Resin Casting

[Bogusoid]

I got a wild idea over Thanksgiving: Why not simply cast your own molds of rare Heroscape figures and paint and base them yourself? My dad told me it would be seriously expensive, but that if one did attempt this they would be best using resin.

I don't see why it should be so expensive to make a mold for such a small figure as a 4th Mass. soldier or a Nakita Agent (homemade Skahen and Sam Brown, anyone?), or the minimal amount of resin needed to fill said mold. Does anyone know more about this process or have any experience? What materials are needed in all, and what would be the projected cost? I imagine it could be costly to make a mold for every figure in a squad, and multiple squads at that, but I would at least like to experiment with molding the two figures I previously mentioned for the purpose of fabricating missing GenCon exclusives.

Heck, you could probably turn a profit selling them to make up for the cost.

[robbdaman]

It's is getting to the point where it might be less expensive to cast your own. Lots of people cast miniatures. Here is a tutorial GreyOwl put together.

[Hogg]

I'll give you $20 for a fake Woo.

[Agent Minivann]

It is going to depend on the figure as far as how hard it will be. Some figures are multiple parts cast separately and then assembled. Those ones will be a pain. The simpler ones that are single piece will be a lot, well, simpler. No idea about cost. As far as selling recasts of original pieces...I would advise against it.

[GreyOwl]

It used to be cheaper to outright buy the figures. But now, with the prices going up, it could definitely be cheaper to cast your own. However, there is a startup cost involved in doing it because of the supplies and equipment you have to buy. It wouldn't be worth it if you only planned to do one or two figures. But if you planned to do a lot, then definitely.

Agent Minivann is right, a lot of the figures would have to be cast in multiple parts and then glued together. The obvious problem with that is that it requires you to cut up your original. Some people may not be willing to do that.

Also, I wouldn't use "resin". It is too hard, and therefore too brittle. Anything thin and long, like swords and spears, wouldn't last long at all before they broke. I would recommend Urethane Plastics, which is pretty much what the original figures are made of. It comes it varying hardnesses. Keep in mind that there's an inverse relationship between hardness and flexibility (not being brittle). So you have to find the right balance. Anywhere from 45D-60D on the hardness scale should be right, depending on the figure and part of the figure you're doing.

Note that I put resin in quotes above, because technically the urethane plastics I'm recommending are also resins, but usually when peolple say "resin" in everyday context, it refers to a different material.

[robbdaman]

Originally Posted by GreyOwl

Agent Minivann is right, a lot of the figures would have to be cast in multiple parts and then glued together. The obvious problem with that is that it requires you to cut up your original. Some people may not be willing to do that.

Heck, I've had to cut up some just to repaint them much less cast molds of them. Q10 was a particularly pain in the @$$ figure. I bisected him at the waist, sliced both his arms off and reattached everything after he was painted. It was just easier that way. I have some material already, I just have to remember how to use it and I'll be casting a few figs.

[jschild]

Won't it be cool when 3D printers get cheap enough to do stuff like this at home for anyone?

[GreyOwl]

That will be VERY cool!