Positioning DOK look a like models for 1st time mould maker

[cptphoenixck]

Evening all, couldn't find a intro topic so I'll steal a bit of space from my first real post.
So, after being back into the plastic crack habbit for a while I've decided to start casting.

Having looked around I know many of you are pretty much perfectionists, and I've grown bored of scultping models one at a time and want to cast them in squads, but losing as little detail as possible (doesn't everyone).

Obviously I'm new so a vaccum chamber is unaffordable at the moment but I do have a good compressor with a tank so was considering getting a pressure pot for casting.

Now I've got the opening ramble out of the way, how would you best pressure cast models similar to DK. FW seem to have gone for a head at the bottom, sprue attatching at the feet kind of way. would this be possible only with a simple a set up as I will have. Or should I resculpt some varying leg and seperate torso poses?

[Munkey Joe]

Placeholder till I have more time....

Sorry, I was ordering food....lol

OK Here we go! I have found good results with FW sprue placement with some of my casts, but I sometime get bubbles ESP at the "toe" of the foot. What I sometimes do is pour from the Bottom of the foot and Have my Vents go out the torso attachment/torso. I'll make a picture right quick for you

First FW sprues....



And second Victorias Lovely Legs


I use the "victoria" approach as I get good quality every time with pressure. Some places Like Chapter house (I just ordered their tru scales marines!!) use the same "Foot Up" approach.
Using the "torso down" like FW uses has sometimes ended in holes in the toes with pressure BUT it seems to be some places use this to great effect.

Endstate... Bottom up works for me, top down works for others. Experiment about and find something that works for you....

[Anvils Hammer]

I do my legs like this-

http://www.anvilindustry.co.uk/index.ph ... uct_id=133

it works great, vacuum+pressure means no air bubbles at all (assuming enough resin in the channel).

What I will say however, is that without a vacuum pump, using these style of molds (Split molds) is likely to be either impossible, or extremely difficult.

For just pressure, you would need to really really squeeze the mold to get it full, so no good for casting with more than one mold at a time really..

You could start with some two part molds, using a fill channel at the bottom and air vent at the top, its easier with just pressure, and is how I started casting.

AH