BCK's Thread of Stuff: Maybe not eldar...

[DaBoiKyknos]

Really cool Inq-stuff! One of those greatly inspiring works on this page!

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Here's a tutorial on using Oyumaru to make casts of model parts. There are lots of other tutorials out there, and quite a few in video form, but this is the way I do it. 

 

First, a quick word about recasting: this isn't the same thing. Oyumaru doesn't make 100% perfect casts, though it can get close with some work, but it would be prohibitively expensive to buy enough of it to do anything larger than a single figure and I wouldn't even attempt doing a whole figure with it. Even using the relatively cheap Milliput two-part epoxy putty, it would add up fast if you dreamed of making an entire army this way. 

 

What is it useful for? Oyumaru is great for casting bits for things like a conversion, if you've lost an arm or another important part, or if you want to replicate something across a group of figures like an icon or piece of bling. That being said, let's get started. 

 

Here's a shot of everything I use for making a new mold. 

 

 

I like to build a mold frame out of Legos and the internet had me believing I could pop down to any Goodwill store and find a treasure trove of the things for a pittance. The internet lied. I resorted to buying a small 'builder' box for $20 and would like to have bought in cheaper than that, but everything smaller than that was a specific house, car, or whatever with the exact pieces to build only that. 

 

I'm going to chop up an older mold I'm done with using the hobby knife, but if you're just getting some out of the mail, pretend my molds are the pretty little ingots that come in the box. The clay shapers are for pushing the warm Oyu tight against the part and the ball burnishing tool will be punching spherical 'keys' into the mold to make sure everything lines up properly. Last, but not least, is the plasma gun from one of the DI Plague Marines that I'm wanting to copy. 

 

Step 1) Figure out the size of the mold you're going to need for the part. I arrange it on top of some Legos, making sure there's a decent amount of room around the part to give the mold some bulk for stability and to add some alignment keys. Since I've had a frequent rotation of molds, I also don't want to use more than necessary so I can keep using the amount I have for other stuff. 

 

 

Not only is this blocking out the size of the mold, but these Legos will become the 'plunger', which I will explain later. Build the plunger up two bricks high, alternating them so no seams are on top of each other. 

 

 

 

Step 2) Lay out a border around the plunger. 

 

 

Build it up two bricks high, alternating the placement just like the plunger so no seams are on top of each other. 

 

 

Step 3) Chop up the Oyu so it gets soft faster. I've tried cutting it into different shapes and sizes and thin strips cut lengthwise seem to be the best. I've kept the two mold halves separate because this mold will be about the same size as the one I chopped up. It may take a few attempts to figure out exactly how much of the stuff you need for each half. 

 

 

 

Place the pieces for the bottom half into a bowl, preferably ceramic and with a handle, and heat up some water.

 

 

No one in my house drinks hot liquids on a regular basis so I don't have one of those fancy electric kettle things that can keep water at a constant temp and just use a small pan on the stove. Once the water is near boiling, or at a very light boil, pour it into the bowl on top of the Oyu. If you bunch up the pieces before you pour the water in and pout it slowly, you can get all of them all to stick together almost instantly, and it will stick to the bottom of the bowl most of the time. 

 

 

I let it sit on the bottom of the bowl for a good minute or two to make sure it's really soft and I use that time to poke out any air bubbles with a grilling skewer. Use the skewer, a fork, etc, to fish it off the bottom of the bowl when you're ready for the next step. 

 

Step 4) Once you take the Oyu out of the water it will start to cool off with surprising speed so you have to work quick! Take the plunger out of the mold form and push the Oyu into the center, getting it relatively level with your fingers. I use the clay shapers to help leveling it out and making sure it's pushed into all the corners. 

 

 

 

Still moving with some speed, push the part into the mold, trying to submerge only half of it. Keep in mind that this is where the mold line will be! Use the clay shapers or whatever you have at hand to push the Oyu tight against the part. So far, I've yet to see anything stick to the Oyu and it has a tendency to pull away from the part I'm trying to cast, so you might have to fight with it a little in this step (if it cools off too much before you get a satisfactory seal around the part, repeat step 3.). Take the ball burnishing tool or the back end of a paint brush or something and punch some alignment keys around the part, but do it gently so you don't disturb the shape of the mold around the part. 

 

Something important to keep in mind for this step is that you don't want to have any Oyu on the model part that will be overlapped by the upper half of the mold because it will make a void in the cast part. I found this out the hard way.

 

Now, while it may cool to the point of being less responsive relatively quickly, to completely harden will take some time due to the thickness of the mold. To speed things up, I make a bowl of ice water and float the whole thing in it. 

 

 

 

Step 5) Repeat step 3 for heating the Oyu for the upper half of the mold and make sure you have the plunger part close by. When the Oyu is good and soft, push it down into the mold form on top of the lower half and level it out like you did in step 4. 

