Blaxmyth
Sr Member
I’m as proud as punch about my chestplate mould that I picked up from my painter mate this evening!
I’ve been working slowly away at this suit for years, and seeing the painted plug has given me such a jolt that I might even complete it before I retire!
The mould is made of a mixture of MDF, plywood and flooring particle board, glued together with cross-bonded PVA. I used aluminium TIG welding wire to form the outline of the pecs, then used auto putty (known as ‘bog’ here in New Zealand) to fill in the profiles. My painter mate has resurfaced my work – he is a proper craftsman – and has finished it in British Racing Green left over from another job.
Next step is to take it to another mate-of-a-mate who’s into fibreglassing. He’ll make me a mould and do a few pulls out of it for me.
Please excuse any inaccuracies in the moulding. Any errors are entirely mine. I worked from photos, screencaps and measurements supplied by others on the RPF. I have tried for a sharper edged look than the originals, because I remember being impressed by the shape of the chestplates when I first saw the troopers back in ’77 or ’78 and have tried to recreate that feel.
Here’s some shots of the mould in progress.
Cheers! Phil
I’ve been working slowly away at this suit for years, and seeing the painted plug has given me such a jolt that I might even complete it before I retire!
The mould is made of a mixture of MDF, plywood and flooring particle board, glued together with cross-bonded PVA. I used aluminium TIG welding wire to form the outline of the pecs, then used auto putty (known as ‘bog’ here in New Zealand) to fill in the profiles. My painter mate has resurfaced my work – he is a proper craftsman – and has finished it in British Racing Green left over from another job.
Next step is to take it to another mate-of-a-mate who’s into fibreglassing. He’ll make me a mould and do a few pulls out of it for me.
Please excuse any inaccuracies in the moulding. Any errors are entirely mine. I worked from photos, screencaps and measurements supplied by others on the RPF. I have tried for a sharper edged look than the originals, because I remember being impressed by the shape of the chestplates when I first saw the troopers back in ’77 or ’78 and have tried to recreate that feel.
Here’s some shots of the mould in progress.
Cheers! Phil
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