Fire Husky 3: Pouring the resin plastic

Part 1: Rapid Prototyping & 3D modelling
Part 2: Making the Silicone Mold
Part 3: Pouring the resin

Step 2: The Resin Pour
Material used:
Axson F32

Once the mold was done I measured the amount of resin needed by filling it with normal rice. This gave me a decent estimate as to how much I would need to pour to get a one figure. Mine ended up at 4 dl, however it would I soon realize I only needed 3 dl.

I then added rubber bands around the structure of the mold to keep it together and avoid spillage from resin. I first used a series of cardboard pieces around the edges, but this isn’t really necessary if you have a small and sturdy mold. I made a little cardboard box to put it on.

Axson F32’s second component is highly toxic and should only be used in a well ventilated area. If you breathe it in directly, you’ll have to spend a week in hospital. Doesn’t sound much fun. Unless you’re into nurses or second hand infections. Then it’s great!

So, you’ll probably want to get a big fan and do this next to a window. It might also be a very good idea to have a proper gas mask just to be sure.

After the mold was ready and my ventilation was in order, I poured together the two components of the Axson F32. I set a timer for 2 minutes, stirred it around for 1 minute and then poured it into the mold at a height and titled it slightly while pouring. Once it was filled up, I gave some light karate chops on each side to make the resin fill into every cavity. Doing this tends to help avoid bubbles.

Here it is, the first resin cast I did!
As you can see, it’s pretty much a perfect replica of the rapid prototype model, even the rougher texture has been replicated. At this point I realized my model was stuck inside of the silicone because I had put the model in the wrong way. Had I rotated it by 90 degrees, it would be much easier to extract from the mold. However, I managed to fix this by cutting a line in silicone from the chest down. The models after this had some additional resin around the chest, but this was easily removable.

After the I cast a few more models, I started to sand it down while spraying it with a primer, then sanding, then priming, sanding, etc. x4. At this point, they look pretty much perfect.

I then sprayed them with some normal Montana spray cans to see how they would look in color! The ideal thing to do now would be to perfect one casted model to make a master mold. This would give mea perfect casting every time and I would not have to spend ages on priming and sanding for each model.

I hope this little tutorial was useful to you! Check out my resources list underneath to learn from the places I learned…

Tips and Tricks:
-Pour the silicone from as high as you can to avoid air bubbles
-Flip the two-part molds to an 60-70 degree angle when pouring the resin
-Remember to make ventilation shafts. The more the merrier!
-Wear protective gear!

Resources:
My Flickr Set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellobard/sets/72157607454804214/

Resin is the New Vinyl Flickr Group
http://www.flickr.com/groups/resinisthenewvinyl/pool/

Rapid Prototyped Chocolate Monkey Faces
http://bebop.cns.ualberta.ca/~cwant/chocomonkey/

Yoshii’s ZBrush Toys
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=47708

Sci-Proto:
http://www.sci-proto.com/sla.html

Shapeways:
www.shapeways.com

Smooth-On Mold-Making Tutorial Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSH19G_6Yeo&feature=related

Freeman Supplies Tutorial Videos:
http://www.freemansupply.com/video.htm