| Intrepide | 03 Apr 2014 10:30 a.m. PST |
I am wanting to sculpt about a dozen very specific character figures for a very limited number of casts. Maybe a dozen casts, maximum, for circulation within a niche game group. The sculpting I can do. Casting in soft metal is new to me, although I am familiar with lost wax casting in non ferrous hard metal. What are my options? What would my expenses look like? Would I be looking at RTV molds used at home, or farm out conventional spin casting to professionals? Any advice and experience is appreciated. Thanks! |
| Pictors Studio | 03 Apr 2014 10:52 a.m. PST |
You could have a rubber mold done. For the master and production mold you are looking at about $200 USD if you go to someone to do it. |
 Miniatureships  | 03 Apr 2014 10:58 a.m. PST |
Just do them in resin. Home casting kits can be obtained from most hobby shops, even Hobby Lobby has them. The majority of those kits are from Alumilite. You can a kit that has both the rubber and resin or each separately. There are enough instructions videos on doing resin casting on You Tube that it shouldn't be all that hard. The resin casting saves you masters, and the extra resin cast could be used to make a production mold later on if you desire a longer production run. |
| Intrepide | 03 Apr 2014 11:15 a.m. PST |
That is a doable amount, Pictors Studio. Miniatureships, that is an interesting option, but I am concerned about durability. Resin has always struck me as fragile and I've avoided it for gaming purposes. I will look into it though. Thanks to both of you! |
| Maddaz111 | 03 Apr 2014 12:30 p.m. PST |
I charge about sixty pounds for a mould, a master mould will provide 30-50 spins… if you need 2 dozen, of six or seven figures, you probably don't need a production mould. I'm UK based, but if you are interested. Darren.webber@btopenworld.com |
| Leon Pendraken | 03 Apr 2014 1:01 p.m. PST |
We could sort those for you as well, through our contract casting side. £40.00 GBP for a master mould would be all you'd need. Depending on the size of the sculpts, you'll be looking at somewhere between 30-40p per figure production costs as well. Drop us an email through our website if it's of interest: pendraken.co.uk |
| Hydra Studios | 03 Apr 2014 1:32 p.m. PST |
Don't try to do it yourself. The professional moldmakers have all the experience and tools to do the job right the first time. You will only need a master mold if you are going to make 12 sets of castings. For my day job, I work as high-school sculpture teacher and I've taught miniature sculpting to my students at various times. Once my kids completed their models, I sent them to be molded and each kid got 12 castings for their own use. Additionally, the moldmaker returned the greens and the mold so the students could learn more about the process. You could get the master mold and all the castings made for $150 USD-$200 depending on the mold type and the size/weight of the castings. Good luck on your project!
-Matt Beauchamp
Hydra Miniatures
hydraminiatures.com |
Rodrick Campbell  | 03 Apr 2014 3:46 p.m. PST |
"You could have a rubber mold done. For the master and production mold you are looking at about $200 USD USD if you go to someone to do it." For limited runs you wouldn't even need to do a production mold. Just have the master spun a dozen times. |
| 55th Division | 04 Apr 2014 5:03 a.m. PST |
link and has all the details you need I use this for making the molds link YouTube link I use lego to build the walls to surround the silicone and plasticine to embed the master in |
| Intrepide | 05 Apr 2014 8:41 a.m. PST |
Thanks to all for your advice! The project is much more doable than I had feared. |
