Question for molding experts

[Eihort]

Has anyone tried to make silicone molds from fiberglassed Pepakura enhanced with bondo/clay for added detail instead of just starting from the standard 100% sculptured clay to make the multi-piece molds for say the helmet and chest?

I think that would be one heck of a short cut if you do it right.

 

[Arthraxis]

I'm thinking that you'd be able to pull it off with solid things like the armour on MC's glove, the parts that go ontop of the boot, front and back of the leg guards (seperatly), I wouldn't know where to start with something like a helmet though, unless it was taken apart into different parts, then put back together after it was finished. I'm actually thinking of trying that, I'll make a Pep suit, harden it, fiberglass it, then I'll probably make another set, do the same thing except use it as a master mold.

 

[Eihort]

Well that's the beauty of it. You can cut the pep armor up to make it easier to mold with silicone. However, after seeing the stuff on slosh/slush or whatever casting (Put a little of the stuff in, roll it around until it hardens, repeat to build layers and cover all areas), there's no real reason to cut it up unless you want to just make simple two part molds to avoid sloshing. However that does use more silicone, which as we know, can get kinda expensive.

 

[shadow74]

My dad was gonna do something similar to this..

 

[Sean Bradley]

That'll work, but you'll still want to resin/fiberglass it for strength through the moloding process..

 

[Eihort]

Oh yes of course. I was going to fiberglass it and add lots of bondo for detail before casting the mold from it.

 

[Devereth]

That'll work, but you'll still want to resin/fiberglass it for strength through the moloding process..

First ever post here, though I've been lurking for a while.

Anyway, would it be possible to make pep armor using something strong (like corrugated cardboard) without fiberglassing to form the basic shape, then cover it with clay and sculpt out the details? If I could do that, I was thinking it'd be a huge shortcut to sculpting a master from scratch.

There's probably some totally basic problem with that, but being a n00b, I had to ask.

 

[Arthraxis]

Well, can you print out the Pep on the corrugated cardboard or whatever you want to use?

 

[Adam]

drgn47 is doing that... so am I actually ... for some pieces. I highly recommend that.

 

[Devereth]

Well, can you print out the Pep on the corrugated cardboard or whatever you want to use?

I was thinking of printing out the Pep patterns on paper, gluing them onto the corrugated cardboard, and then cutting out the shapes in the cardboard using an x-acto knife.

 

[Arthraxis]

Hmm, I'd suggest just tracing the pep onto whatever you want to use, if you glued it, I read that it could cause problems and make the final product worse.

 

[cgspartan]

Hmm, I'd suggest just tracing the pep onto whatever you want to use, if you glued it, I read that it could cause problems and make the final product worse.

nah just use some like elmers school glue sticks, and don't use a lot. then as you build it, just peel the paper off. That's what I do and it works fine.

also, i suggest to anyone wanting to work with cardboard, to work with this stuff instead of corrugated cardboard. Since corrugated cardboard takes a good deal of effort to get rid of the ripples from the corrugation.

http://www.dickblick.com/zz131/15/

chipboard (the single thick... the double is a pain to cut) is insanely cheap. and very nice to work with.

With chipboard you only have to worry about smoothing out the overall shape. Not smoothing out everything like you would with corrugated cardboard.

 

[Devereth]

Thanks for the help, guys.

BTW, cgspartan, how would you cut the chipboard? With just an x-acto knife, or is it too thick for that?