Mold making / casting weapons

[TwistedLogic]

So I want to make a mold of a weapon and then cast it in resin. I know I can do a 2 part mold using clay and silicone mold maker. Or I can suspend then sword upright with a piece of clay on the base into a plastic cup and slowly pour the mold making compound into the cup and cast it that way.

Will the sword topple over though when I'm pouring in the silicone mold making compound? The sword is for a female 6" action figure, so the handle is quite thin.

and it I do it in a 2 part mold, the handle will have to touch the side (in order for me to pour the resin in, but if i did it that way, the hold would be rather small when pouring in the resin.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to cast small weapons.

The weapon in question is MOTUC Bubble Power She-Ra sword.

Many thanks

[RedRebelCustoms]

The Casting Questions, Info, Links topic has tutorials via links on page 2. I really should do an actual tutorial on casting in the thread but I'm no expert. I can tell you a mold like you are trying for the flat one can be done many ways. A needle can be inserted into the sword allowing you to place it in the middle as well as many other techniques. If you do the mold with the sword standing up and pour slowly on the side of the mold box first as most instructions suggest, I don't believe falling should be a problem. There are more qualified authorities on the matter of course. Most my casting successes have been recent but as I said, there are quite a few links on that page. I may even have more I forgot to add.

[TwistedLogic]

Thanks for replying.

The tutorials are great, i know how to mold and cast the sword, but with the swords handle it's difficult to get an opening in which to pour the resin in, would I need to put something bigger touching the side of the 2-part mold and the other side touching the sword, making it easier to pour the resin into and then once it's cured, just trim off the opening and sand it down?

[RedRebelCustoms]

You can either gate the sword, inject the resin with a syringe that you use for injecting food or ink into a printer cartridge, or carefully carve a reservoir with an exacto knife. Hope that helps.

[TwistedLogic]

What do you mean by 'gate' the sword?

Sorry, i'm new to this.

Thanks for your help.

[RedRebelCustoms]

A gate is a cylindrical rod you put into a sculpt or glue on. It allows for both pouring and telling a sculptor where to cut to add joints to create articulation or simply for the removal of parts to sculpt seperately or cast seperately making casting detail easier. In this instance glueing a larger rod to the hilt or sword itself would allow for a larger hole to pour resin into. You may have noticed the sprues on parts and the round spots on your figures where they were cut off after pouring the plastic. In that case though a gate acts as a vent for overpour to ensure there are no air bubbles in the pressure mold. Not called a gate in anything but initial sculpting as far as I know though it's just a sculpting term.Forgot... something as simple as a straw could be used as a gate if molding flat and put through the top of the mold but a large straw is probably a bad idea. I would use something just big enough to pour through afted demolding to minimaze sanding and reworking.

[TwistedLogic]

Ah, brilliant.

Thanks a lot for your help, it's much appreciated.

[TwistedLogic]

A gate is a cylindrical rod you put into a sculpt or glue on. It allows for both pouring and telling a sculptor where to cut to add joints to create articulation or simply for the removal of parts to sculpt seperately or cast seperately making casting detail easier. In this instance glueing a larger rod to the hilt or sword itself would allow for a larger hole to pour resin into. You may have noticed the sprues on parts and the round spots on your figures where they were cut off after pouring the plastic. In that case though a gate acts as a vent for overpour to ensure there are no air bubbles in the pressure mold. Not called a gate in anything but initial sculpting as far as I know though it's just a sculpting term.Forgot... something as simple as a straw could be used as a gate if molding flat and put through the top of the mold but a large straw is probably a bad idea. I would use something just big enough to pour through afted demolding to minimaze sanding and reworking.

I'm going to use a pen lid. It has a small groove in the end which the end of the sword handle fits into nicely.

[RedRebelCustoms]

No problem. Just glad to help.