Economical reusable mold material

[ssculptor]

One of the problems with making your own molds and then casting your own resin parts is the high material cost with the short life of the molds. Being a cheapskate that had deterred me from making my own molds.

But this stuff is a reusable mold material. Heat it up in a microwave and it returns to a liquid state.

Wowsers.

Here is the link.

If any of you are interested in making your own molds you might find this interesting.

I gonna order some and try it out.

Stephen

 

http://www.composimold.com/

 

[ian maw]

Please remember to let us know how it turns out.

[Roy vd M.]

Looks like this idea makes a lot of sense. 

 

I'll keep my eye on this thread

[ssculptor]

One possible use would be to make the 5th engine nacelle for the He-111Z. When you are all done you still have your mold material ready for reuse. So you only have to buy 2 Revell kits.

I can use it to make many copies of floats of various sizes for my Vulgarian Air Force amphibians. My 3 engine Stuka float bomber is becoming more of a possibility.

This would also be great for making 1/16 or 1/18 tanks.The hardest part is making the tracks and bogie wheels. Make a mold and then cast all you need.

Stephen

[Roy vd M.]

You're going to make a 1/32 111Z?? 

 

Now that'd be one ambitious project! Already anxious to see you ehm... sculpt that. 

 

Ontopic: I think that, indeed, with quite a bit of scratchwork around the middle engine purchasing two kits should suffice.

[Roy vd M.]

Any chance you'll complete it with a scratchbuilt rope and a scratchbuilt Me 321 as well? 

 

This is in 1:72: 

Edited January 30, 2014 by Roy vd M.

[ssculptor]

Any chance you'll complete it with a scratchbuilt rope and a scratchbuilt Me 321 as well? 

 

This is in 1:72: 

Well, I have the unbuilt paper card model kit of the Me-323 already. I can remove the engines and have the 321, I guess.

Still, that is a time consuming project which I do not want to start. I was just offering an idea as this was discussed before when the Revell He-111 first came out.

Frankly I'd rather scratch an airplane that is unavailable in 1/32 or design my own. But I think I'll try the engine nacelle just to give me some castings to use on other aircraft. How about an Fw-190 with the He-111 nacelle grafted on (Heinkelwulf? Focklewulf?).

An Ar-196 with the Heinkle engine? Too much to do in life and not enough time.

Stephen

[pzcreations]

heres a thread on the RPF discussing this stuff

http://www.therpf.com/f9/reusable-mold-making-material-composimold-130450/

[famvburg]

I guess just getting the Field of Armor conversion is too much trouble?

[GrahamF]

The main snag with this mould material is that its only liquid in a hot state so your master parts have to be made in metal.

 

Graham.

[ssculptor]

The main snag with this mould material is that its only liquid in a hot state so your master parts have to be made in metal.

 

Graham.

Well, it depends on the material of the master. This mold material melts at 130 degrees Fahrenheit. I would suggest heating some water to 130-140 degrees F and immersing a bit of sprue of the kit in it for a while and see how soft it gets or if it is affected at all by the heat. If not, then you can make a mold of the styrene plastic part. But keep an accurate thermometer handy to check the temperature of the molding material before pouring it over the master.

With thin wall plastic parts I would fill the part with plaster, let it harden and then pour the hot liquid mold material over it. The hard plaster will not be affected by the hot liquid and will act as both a heat sink and as a reinforcement of the hollow master.

I have a bunch of floats from various 1/32-1/24 kits and that is what I will do, especially with the thin walled vacuform masters. 

Stephen