Princess Luna 10 Inch Action Figure (fully articulated)

[SoaringSentinel]

so far i am getting no clean casts out of any of my molds. i think i may need to abandon the project
out of a potential 80 parts i've tried to cast i've gotten a total of 10 salvageable parts. nothing i can use straight up out of the mold.

The only way i know of to fix my current issues is a pressure chamber to do pressure casts. something which costs a whopping 700 euro's and that's something i cannot afford right now.

I'm still trying to pursue other avenue's but i have no one to help me with this stuff in person and i can only do so much with online help.

Just figured i'd give you guys a heads up. it's not looking good

[archidraca]

Well I'll still be cheering for you! 

[WhiteHeather]

Oh no, that's so sad to hear! I was super excited to see a finished product. I hope you can figure something out. This is such a cool project and I'd hate to have to see you abandon it.

[gabumon]

OtakuSquirrel  on deviantart made their own castings for molded hair  Have you looked in to see how they did it?

Sample links:

http://otakusquirrel.deviantart.com/gallery/35660380/Another-Day-Another-Dungeon

http://otakusquirrel.deviantart.com/art/My-workspace-260353031

Dunno if that helps.  Maybe helpful or inspirational?

[SoaringSentinel]

ok not gonna pull the plug but instead going to take a break for a week. need to clear my head and get rid of some of the negativity surrounding the project.

[SoaringSentinel]

ok back to work

I reworked my process a little and i'm getting better results.

[IreneL]

So glad to hear you are still at it!  Best of luck!

[Galactica]

Aww- I'm sorry to hear your challenges, but glad to see you haven't given up.

From what I have seen, unless you have some kind of vacuum chamber (home-made would be cheaper but still not that cheap) you are always going to struggle with bubbles, and really the best you can do is to minimize them (realizing they are still going to appear).  Even super experienced people still have bubbles in their products. Some you can sand out, some not...

Even once you get your casting process right- keep in mind that your molds are probably only going to last you through 5 or 6 casts maybe, and you'll have to make new ones.

But your Luna is so incredible- I would want one even with bubbles and things!!!

[SoaringSentinel]

Thank you for the encouragement! as for how many casts i can get out of my molds. the silicone i use and the process i use is good for 50 casts considering at the moment i only need to make less than 20 i think i´ll be fine once i get the molds set up properly

I just poured the mold for the inner part of the hair so that should be done soon. next up will be the inner part of the tail

[ZennaBug]

What a process!    She really is cool and I hope that this round of casting goes well for you!

[SilverHealer]

This is utterly amazing.  I hope you have better luck with the castings! 

[SoaringSentinel]

I'm still chugging along, still pouring molds. and I'm nearing completion of the molds. with a little luck I'll be able to show something soon but just know i haven't given up. but things are getting a bit busier so my time for this is somewhat decreasing. that said i'm aiming to have the first finished figure ready by the time season 5 starts.

[WhiteHeather]

I'm still chugging along, still pouring molds. and I'm nearing completion of the molds. with a little luck I'll be able to show something soon but just know i haven't given up. but things are getting a bit busier so my time for this is somewhat decreasing. that said i'm aiming to have the first finished figure ready by the time season 5 starts.

Looking forward to seeing more progress!

[Chaosette]

This . Is. Amazing. Keeping my eye on the thread!

[SoaringSentinel]

I'm not dead!

I've finally managed to get good casts! the trick? Rotate the molds constantly while the resin is curing. (so borderline rotocast)
I'm getting a near 100% success rate with negligible air bubbles, even on the molds with tiny parts.

That said i am still missing 4 molds and i have to remake the molds for the feet. since that mold was just not salvageable.
I've got more silicone on the way (my third 10 lbs bucket) so the rest should be ready next week! Motivation is back with a vengeance

Here's a set of completed sprue's

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