 

 

The plunger will now be used to press down on the top of the mold, helping ensure that the Oyu gets mushed into all the little nooks and crannies. There is no need for any kind of mold release agent! The only time I've had this stuff stick to itself is when both halves were still a little warm, which is another reason why I harden it completely in ice water before doing the second half. 

 

 

I've learned from experience there is a happy medium for how much pressure to apply to the plunger and if you go past that, you'll start popping the mold form apart, which will deform the mold and you'll have to do the upper half all over again. The plunger will stick into the mold. This is normal. 

 

And again, cooling things down in an ice bath. 

 

 

Step 6) Once the top half is solidified, don't try to pull the mold out of the form - just take the form apart. The Lego pegs in the bottom of the plunger will be pressed into the top of the mold and this can help you pull the two halves apart.

 

 

Depending on how many keys you punched into the bottom half, how deep they are, and how well you got the Oyu into them will determine how easy or challenging it might be to get them apart but if it's proving difficult, don't force it or you might tear the mold. Use even, slow pressure. 

 

Once the mold is apart, have a look at either side and see how well the mold copied the part. 

 

 

I went with the green colored Oyu because I thought it would be light enough to easily make out the detail in this step, and I was right. I wouldn't suggest the clear, or either really light or really dark colors for this reason. That said, you (or me, anyway) won't be able to tell 100% how good the mold of the part is but you'll be able to tell if there are some obvious glaring issues. If so, remake whichever half came out bad. 

 

Step 7) Time to cast! I prefer to use Milliput with a little bit of ProCreate or green stuff mixed in. Why? I tried straight Milliput at first and it seems that its consistency is too thick to get into all the little detail nooks and such, not to mention that it's extremely crumbly when you're mixing it up and the other putty helps with that as well. I prefer to fill each side of the mold like this:

 

 

In some of the other tutorials I saw out there, they would put a large amount of whatever the casting agent is into one half and then put the halves together. I tried that at first and it didn't work all that well for me. 

 

Next is applying the pressure to not only push all the putty into the details, but also make sure you get good contact between the two putty halves so they bond properly. How do you go about applying that pressure, you might ask? Small chunks of plywood and a c-clamp.

 

 

 

Step 8) Profit. Give the putty at least 3-4 hours minimum before you even think about opening up the mold. Unless I'm wanting to crank out several casts from the same mold, I'll usually leave it overnight to cure completely before pulling the cast. Here's the first pull from this mold:

 

 

It's not awesome, I know, but trying to get pictures for this tutorial lost me some time in the molding stage which may have compromised the quality and I can also tell I didn't mix the Milliput long enough because of the crumbly section on the front of the gun. 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by Brother-Chaplain Kage

[Vairocanum]

Nice tutorial! How well does pure procreate do in these two part press molds? Milliput and GS versions are looking pretty decent!

[Calyptra]

As an alternative to standing on it, might I suggest a C-clamp?

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I haven't tried pure ProCreate, and I'd think the c-clamp would put all the pressure on one small area instead of distributing it out to the entire mold. 

[Lord_Ikka]

Hmm. Maybe if you sandwich the mold between a couple of thin pieces of wood/plastic and then C-clamp it...

[Calyptra]

Hmm. Maybe if you sandwich the mold between a couple of thin pieces of wood/plastic and then C-clamp it...

Yeah, this is what I've been doing. Small sample size but it's been working for me so far. I haven't been using Legos though, so I don't know if that might complicate things.

[Honda]

I like to build a mold frame out of Legos and the internet had me believing I could pop down to any Goodwill store and find a treasure trove of the things for a pittance. The internet lied.

 

 

<people with grown up kids think about those boxes in the back of the closet> Hmmm...

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

My friends and I are excited about the Necromunda release and while I haven't settled on a specific house just yet, I've been really impressed with the new Escher figures, particularly how they're more muscular and don't have the super model faces most female figures have. To that end, I've started a little side project figure just see if I can pull off the idea I have in my head.

In my above tutorial I mentioned that Oyu isn't good for trying to duplicate entire figures, but I was going for what was essentially an armature of my metal Lelith Hesperax figure to sculpt on top of, so if it didn't come out super detailed it wouldn't be an issue, and it didn't.

Here's the rough idea.



You can see how bad the cast is if I was actually trying to duplicate Lelith, and can even make out the brass wire I have running all the way through her right leg and up into her hip in the crack on her shin. I don't like how huge the plasma pistol is, even after shortening it and I'm going to see if I can build a smaller one using a wych pistol as a base.

Removing most of the surface detail from the legs before greenstuffing and then after two rounds of GS.





Obviously more muscular than Lelith was and I'm pleased with how the leg muscles are coming along given how tiny the base figure is.

