"Enlarging models using Hydrospan, anyone tried" Topic

I have a custom model, that's scaled for 15mm, and I would like to use in a 30mm game. There is a product Hydrospan that can enlarge items cast, from a molds, but it's a bit of process. First a mother mold then expand the Hydrospan part in water over time it grows, then make a new mold in the size you need. Has anyone used it?

I looked into it once, but it seemed too expen$ive, so I tried the old method of a latex mold, gasoline, and resin to make an enlarged figure. It was definitely a one-off (it looked like Rosanne Barr afterward) and quite messy to do. Best to look around for another figure in the size you want first (even if you have to convert it a little) before getting too far involved….

Too bad there's no material to do this in reverse (like taking a 28mm figure and shrinking it down to 15mm scale…

Damon.

well Garand, there is this link

There is HydroShrink,

Interesting. The reason I'm asking is I would love to shrink down something that is 1/35 scale (such as components of all the great armor kits) down to 1/48. Enlarging by 60% and reducing by 51% gets me down to 1/44 scale, close but not quite there. Enlarging twice (60% then 60% again) then reducing twice gets down to 1/56 scale (or close to it). For 28mm you'd have to enlarge twice then reduce twice to get something close to 17mm in scale (just about perfect!). Maybe something for the manufacturers to consider…

Damon.

I have…got some of the first samples and have been in touch with the lab that made it ever since.

There are issues of technique, timing, and application.

It is quite expensive.

Expensive enough that you do not want to make a mistake, any mistakes.

It is also an exacting science of timing, because the process does not completely stop and you have to perfectly control the process, humidity, and in the end the size.

Then you must be prepared to make a new mold, cast again if need be to alter the size again because the process has a finite range.

All in all you have to be careful of the form to be cast. There is a small amount of deforming due to the characteristics of the hyro-resin. So a "shipping container" would cast much cleaner than a "guy with sword".

It is an interesting material and has some neat potential, but in the end it requires some serious funding to support the learning curve.

I know they have worked out more of the timing/water issues as well as some helpful technical hints.

But if you have enough money to play with this material, you may be better off to hire someone who has experience as it will cost you less in the long run.

PS
And yes you can enlarge or reduce…the above applies to both.

I found Hydrospan too viscous to cast into small cavities. It would work well on an open backed mold or something relatively large and not very intricate, a 1/6 bust for example, but not on a figure.

The viscosity could be a problem for the casual resin caster, I imagine if you have a vacuum chamber and pressure pot it would help the situation. There would be a lot of clean up and GS work even after the process, I guess that would be another Silicone mold, yeah more money. First mold would be the original, second would be the enlarged item, but you can't fix the imperfections on the enlarged Hydrospan item, so you need a third mold of a corrected figure, if you wanted to make many copies.

I also wonder if it easier to shrink or enlarge an item?

All the talk about enlarging figures has me thinking. I'm a Traveller fan and I have a lot, if not the entire original Traveller Grenadier box sets at 25mm, as well as Battletroops, Star Wars, and others. Yet, as much as, I would want to enlarge them are they really good enough quality to do so? Off the top of my head, I can only think of a few about, maybe 15, that are really worthy, because of uniqueness, and even then, I would have to fix out of portioned heads and weapons. Not that big of a deal, but once I start to figure cost and time, 3 quarts of Hydrospace is $80.00, and two or three more molds. I think, I'll have to do an inventory, but $200.00 USD would buy a lot of 15mm, and they are looking better and better, but dang I have so much 28mm and 30mm.