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Post by adamantinedragon on Dec 4, 2013 4:17:51 GMT
Very nicely done robagd. That should paint well. You have the technique down.
I'll be using the dice tower for the first time this weekend.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2013 10:21:13 GMT
Just like to add that you can also use epoxy resin instead of plaster for this sort of molding, it doesn't adhere to the plasticine either, plus, you can make thin, more hollow, but very sturdy cast items, or cast items with LED lights mounted in the resin.
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rifken
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 112
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Post by rifken on Dec 4, 2013 10:50:52 GMT
Id just use the same method as the coins, and not use the Hirst mold thingie. Or roughly the same thing and glue legs made of dowels or something. I just may go out and grab some of that this weekend. I dont want to get into a plasterholic, theres not much I cant make out of cardboard for any game at this point, but honestly what lacks in my games are accessories. Right now alot of games just look like a real fancy ungridded grid map.
I find honesty is the best policy with my wife... but the story my grandfather once told me about his fishing supplies fits with crafting supplies:
"Grandpa why do you have so many fishing poles?" "Thats simple boy, I have so many so that when I want a new one, your Grandmother wont know I bought one."
My paints are about that point but a 50lb bag wont fit in the trays that my paints do. And Tauster you have WAY more than I have at the moment, although my dining room table looks about like that.
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Post by tauster on Dec 4, 2013 13:45:34 GMT
Just found this idea by chance on Sean K Reynolds YT channel: Base stamps! This was a Kickstarter project I have missed completely... But maybe that was good, as I'd rather make those stamps myself. You can buy them here: shop.miniature-tek.com/I think this is almost ridiculously easy to DIY: - design a base (or take an existing one you like) - put some vaseline over the finished base - press it into green stuff or something similar & let it harden - glue the hardened negative mould to some handle ...done.
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Post by adamantinedragon on Dec 4, 2013 14:37:50 GMT
Hmm... I missed that kickstarter too, and I'm usually pretty familiar with Sean K's work. I'd rather sculpt my own too.
One of the areas of custom miniature creation/modification that I have neglected so far is miniature bases. Almost all of my minis are simply based on flat disks.
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Post by m3talslime on Dec 4, 2013 17:23:27 GMT
Woowee, I just looked up the cost of epoxy resin. That's some pretty pricey stuff. Is there a cheap option for casting? Also how long do you typically have to let this sort of thing dry?
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Post by adamantinedragon on Dec 4, 2013 21:52:23 GMT
m3talslime, yeah, casting resin isn't cheap. Not unless you buy it by the barrel, I suppose.
The "cheap" alternatives to casting resin are mostly the hard plasters like Excalibur or Hydrostone. But they are brittle so you have to be choosy about what you cast with them. I mostly only use resin for small items, mostly miniatures or tiny accessories that are hard to cast with plaster anyway.
There are alternatives to casting that are suitable for many purposes. I use Sculpey clay a lot, both the cheaper standard Sculpey and the more durable but costlier Super Sculpey. You can even press Sculpey into simple molds. Sculpey is an oven-baked polymer clay that stays soft until you bake it for 15 minutes or so at 275 degrees F.
I have heard that there is some way to cast with polystone, which is the stuff a lot of storebought knickknacks are made from. I've never found a supply of any polystone suitable for casting that was cheap enough to choose over casting resin, or durable enough to choose over Hydrostone.
If you can deal with hard plaster as your final material, then the super strong plasters are easily the most affordable casting options.
Also, casting doesn't rely on "drying out." Plasters and resins both rely on chemical reactions which create a hard solid result from the source materials called "curing." A typical plaster block will cure in half an hour or so. But it will still be wet or "green" as plasterholics call it. It can take days for all of the moisture left in the block to work its way out. Many plaster casters use a food dehydrator to speed up the process. Using a dehydrator you can dry your plaster blocks in a few hours. Cured plaster is usually safe to unmold and manipulate, even sand or carve, but it can cause problems if you paint before the plaster is fully dry. The moisture will sometimes bubble the paint as it tries to escape. Resins typically cure as a solid in an hour or a couple of hours and once cured, they are dry since they don't retain water. They might need to cool though, curing is an exothermic reaction, meaning that both plaster and resin objects will become hot while curing.