Edited March 30, 2019 by Brother Chaplain Kage

[The Traitor]

Using Lelith as a base was agreat idea, can't wait to see more progress on her. I've also been thinking of starting a Necromunda band and, even though I think I like Escher the most, the fact that it is on the starter and everyone will be playing them is taking me back... However I'll be following this closely, your amazing sculpting might make me set on something!

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I have no idea how I want to clothe my gang girls yet, whether the sports bra thing the Eschers have or something else. 

[Reyner]

How about using a Heresy-era plasma pistol instead? They are a fair bit smaller - some in the MK4 Tactical Marines box I think.

[Markus_]

Fantastic modelling in this thread! :)

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

How about using a Heresy-era plasma pistol instead? They are a fair bit smaller - some in the MK4 Tactical Marines box I think.

 

I checked that already and while it's a little narrower vertically, it's still gigantic on this figure. And thanks, Markus_. 

 

Another couple rounds of GS progress, building up the legs a little more, attaching the right arm, and starting on the back and shoulder muscles. 

 

 

The lat muscle on her side was particularly tricky and took several attempts to get right. I took the leftover GS and roughed out a shape to begin rebuilding the right foot. Here's the figure with the head and gun showing a better view of the muscle work on the torso. 

 

 

While waiting for GS to cure I was seeing what else I could dig up for Escher art and found two nice pieces. 

 

 

3

 

I really like that second one 'cause Kopinski always does the most realistic proportions on his subjects and really brings them to life more than most of the other artists for me. I'm trying to decide if I want to stick with the classic Escher look or go with something else and one idea I had was the latex look that all the awakened characters have in the Matrix movies. 

 

[Excessus]

I like the fur coats, hope your girl gets one. :)

 

From deviantart:

 

Escher leader with autopistol:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/pics/pics10/img44ad0a5257e59.jpg

 

 

Also, how about converting something out of this guys weapons for a plasma pistol?

 

[marine7312000]

I vote for the latex look. I like the fur coats of the older stuff but feel that the latex would present an interesting offset to the usual design.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Ooooh, that pistol in his right hand looks really cool but I have the feeling finding that one bit is going to be very difficult. 

 

In other news, I've decided to commit to a Death Guard army based on what the previews have been showing and really hope that when the codex drops there's viable army builds that don't center around 80+ pox walkers in there. First things first, removing everything from the sprues and organizing it. 

 

 

I'll also be making new plague knives 'cause most of the ones on the models look like they're so corroded they'd snap in half the first time you hit something with them. 

 

Keep in mind that the really dark spots are not that dark but are actually extremely shiny where I ground in the edge of the blade and it's a trick of the light. What's great about these is that it takes a fraction of the time to make because I don't have to worry about removing all the hammer marks and then doing all the sanding to polish it smooth. In fact, I intentionally made hammer strikes to help with the worn metal effect and also used a round cutting bit on the Dremel to put more damage and the little round dimples in them. Still very plague-y but look much more durable. 

[Ovidius Incertus]

BCK, maybe I missed it in this thread, but what gauge and type of wire are you using for your metal blades?  And what kind of hammer do you use and against what sort of "anvil"?

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

16 gauge steel wire for the blades. The hammer is a normal claw hammer I bought at a hardware store for cheap and I hammer the blades out on the flat... shelf-thing... on the back side of a bench vice. 

[Daemon2027]

Ohhhhg your working on Death Guard too. It's like th forum has spots ready to burst pus-inspiration all over the place

[Noserenda]

Really nice work as always, id chime in to say theres something so absolutely "Gangster" about a preposterously oversized side arm, especially one with unnecessary overkill factor like a plasma pistol :D 

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Managed some work between all the stuff I had to get done today. 

 

 

My first attempt at doing some of the Nurgle-y corruption stuff and I think it came out OK. My inspiration was this guy from the DI booklet:

 

 

I liked the way that crud is oozing out of his neck seal and that's what I was going for on this guy. The head is a stand-in since I didn't like the original head, being a bit too AoS for my tastes, and note the new metal plague knife.

 

Up next is the plaguecaster and I just couldn't get with the weird, deformed baby head. I got the memo, I attended the staff meeting, but still not on board with in. 

 

 

Another stand-in head while I decide what to replace that abominable thing with. I also noticed how hollow the body was and since I didn't like the look of the the jaws or the viscera above the intestines, I cut and scraped the teeth away and then cut out the viscera with my Dremel. I think it will be cool to have some real depth into the body cavity to get gross with the details. 

Edited September 10, 2017 by Brother Chaplain Kage

[Dosjetka]

:sick:

[Capt. Jack]

Imho the head for the first chap is much too elevated. I appreciate it is currently tacked in place but I would urge you bring it down when you get round to painting.

[Daemon2027]

I love the idea around the work on the top guy, going to look excellent once you've attached a head. Have you thought about some cables coming out of the plaguecasters stomach hole similar to the Forge World Plague Marines?