Friday 19 September 2008

Tricorn molds.

The base work of removing the shakos from the French Napoleonic figures is done, and now I'm ready to move on to shaping tricorns for them - almost. Adderphue's blog had a comment from a chap called Adam who pointed out a number of useful links on YouTube for casting components using molds made of Green Stuff. It cuts down the length of time and general hassle involved in creating these for figure conversion work. Unfortunately my cranky browser crashes whenever a video clip starts to play and I can't watch the demonstration!
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I know enough about making molds to do the job, but I post the link above for those interested.

5 comments:

Steve-the-Wargamer said...

They're interesting video's but to be honest if it was me doing it I'd cut down on the expensive use of green stuff to make the mould, and use plaster of paris instead... should still work the same?

Bluebear Jeff said...

Thanks. I'm not about to try doing any molding, but I think that it is a useful link for others.


-- Jeff

A J said...

Good point, Steve. As luck would have it I have some Herculite 2 plaster, used in mechanical engineering to make masters of component parts. I'm figuring to make a pair of master models of tricorns, from which I'll make a small, simple 2-part press mold.

I can see the possibility of converting other figures and a means of making the definitive 18th century headgear quickly and easily is very appealing! =)

Major Wittering said...

I'm keen to see how your moulds work out. Mine were a mixed success, due mainly to lack of care in my approach. I'm hoping to try again in the next few days.

Not sure about Plaster of Paris - certainly cheaper, but would it be as usable? Green stuff works very well - okay, it is a bit expensive, but the moulds don't need to be large.

A J said...

Major, plaster of Paris has its uses but it tends to be soft and any sharp edges crumble over a fairly short period. Herculite 2 is a much harder beast. I use it for making the buildings shown on previous posts. With a bit of care it'll last for a good many moldings.