my first bio sculpt

[troggs]

This is my first try at sculpting, having been inspired by the talent on this site, I've gone for a sort of P1 look, just winging it as I go, let me know what you think. I think it's just about ready for the smoothing now, but I've got a couple of questions for the experienced ones out there;

Which silicone would you recommend, I've been using Klean Klay for the sculpt, and how would the silicone cope with the undercuts around the sides of the crown?

I have never had much success with fibreglass in the past, I've been looking at a similar product called Jesmonite, anyone used this, or would I be better with a resin type product?

If anyone who hasn't sculpted before is interested in having a go, I've got plenty of pics of the various stages I went through to get this far, it wasn't easy, but very satisfying.
Sorry the pics aren't great, photos aren't really my thing.

Hi all, just did my first resin pull today, it's not perfect, but for my first attempt I'm very happy with it, let me know what you think.

I've installed the led remote on/off system, as I'm not very good with electronics, I thought the easiest way around it was to use a ready made remote control system; so I took a cheap radio control car apart and took the circuit board out. I connected the power side to a aaa battery box, the lead that originally fed a motor was used as the power to the leds, this output was fed to 3 wires, so each led has it's own resistor. The earth side was connected to the battery box.
Now if someone presses 'left' on the remote control, the leds come on. This is as deep as my understanding of electronics goes, it seems to work, so I'm happy. By sheer luck the design of my bio has left enough room in the brow area to house these bits quite comfortably.

I glued on the accessories, sanded the laser shroud as needed, then started the painting using Hez' method of black and silver for the first couple of layers, followed by a light misting of copper. After this I then used acrylics, black, silver and brown. I applied a colour neat, allowed it to start drying, then wiped it down with a damp sponge. I carried on doing this until I was happy, then I used silver to drybrush the edges to simulate wear/highlights. The whole thing was then sprayed with matt varnish. I may change the lenses, I'm not totally happy with those, but it's nice to get it just about finished and sitting temporarily on my mask.

I'm really pleased with the way this has come out, having never sculpted or cast anything before, so to anybody out there still debating whether they should attempt it, just do what I did, read as many huntorials as you can, then go for it. It can be frustrating at times, but ultimately worth it.

 

[predator666]

Reminds me of superblacks bio around the cheek areas and the long crown. Nice work mate, always fun to see others sculpt

 

[PredatrHuntr]

Yer off to a good start

 

[Elkman]

This is my first try at sculpting, having been inspired by the talent on this site, I've gone for a sort of P1 look, just winging it as I go, let me know what you think. I think it's just about ready for the smoothing now, but I've got a couple of questions for the experienced ones out there;

Which silicone would you recommend, I've been using Klean Klay for the sculpt, and how would the silicone cope with the undercuts around the sides of the crown?

I have never had much success with fibreglass in the past, I've been looking at a similar product called Jesmonite, anyone used this, or would I be better with a resin type product?

I use Smooth-On's Rebound 25 brush-on silicone for complex pieces like this. You have to brush it on in four layers to make it thick enough, and then you can apply a hard shell (otherwise known as a "mother mold") over it. Then, when the mother mold is hardened, you remove that from the silicone, then pull the silicone off your sculpt, and you're ready to cast.

As far as the undercuts go, there are two ways that problem is solved: Since the mother mold is made in two parts, you can pull them off and separate them before you take the silicone off. (Actually, when I made my biohelmet, I did the mother mold in three parts: one for the main dome, one for the left cheek and one for the right cheek.) Also, as you're applying the silicone, you can thicken it up in the undercut areas so it's no longer an undercut. It's sort of like filling a pothole on the street. If you want me to post pictures, I can find them and post them.

I haven't used Jesmonite -- in fact, I've never heard of it before. If it's water-based, it's probably much easier to work with than fiberglass, which has some annoying, smelly solvents. I've done most of my casting in two-part polyurethane resins, again from Smooth-On. There's a distributor in the UK, Bentley Chemicals, that offers Smooth-On products. Otherwise, I'm sure there are other distributors of similar brush-on silicones and casting resins in your area.

 

[digisloth]

That looks awesome man, way better than my bio sculpt I did last year outta paper mache. LOL. Can't wait to see the finished product! Keep up the good work bro!

 

[Origami Unicorn]

Very nice

 

[Fishybob]

I love using Kleen clay.

You can use any kind of silicone moulding material, if the finished mould is going to have to flex ALOT to get the Bio out, then I'd reccommend going for Platinum silicone, and don't forget some nice mould release if you wanna extend the life of your mould.

I've been buying all of my moulding materials from mould life, they do a great, cheap tincure silicone, QC25.

As for th undercuts, as long as you thicken up some silicone and fill in the mould undercut areas, you'll save youself no end of trouble when you come to making the mother mould.

 

[BurnEm]

Looks awesome man, can't wait to see a head go with it.

 

[troggs]

Thanks for the kind words guys, Elkman and Fishybob- thanks for the moulding info, hope to get to the moulding stage over the next couple of days

 

[Studiodude]

Wow there is hope for us begginners........ Loving the mask

 

[sonic7o7]

looks very cool bro, congrats on the great scupt.

 

[troggs]

First resin pull done, pics added first post

 

[hez1]

That looks pretty cool man, well done! Sort of reminds me of the concept Vader helmet that EFX just released.

 

[troggs]

Thanks hez, hopefully once I've trimmed the edges it'll fit my mask ok

 

[Usurper]

awesome 1st sculpt, sculpting a symetrical bio scares the bejesus out me, so i tip my hat to you sir

 

[troggs]

Thanks, the symmetry was really difficult, I thought I would jump in with both feet and learn symmetry and smoothing on my first sculpt, it's still not quite right from some angles, my next sculpt may be a mask, so I can hopefully learn texturing.

 

[ThePriest]

Thanks, the symmetry was really difficult, I thought I would jump in with both feet and learn symmetry and smoothing on my first sculpt, it's still not quite right from some angles, my next sculpt may be a mask, so I can hopefully learn texturing.

it is gonna be another good one for the lair good job now get started on your suit.

 

[troggs]

Cast the shroud, laser and hose connector today, the holes in the laser were moulded from 5mm led retainers and most of the other bits were out of my scrap box.

 

[troggs]

Small update - i've installed a remote system to switch the leds on and off, description and pic first post.

 

[AlphaTech686]

Dude this is a very nice piece. It definetely has it's own look. I like the remote on off for the leds