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Post by tauster on Dec 4, 2013 22:17:21 GMT
Woowee, I just looked up the cost of epoxy resin. That's some pretty pricey stuff. Is there a cheap option for casting? Also how long do you typically have to let this sort of thing dry? As material for the stamp (i.e. the negative mould) I would just use greenstuff. If it's hardened out, you can use it to stamp other greenstuff with it - just remember to put some vaseline or other material on so that the stamp doesn't stick to the material to be stamped. I haven't tried that out so far, but I think I will soon.
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Post by adamantinedragon on Dec 4, 2013 22:58:16 GMT
The best value in epoxy putties I've found is called "Apoxie Sculpt" and is much cheaper than the green stuff. I save the green stuff for the most highly detailed and important items I sculpt. For this purpose I'd probably make the original stamp out of green stuff, but use Apoxie Sculpt for the bases.
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robagd
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 137
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Post by robagd on Dec 5, 2013 2:12:13 GMT
I really like those base stamps. As a fun thing I was at my dad's shop and was looking at his air nibbler for cutting body panels. I started asking about a metal hole punch and way deep in his tool box he had 2 styles . So I cut up these So paint those up and use them as loose loot -R
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2013 13:19:05 GMT
The two part epoxy resin glue I use is extremely cheap ($2.50) chinese made stuff that I get from a bulk import store at a nearby mall.. they also have cheap glue sticks, both hot melt and paper glue sticks (the ones that look like lip moisturiser), cheap acrylic paints, craft blades, cutting boards, etc. Whatever your location, look for really cheap epoxy glue and super glue, because its quite hard to go wrong with these products.. they are just chemical compounds, the tubes and packaging may be shoddy, but the glue still does its job. In my country, Sculpey is quite rare and expensive, green or grey stuff is hard to come by (a double tube will cost around $20) and its a serious mission finding Hydrostone plaster (plus the suppliers charge like wounded bulls for it). As a result, my crafting and sculpting style has evolved out of the ready availability of polymer resins, plasticine, super glue and waste laboratory plastics, as well as cardboard and household items. Perhaps due to this mixed media approach, I am always keen to learn new techniques with new materials and I am very happy that the DM's Craft Forum is home to such a diverse range of skills and styles!
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Post by m3talslime on Dec 5, 2013 15:29:40 GMT
Thanks for all the feedback, guys. Any tips on the best/cheapest place to pick this stuff up? I'd imagine shipping would offset online savings, but this'll be my first time doing anything like this so I am uncertain.
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Post by sgtslag on Dec 5, 2013 16:17:14 GMT
Some folks have used plumber's putty, available from nearly every hardware store. Forget the brand name, but that will vary from country to country. Check your local hardware stores, ask the staff about it. What I have read is that it is inexpensive, easy to use, but it is not good for fine detail work. Never used it, myself, just sharing what I've read. Cheers!
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robagd
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 137
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Post by robagd on Dec 5, 2013 17:04:35 GMT
M3talslim - Well I found some 2.99 for a 2# tub of plaster from a crafts store. I can't Image that would be over hard to find.
It isn't super strong, and I have not tried casting anything with super fine details but it works ok.
I haven't used any resin for casting yet, but I wanted to cast a Gelatinous Cube in a clear resin but that stuff gets kinda spendy for the really clear stuff.
You just have to get creative with what you do and what you have around you. Are you state side ? or some place else?
-R
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Post by adamantinedragon on Dec 18, 2013 19:40:18 GMT
By the way, I just noticed that someone mentioned "plumbers putty". Here in Colorado at least the stuff they sell as "plumbers putty" changed from a material similar to Apoxie Sculpt (but much cheaper) to a much more rough-grained epoxy material that cures in a very short time, maybe five minutes or so. I tried to use that for making miniatures and it was a pain to use, the results were unsatisfactory and it cured so fast that most of my attempts ended up turning into crumbly messes as it cured faster than I could shape it. I think the stuff that used to be sold as "plumbers putty" is more like what craft stores sell as "Milliput" or other brands of finer grained, slower curing epoxy resin mixes.
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