pic...a thickened coat of yellow. Starting to fill in the eyes, laser shroud, cheeks and the perimeter.

Last few pics are the thickened coat of green. Continued to build up the cheeks and perimeter.

That's all for now.

Steve

 

[wonko]

Oh happy day!  As usual, your work looks very neat and professional Steve.  Has the process been what you expected so far?

Happy new year bud!

Brian

 

[konsept]

Steve,

Do you plan on selling copies of your creation? Very awesome work indeed!

Ryan

 

[TriLaser]

For some reason i really like the colour of the bio in the second pic lol. Kind of reminds me of ambassador kosh from babylon 5. Anyway looking good mate. Keep it up. 

 

[BonzRus]

Happy New Year to you too Brian! I rehearsed the process numerous times so that I did not accidentally skip a step but the process has been basically what I was expecting with the exception of the time it takes for the silicone to tack up as I mentioned. I do not recommend trying to pour part B directly from the bottle into the mixing container because being thin it runs down the underside of the bottle and can make a mess especially if you are trying to accurately measure it on a scale. Pour it first into a clean plastic cup and then into the mixing container. The green is fully cured now as I was unable to apply a fifth coat yesterday evening so we will see how the next layer adheres. There was nothing I could do about that so it will just have to be what it is. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to address the fill and vent ports for filling it but I have some ideas.

Steve

 

[BonzRus]

Steve,
 
Do you plan on selling copies of your creation? Very awesome work indeed!
 
Ryan

Thank you Ryan. Yes, that is the plan.
 
 

For some reason i really like the colour of the bio in the second pic lol. Kind of reminds me of ambassador kosh from babylon 5. Anyway looking good mate. Keep it up. 

Thanks Mike! It's getting there.

Steve

 

[REYALS1]

Oh yeah buddy! Looks like you have it nailed. Very clean looking. Keep up the great work.

 

[BonzRus]

Oh yeah buddy! Looks like you have it nailed. Very clean looking. Keep up the great work.

Thanks Ricky! I am trying. So far so good...

Steve

 

[PredatrHuntr]

Keep up the good work!!!!  Looks colorful and full of awesomeness!

 

[BonzRus]

Keep up the good work!!!! Looks colorful and full of awesomeness!

Thanks Jason. You continue to be an inspiration to me.

Here are a few more pics of yesterday's progress. There are a few places that still need to be thickened up to remove the undercuts on both sides. I hope to take care of that tonight, then it will be on to the mother mold.

I should have more to report tomorrow...

Steve

 

[wonko]

What are you using for the mother mold Steve?  I still can't believe how clean this is...good job!

Brian

 

[BonzRus]

Hey Brian, I will be using polyester resin and fiberglass mat. I had thought about using Plasti-Paste but the cost difference sealed it's fate. At this point, because I am making a 2 part mold I may need another bucket of silicone. I am getting more used to it and have come to enjoy working with the stuff. Just part of the learning curve. I am anxious to see how this half of the mold has turned out but I can't rush it.

Steve

 

[REYALS1]

I still can't believe this began as foam block. Insane!

 

[Eaglewood]

This has to be the cleanest mold I have ever seen.. Fantastic. Ill be honest-- the Plastipaste is expensive, but once you use it--you will love it!!!!!

I use it whenever I have pieces like this that I need to do and want a good permanent mother mold.

at any rate-- First class job!!!

 

[BonzRus]

Thanks guys. I put another coat of silicone on it last night. Nothing to spectacular...It now has six coats total. As far as I can tell I still need to add some more silicone on either side. It is hard to tell but I think there is an undercut especially under the laser shroud that could be a potential problem with the mother mold. At any rate, I will fix that tonight and plan on making the mother mold over the weekend. I am ready to remove this thing from the base and flip it over.

L8r,

Steve

 

[Lowdmekon]

A truly amazballs way of making a bio dude, superb. Can't wait to see this cast. And the inside is the mutz nutz.

 

[wonko]

So pretty! Does this mean we're gonna see the first pull in a week or so?

Brian

 

[Double H]

Looking good bud, about time that went under the silicone lol clearly you teleported back and got it lol

 

[Folsomaticustom]

It's been a while since I've stepped in to see your progress and all I can say is, WOW! This thing is so gorgeous and detailed!