Halo 3 Odst Pistol, Sliced And Moulded

[shadows0fintent]

hi, i started making this pistol for a friend of mine at college who wanted one to put on a stand. i started by making an smg which was cut out of foam board very well, only problem was that the rubber i used was almost empty and there was not enough to cover it and so it failed miserably.



i cut out the pistol shape and sectioned it off into a few pieces. as it was highly dense foam board i was able to carve into it and sand the edges down so there were no undercuts and errors. i stuck all the pieces down onto a cutting board, made up a box and used some cooking spray as a release agent.



i went on ebay and bought 5Kg of silicone and after pouring and mixing poured it over the pieces and left it for over 24 hours. i then removed the sides and off came the mould, the detail was amazine, if your a new guy to moulding i highly reccomend it. i will tell you which seller sold it to me if you need to know. there were no bubbles on the pieces each was smooth with ne defects.



thus that is what the picture shows. now onto the issue. i have heard that silicone moulds do not need mould release agents as its built into them. but some sites state that you need to use sprays on them. which is true as i don't want to ruin it but don't want to go buying things that i don't need. plus some say that polyester casting resin will be fine with silicone but others say it does not cure properly and remains tacky. i have 2Kg of polyester resin and want to use this up instead of buying more resin.



if anyone has any experience with these can you please explain the ins and outs of how it all works, if so i can then start casting.



once this is known this is what i plan to do. each main piece is 0.5cm in thickness so i will have to cast multiple pieces and then stick them together. the number of casts will depend on the thickness, i have made the gun in proportion to my hand so i can hold it, my hands big. then as you can see all the lines i will get modeling putty and add a bit of water and smooth it over the joins and when set sand it down so its perfect. then with the remaining silicone i can make a full mould. i plan to put as much detail into this one, engraving all the details including writing.



if this goes well i will remake the smg from the foamboard and do the same process, i have the silencer and torch already made from plastic which i will post here as well, so if you are interested let me know, plus if you know how i can improve what i'm doing feel free to geve hints



anyway, thanks for reading and drop some comments, thanks



Shadows0fIntent

 

[Gallard]

Looks great!

 

[RaspyOrangutan]

Looks good, good luck with it.

thus that is what the picture shows. now onto the issue. i have heard that silicone moulds do not need mould release agents as its built into them. but some sites state that you need to use sprays on them. which is true as i don't want to ruin it but don't want to go buying things that i don't need.

I'm not an expert on casting, but yes, you do need a release agent. Its been suggested to me as a cheap measure, is to use spray on olive oil, the type used for cooking.

 

[shadows0fintent]

Looks good, good luck with it.





I'm not an expert on casting, but yes, you do need a release agent. Its been suggested to me as a cheap measure, is to use spray on olive oil, the type used for cooking.

thanks for that, i have been using a 1 calorie cooking spray, i spray it on and then with a soft brush make sure it goes into all the gaps and makes an even film, then i let the excess dry and cast. it works on urethane rubber and it helped the silicone separate from the foam. all i need to know now is about the resin. i may do a small section tomorrow morning outside to prevent styrene building up.

 

[shadows0fintent]

for those who do not know how its going to be made, i have made a drawing of the constructed gun, you nthen have to imagine the thickness for yourself but each piece is numbered so you know where it goes.