Thanks Paul - I've been looking forward to this! A few questions.
1. Do you have pics of the clay lip around the edges of the Bio that you mentioned? I'm curious how much you build it up to avoid spillage. I think I understand it correctly - you want the resin to not go over top the lip to make it easier when you slosh it around. More resin in your cast and none on your skin right?
2. Is the Smooth-On tacky enough to stick to the underside of the Bio's edges?
3. Is the Bio just sitting on the box or do you have it attached so that it doesn't move around when you're applying the Smooth-On?
4. Once you mix the Smooth-On, how much time until it starts to harden and get tacky?
5. What do you use for pigment?
So - to make sure I have this right - you have blocked off the eyes with clay, created a clay lip inside the underside of the Bios rim; sprayed with mold release; applied a beauty coat with small brushes; applied a second coat of Smooth-On; and then applied a third coat of Smooth-On.
hey hez i dont see your "lip" it looks like the bio is just laying on top of your desk
you said you made a wall but i dont see it. am i taking crazy pills
I think this is a really cool tutorial.Really like how you show the photo of what to do and put the details underneath.Also like how you laid out the cost and products used.Excellent job Paul.
Good tip on adding those PVC pipe keys to the mold. I hadn't thought about that before -- I've just assumed that the silicone mold would fit correctly into the mother mold when I reassembled the pieces. Having those keys in there would certainly help to hold the whole thing together.
Thanks for the tips so far. I'm looking forward to the rest of the process.
How long did it take for the smell of fiberglass to leave your house? Every time I've worked with fiberglass resin, the smell lingers on for days. (Here's an MSDS for Bondo's fiberglass resin, for those interested.)
I've also used Plasti-Paste as a mother mold for some of my castings with flexible silicone, mainly because my friendly neighborhood Blick Art sells kits with the Rebound 25, Plasti-Paste, and Smooth-Cast 300. Of course, I'm sure Plasti-Paste has its own share of health hazards.
Have you ever thought of using Ultracal 30 or some other kind of plaster, reinforced with burlap, as a mother mold? Or would that get too heavy?
In any case, thanks for posting this tutorial. I'm sure it'll help a lot of hunters.
I just have one question, If your not doing this on an already cast bio, and if your doing it on a sculpt on an armature, Do you have to put a lip around the edge of the sculpt or just pour the silicone right on?
Im not trying to thread jack, but I'm including a bic of my sculpt and I I drew a line where I'd Put the lip, I just didnt know if your where supposed to do that on sculpt as opposed to a pre-existing bio?
Again, not thread jacking, trying to make it relevant and even more helpful.
This tutorial answered a ton of questions I had, thanks Hez!
Dave