Foam Sculpting My First Bio - Beyond The Final Rung

[BonzRus]

Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god... Dude I don't think I'm gonna get much sleep tonight. I'm excited for you buddy, and have faith that everything will work out just fine. Looking forward to an update on this, as I'm sure everyone is. As far as me being the too poster, I can't decide if that's good or bad lol. I have really enjoyed this process, and look forward to your next project!

Brian

Well buddy I hope you didn't loose too much sleep over this and deing the top poster is a good thing for both of us. I have really enjoyed the back and forth on this and getting to know you a little better even though we have never me in person.

Haha, Brian. I don't blame you for bring top poster on Steve's thread. His attention to detail and non-stop updating is crucial to keeping everyone following this creation in the loop.

Hell, we'd probably be textually screaming at him if he just showed us an update here and there. Without those updates... we would truly be lost, lol.

Glad you enjoy all the updates Ricky. I have had plenty of them for sure and quite possibly too many I would say but I wanted to keep everyone up to date on this even when there wasn't a heck of a lot to update.

Steve,
I f you are ever in the Michigan area, bring the molds and Ill donate the resin--  Cant wait to see these-- put me down on the list for sure.

Will do Clay. I would love to get up there sometime and spend a day to two with you.


Now for something I know many of you have been waiting for. After over 5 months of work I finally have my first pull in hand and it turned out very well I think. Only a couple minor bubbles in the resin, nothing that would require more than a light glaze of filler and a quick sanding to correct. After removing it from the mold I spent about 15 minutes cleaning up the edge and it is as you see it. The casting is very solid and somewhat heavy, weighing in at 2 lbs. 9-1/4 ozs. but it feels great! Here are some pics.

The resin has been poured...

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It is set...

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Back half of the mold removed. Looking good so far.

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Fresh out of the mold and minor flashing removed by hand.

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Cleaned up and ready to go.

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Side by side with the original plug (on the left).

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The detail pieces didn't turn out as well but I learned better about how the resin behaves and that I need more and larger channels for the resin to flow through so I will open the block molds up a bit and try again until I get them right. The joy here is I learned and I didn't have to waste a lot of resin to do so. YAY! I was much more anxious about the helmet and am very glad it turned out better. Here are a few pics of what I am talking about.

Resin poured...

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More work to do here.

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So, now that I am at this point I am planning to finish this bio up complete with the interior (which I obviously still have to cast), painted and tri-lasers. As I have mentioned before I have special plans for it so I will continue the thread until I have it completed. It has been quite a journey to get to this point and I could not have done it without the encouragement and support of you all. In a way you all are a part of this piece as well so thank you, thank you, thank you.

Steve

 

[Folsomaticustom]

EEEK! Such beautiful work! 

 

[wonko]

 
See, this is what happens when I get busy and don't check the forums... I miss your post by almost 2 hours.  Wow wow wow wow wow wow that thing looks sooooooo purty!  I responded to your PM before I saw this, so please keep that in mind when you read it lol.  Congrats on your first successful pull buddy, all your hard work and attention to detail paid off.  I have a hunch they're only going to keep getting better and better.  I also have a hunch that you're being a little hard on yourself when you say the interior parts didn't come out.  I'm happy and excited for you, and know that you probably feel like a kid on Christmas morning.  Keep going dude, you're making history here!

Brian

 

[Folsomaticustom]

See, this is what happens when I get busy and don't check the forums... I miss your post by almost 2 hours.  Wow wow wow wow wow wow that thing looks sooooooo purty!  I responded to your PM before I saw this, so please keep that in mind when you read it lol.  Congrats on your first successful pull buddy, all your hard work and attention to detail paid off.  I have a hunch they're only going to keep getting better and better.  I also have a hunch that you're being a little hard on yourself when you say the interior parts didn't come out.  I'm happy and excited for you, and know that you probably feel like a kid on Christmas morning.  Keep going dude, you're making history here!

Brian

Big time, man! Words can not even express how amazing this bio is.

