"Delays on my 6mm APC" Topic

I have just had the samples of my APC back:

The master prints were destroyed/ruined in the mould making process and as you can see the finished article is in no way saleable.

Back to where I was a few weeks ago except minus a few weeks of time and a few hundred quid.
This has really upset me quite a bit.

Does anyone know of a casting firm that can make moulds from printed masters to a better standard than this before I give up?
I reckon I have enough cash to give it one more shot before I have to call it quits on printed vehicles.

Michael.

hi michael
bad lick on the casting front
did the chap who made the moulds use low temp silicone or the higher temp natural rubber discs?
i may be able to make them from the printed ones if they can withstand 100c.
please email me if you want to discuss the problem as i may be able to offer some advice.
sales@sandsmodels.com
thanks
shaun

I imagine Brigade Models has quite a lot of experience making moulds from printed masters. You already have some kind of relationship with them so why not at least start from there?

In the US, PFC C-in-C has been doing a lot of new castings in their SEM range so that might be an option.

Both companies are quite amenable to customer desires and might be willing to do some casting work for you. Of course, I do not work for either, though I talk to the owners of both (via e-mail) in passing a few times a year. Might be worth a shot, though.

The irony here is that, 20 years ago, those would have been perfectly acceptable. In fact, I know without doubt that I happily bought minis that did not look that good. We've come a long way.

Doug

That stinks regarding the bad models. I'm looking forward to seeing & buying the finished product.

Sorry, I can't help with casting suggestions.

You might try filling those with putty, sanding down the mold lines, and otherwise trying to clean them up, to make another mold.

They don't look too bad.

Granted, it will be more work, dealing with metal, but it might be better than starting over from scratch.

Best of luck on the project.

Old Glory US can do it, as can Brigade. There may be others, but most seem pretty mum about it.

Thats a real shame.

No idea how these things usually work but is there no chance of getting any money back from the "caster" for a poor job?

Doug from Dark Realm Miniatures has been good enough to give me a name of a casting firm, they do all his 3D cad prints for him.

So fingers crossed.

Ouch.

Did you lose details on the surfaces? They look roughed up.

Temperature/cooling issue?

Somebody asked on another forum what was wrong as he thought they looked not too bad.

Here is my reply with what I am unhappy about:

The wheel arches on the APC have not been properly cast, they have been filled in where they broke the mould taking it out.
The grooves in the hub caps are miscast.
The lights at the back are mis-cast.
The door at the rear is barely visible.
The lights at the front are mis-cast.
The entire surface is pitted and has holes and dents in it.
The window slit at the front is messy.
The mould line is clearly visible.
One of the rear grab rails is only half cast.
Many of the straight lines are bent.
The MG turret (not pictured) has no barrel, this was not cast at all, not a bent barrel or a wonky barrel, it is just not there.
The rear of the apc has a lump of something stuck to it, looks like something fell in the mould when casting.
The rear wheel arch on the right is missing, the lights are just hanging there.

On to the trailer unit:

The wheel arches on here are NOT miscast, which goes to show they can be done, but they did not do it properly on the main apc, however the hub caps are miscast.
The top hatches are uneven and pitted with bubbles.
The grab rails are bent and not straight.
The door at the back has holes in it and lumps of metal where there should be flat areas.
An entire part of the sensor array has been broken and not even cast, it is simply missing.
The roof has bubbles and pits in it.
The front slope has bubbles and pits in it.

You only have to look at my RDF figures or the vehicles from say DRM or EW to see what detail can be gotten from a 6mm tall model, these apcs are much bigger than a 6mm figure and they are much much worse in quality, the masters however were flawless.

Very disappointing. Especially after all the work and money that's gone into it.

I don't think it's very good at all and that's just from the pics. Must be even worse up close. I know the high standards you are after Michael. That falls short by about a universe.

In all honesty, and with a small amount of optimism, this looks pretty fair for a first attempt. Perhaps your caster hasn't had much experience with plastic/resin masters?

The first commercial CAD/CAM and 3d printer masters IIRC were Reaper and they used solid silver masters which worked exceptionally well; Expensive, of course, but the thing is they worked. Clearly the basics are here and can be done – a fine tuning process is all that's needed.

There is in this day and age a tendency to try things and then pass on them if they don't work perfectly the first time – However, in this case and with this project, I am sure that is not the case. Anyway, from this photo . . . I'll by a half dozen myself :)

Perhaps your caster hasn't had much experience with plastic/resin masters?

They said they did, which is why I used them.

As it happens another miniatures company saw these at the casters and described them as: and they looked in the flesh horrendous

this looks pretty fair for a first attempt.

When you go to a professional miniatures casters with decades of experience the models used to make the production mould should be perfect, not like this.

None of my regulars who are used to the quality I demand and produce would touch these.

Neither will I.

I neglected to say that I am working around these and other issues to try my hardest to make sure the MS1 Pathmaster becomes available at a quality you deserve, it just may take a while.

Michael.

WOW those samples are TERRIBLE !!

I was really looking forward to picking up a few of your Pathmaster's after seeing the original design. I guess I will have to contain my enthusiasm a bit longer ..

Not sure how anybody in this day & age could consider these as "acceptable" or "pretty fair". I don't think I'd want to waste precious time painting them even if they were free. And especialy not when the likes & quality of Dark Realm, Steel Crown & Plasma Blast are readily available ..

I hope you've been compensated for your loss & disappointment !!