Sculpting First Mask - First Pull Done.

[troggs]

I'm almost ready to call this done, I'm just not sure about whether the sides of the cheeks need some texture and whether or not it's worth adding quill holes now. Anyway, here's some pics -

I've already got the metal shims for the seam line support, now I need to order the wed clay and plaster - notw comes the bit I've been most nervous about.

 

[Usurper]

Basic Alpha plaster, I have been using it from day one, much harder than ultracal or hydracal, but not to the point where it inhibits moisture evaporation.

I have used it for all my moulds apart from Wolf. ( I used modell for him but did not like it )

http://www.tiranti.co.uk/EdgeImpactShop/product.php?Product=1303&Content=Basic+Alpha+Plaster+25kg+Casting+Plaster+Basic+Alpha+Plaster+Top+class+casting+plaseter+which+is+veryfine%2C+hard+%26amp%3B+strong.+Setting+time12-12+minutes.+Plaster+to+water+2.8kg%2Flitre.+Dry+compressive+s

 

[troggs]

Thanks Lee, the Basic Alpha is out of stock at the moment, so just waiting on them to ring back,  I'll just have to do the shims for now I suppose.

 

[NINJABIKER]

Ooppss i must of had the last bag of plaster sorry yeah this stuff is good.  Its around £25 to £30 for 25kg.

 

[troggs]

Ooppss i must of had the last bag of plaster sorry yeah this stuff is good.  Its around £25 to £30 for 25kg.

So it's your fault I've got to sit around twiddling my thumbs now waiting for the plaster

 

[AlphaTech686]

Looks good man. Have fun with the molding. I hate that part.

 

[troggs]

Looks good man. Have fun with the molding. I hate that part.

Thanks, I've only ever moulded with silicone before, so should be a steep learning curve.

 

[NINJABIKER]

This is great for first time.  Take your time moulding you will be fine.

 

[troggs]

This is great for first time.  Take your time moulding you will be fine.

Thanks - I've just bashed the metal shims in, it's a horrible feeling watching them cut into all the work -  just waiting for the clay and plaster now

 

[NINJABIKER]

Yeah i didn't use the shims just a clay wall but still lost detail when i taken the clay wall off so had to resculpt it back in.  Im sure you will be ok. 

 

[troggs]

The clay and plaster has arrived,so I managed to get the front half of the mould done, just got to repair the damage caused by the shims then i can do the rear half.

If all goes to plan I'm hoping to get it all done over the next couple of days, but there are a couple of things I can't seem to find the answers for as far as casting the mask goes:

I've got a gallon of latex in the house already, but do I need a certain type of latex?

How do I actually cast the mask? Do I pour latex in and brush it around? I've watched the excellent vid by Meangene (I think) on casting the legs. Do I do the same for the mask?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[troggs]

The mould is now finished, I'm really happy with the end result, I had a few pinholes to fill, plus I had missed a bit under the chin with the beauty coat, so that's been filled in as well now.

Tomorrow I've just got to clean the joint faces with a wire brush, then hopefully get my first pull over the next couple of days.

I will say that making this type of mould is not something I'd want to do everyday, especially when it comes to picking all the clay out.

 

[DragoonProps]

Excellent work, what latex will you be using though ? I want to know which one I will be needing to get.

 

[alphademonic]

glad to see you made it through the moulding stage without any problems.as for casting what i do is i brush in layers of latex into the mould and use a hairdryer to dry each layer before adding the next otherwise you will be waiting awhile for each layer to dry.on a two part mould i do about 20 layers on each half before joining the two halfs and doing the seam i somtimes reinforce the 20 layers with cloth soaked in latex.as for latex i use polycraft casting latex from mb fiberglass all this is just my way of doing things but i hope it helps

 

[troggs]

Excellent work, what latex will you be using though ? I want to know which one I will be needing to get.

Thanks, I've been advised that latex is latex, at least in the UK, so I suppose any brand will do, I believe there are differences in how diluted the latex is from different suppliers.

glad to see you made it through the moulding stage without any problems.as for casting what i do is i brush in layers of latex into the mould and use a hairdryer to dry each layer before adding the next otherwise you will be waiting awhile for each layer to dry.on a two part mould i do about 20 layers on each half before joining the two halfs and doing the seam i somtimes reinforce the 20 layers with cloth soaked in latex.as for latex i use polycraft casting latex from mb fiberglass all this is just my way of doing things but i hope it helps

Thanks, I'm glad the moulding is done with, I wasn't looking forward to that part. Your method sounds pretty straightforward, so I might give that a try later. I've already got some latex in, now it's just finding the time.

 

[NINJABIKER]

That came out tidy bud looks clean.

 

[troggs]

That came out tidy bud looks clean.

Thanks, pretty happy with it, I sealed the clay with matt varnish, then applied talcum powder and brushed the excess off (I think that was Meangene's tip) most of the clay then came off pretty easily,
I don't know how it would have worked with a hard clay like Chavant, I used Klean Klay, purely because that's what I had in.

 

[troggs]

I've just done a thin pull to clean the mould out and to see how it would look, got a few pinholes and a larger one on the nose, also missed a part of the seam line, so got some repairs to do.
Pretty happy for my first attempt though.
It's just stuffed with rags at the moment for the pics.

Hopefully I'll get a thicker pull out of it next week.