 

[oxtheii]

Even before being cleaned up it looks beautiful
You know you really are an inspiration, thank you for all the updates and pictures, it's been very fun to watch and educational!

It's so clean and pretty

 

[JehdinThwei]

*drool*

 

[REYALS1]

Ooooooooh SCHNAPINS!!!

WOW...ER, DOUBLY WOW-EOW-WOWskees! This is insanely AWESOME! Excellent...EXCellent...EXCELLENT work, Steve.

Looks as though I had better get my behind in gear on something, eh?

 

[projectshadow]

Holy ****! Amazing job truly genius!!

 

[wonko]

Looks as though I had better get my behind in gear on something, eh?

You and me both Ricky.  Only problem is, this is a helluva hard act to follow!

Brian

 

[AlphaTech686]

Hey Steve, I expected nothing less. Very very nice, infact it doesn't get much better than that. Nice bar set.  

 

[PredatrHuntr]

From foam to resin - truly an awesome feat in itself.  That looks like one helluva first casting!  Incredibly well done...you should be proud of yourself!  I'm still in awe at the pictures...damn that looks good!!!

 

[Impactor]

Woah man, such a nice bio. Followed this build from when you first started carving, what an awesome process. Glad i witnessed it.
Top notch.

 

[hannay07]

So I havent been on in a while, but wow!  Your first pull came out great!  Awesome work brother, just awesome

 

[BonzRus]

EEEK! Such beautiful work!

Hey Folsomaticustom, You continue to be a man of different words... First FANGASM and now EEEK...thanks.

See, this is what happens when I get busy and don't check the forums... I miss your post by almost 2 hours. Wow wow wow wow wow wow that thing looks sooooooo purty! I responded to your PM before I saw this, so please keep that in mind when you read it lol. Congrats on your first successful pull buddy, all your hard work and attention to detail paid off. I have a hunch they're only going to keep getting better and better. I also have a hunch that you're being a little hard on yourself when you say the interior parts didn't come out. I'm happy and excited for you, and know that you probably feel like a kid on Christmas morning. Keep going dude, you're making history here!

Brian

Thank you Brian. I will keep improving on the process for the detail pieces until I get it down. I am very glad to be at this point in the development of this as I am actually starting to see something tangible coming from all the work.

Big time, man! Words can not even express how amazing this bio is.

Ha! But differnt words can...

Even before being cleaned up it looks beautiful You know you really are an inspiration, thank you for all the updates and pictures, it's been very fun to watch and educational! It's so clean and pretty

Thank you oxtheii. I am glad you have enjoyed watching this progress. Now to put one all together.

*drool*

Thanks...I know what you mean.

Ooooooooh SCHNAPINS!!!

WOW...ER, DOUBLY WOW-EOW-WOWskees! This is insanely AWESOME! Excellent...EXCellent...EXCELLENT work, Steve.

Looks as though I had better get my behind in gear on something, eh?

Yes Ricky...that would be good. Thanks for the encouragement along the way on this. I have really appreciated it.

Holy ****! Amazing job truly genius!!

Thanks.

You and me both Ricky. Only problem is, this is a helluva hard act to follow!

Brian

Come on..if I can do it anyone can do it. Just gotta try.

Hey Steve, I expected nothing less. Very very nice, infact it doesn't get much better than that. Nice bar set.

Thanks a bunch Jeff. Not trying to set any bar but if any bar has been set you set it a long time ago.

From foam to resin - truly an awesome feat in itself. That looks like one helluva first casting! Incredibly well done...you should be proud of yourself! I'm still in awe at the pictures...damn that looks good!!!

Thanks again Jason. I do not consider it all that awesome as foam is something I love to work with...granted it is not for everyone and there are is a huge amount of talented sculptors of other mediums here on the Lair. I am very pleased with how it has turned out so far though...

Woah man, such a nice bio. Followed this build from when you first started carving, what an awesome process. Glad i witnessed it.
Top notch.

