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This is a page on how to mold and cast heads
as well as other parts of action figures. I hope this will help anyone
who wants to learn how to do this.
First, you need the stuff to work with. You will need the following:
Liquid Latex Rubber (I use a brand called "Mold
Builder")
Paint brush
Super Glue
Talcum powder (Or baby powder, foot powder, and
even household cooking flour)
Cardboard surface
for casting:
Epoxy resin (for making the casts)
Mixing bowl
mixing stick
crafting syringe (optional)
And a lot of free time ;)
The first thing you will need to do is to remove the part of the fig you want to cast. Just use the "boil and pop" method to remove the piece.
Next, you will need to glue the head to a piece of cardboard. This will make it easier to brush the latex on. Just apply a small drop of glue to the base of the neck peg and place it onto the cardboard.
Take the brush and apply a coat
of talcum powder to the head. This will keep the mold from sticking
to the original when you get ready to remove it from the mold.
Now you are ready to start applying
the latex. For your first two coats, apply it sparingly. You
want to make as thin a coat as possible to prevent air bubbles from forming.
The coat should look almost transparent. You will also want to put some
on the cardboard as well to form a flange so that you will have something
to support the mold while you are casting. After the first
two coats, you can be a little more generous with the latex. For
a head, you will want a total of about 8-9 coats. Wait atleast 25-30 minutes
between coats to give the previous coat time to dry. Putting a lot
of coats will make a stronger mold. (Believe me, you need it to be able
to hold up to the pressure of pushing a big head through that little hole
of the neck peg.)
After you do the last coat, let
the mold sit for about 24 hours so that it will cure completely.
After it is cured, and just to make sure you don't stick the outside parts
together, take the talc and put a layer on the outside of the mold.
Then you are ready to remove the original from the mold. Just peel
it loose from the cardboard and slowly and carefully peel the mold off
of the original. Once you have the original out, the mold should
be inside out. While you have it like this, go ahead and place another
coat of talc onto it. This will prevent the cast from sticking to
the mold.
Now that you have made your mold,
you are ready to start casting. The first thing you will need to
do is to mix up your resin.
Once you have the resin mixed up,
pour it into the crafting syringe. If you do not have a crafting
syringe, you can still just pour it into the hole on the mold. The
syringe make it a lot easier. Then, put just a small amount of resin
into the mold. Only a couple drops. Take the mold and grab
it in your fingers and mash the resin around into the mold making sure
to coat the entire mold. The reason I do this is to help prevent
air bubbles. The only major concern for bubbles is on the outer surface.
I don't really worry too much about the really small ones in the resin.
They will work themselves out.
Now pour the rest of the resin into the mold. Let this sit for 24 hours to make sure the cast cures completely. After that, just peel the mold away like you did when you removed the original. If al went well, you should have a perfect replica of the original. (Unpainted of course ;)
Well, that is all there is to molding. I hope these instructions can help someone. It is a very easy way to make a one piece mold of small items. I have even made molds of arms, legs, torsos, and a few other misc. things using this technique. I have never been able to master making 2-piece molds and when I found out about this procedure, it changed my customizing forever. I can now reproduce many parts that I need in customizing. If you have any questions about how to mold, please feel free to email me and I will try to help as best I can.
Email: Darrell
Moye