Hey Spats...thanks for following the build and staying with it. It really means a lot!!!

So I havent been on in a while, but wow! Your first pull came out great! Awesome work brother, just awesome

Hey there hannay07...yeah I hadn't heard from you in awhile...glad your still with us. Thanks for the comments and good to hear from you again.



OK...I think I am now up to date with my responses so here is my next update...

I have made good progress on the quality of the castings coming out of the block molds for the detail pieces. I had to cut additional channels and enlarge some of the ones I had established but I am now able to get successful, useable parts from the molds. This is the third set I have done fresh from the molds and they look much better...still a few small air bubbles in some places but certainly workable.

At least they are functional and complete. The second pour had some bad parts that caused me to make a few more modifications to the molds to correct so now I am feeling better about the outcome of this. I will continue to strive for bubble free parts as they will minimize or reduce my rework efforts. I have also added a few pics of some of the cleaned up parts actually in the helmet.

Soon I will be able to start assembling and prepping this for paint so continue to stay with me on this until I get it finished. I can't wait to actually start glueing and screwing pieces in place and applying some color and character.

Steve

 

[wonko]

Awesome Steve!  Glad you have been able to get the molds corrected and can get good parts from them.  I'm still amazed at the detail in this piece, and am really REALLY looking forward to seeing you finished bio (not to mention having one of my own to work on!).  Keep those updates coming!

Brian

 

[babypred2000]

I can't wait to see one completed, awsome job steve, don't forget about me.......




Eric Shawn

 

[BonzRus]

Awesome Steve! Glad you have been able to get the molds corrected and can get good parts from them. I'm still amazed at the detail in this piece, and am really REALLY looking forward to seeing you finished bio (not to mention having one of my own to work on!). Keep those updates coming!

Brian

Thanks Brian, I am glad too. I wish they could be a little cleaner coming out of the molds but I can work with them and that is whats important.

I can't wait to see one completed, awsome job steve, don't forget about me.......




Eric Shawn

Thanks for the compliment Eric! I am working on collecting a few of the things I will need to finish this one so it won't be long. Stay tuned...and no I won't forget about you.


Now for a brief update...I have spent much of my limited spare time the past couple days cleaning up and preparing a set of detail pieces to install in the helmet. I have a set ready to go so now i am resarching some hardware to secure everything and a few tools I will need to do it right. I have now accumulated almost everything I need to put this one together. I have also spent a fair amount of time thinking about how I want to do the laser housing. I have been preparing it for lasers and I believe I know what I am going to do so I will post updates of the progress as I go. Next up will be mounting the ribs along the center of the dome, the interior tri-hose detail and a couple other pieces that will be solid and not removable. Here are some more pics. Hope you enjoy.

All the pieces together and ready for paint and/or other mods.

Preparing the tri-laser housing for the lasers...

Preparing the helmet to accept the tri-laser housing.

And finally, the 9V battery holder I am planning to install.

Once I get the pieces secured in the helmet that I need to I will be ready to start the painting process for it. I will also begin painting any of the removable items I can to get them ready at the same time. As I do this I am documenting the assembly process for the sake of instructions I plan to send out with it as needed. Most people will probably not even need them but some will. That's all for now...

L8r,

Steve

 

[Hippie]

Your attention to detail is without doubt incredible.
I am truly in awe and envious of what youve done. Everything is so clean, sharp, neat.... I could go on...
I tip my hat to you Sir!

Christian.

 

[Okami Skullcrusher]

Watching this thread is pure pleasure.
Step by step to the perfect bio.
Can't await to see some paint on your bio.
Keep on that great work.

 

[AlphaTech686]

Damn Steve, I gotta keep up. I turn my head and you have 2 more pages of cool ****. This is without a doubt one of the coolest helmets around. Like the others have said, the details are incredible. The Devil is in the details, I think that means you must have a packed with the devil. Anyway totally great job. By the, where did you get that little bag-o-lasers I see in the back ground there?