http://www.ComposiMold.com This video demonstrates just how easy it is to use your existing action figures to make more action figures! Use ComposiMold to make flexible rubber molds of action figures. THEN RE-MELT THE MOLD TO RE-USE!
Katherine of Resin Obsession (http://resinobsession.com/) asked us to clone her dinosaur toy. She wanted to see how we do it, and she thought it would be a great way to show the power of ComposiMold to her customers.
So after she delivered the dinosaur to us, I got busy.
You never know the best way to make a mold. Even the best mold makers need to experiment to find out how they should set it up.
Where should you pour in your resin? Do you need to make a two part mold? Where should the parting lines be?
And that’s where ComposiMold comes in to play… it is reusable. I can experiment without worry, and without wasting materials.
So I did what I always do when starting a new mold making project…I experimented.
I placed the dinosaur into a cup and poured ComposiMold over it to see what happened…
I would like to say it worked perfectly and the mold is done and that’s the end of the story, but it’s not…well sort of…It did work just not the way it was supposed to.
The dinosaur didn’t float, but it didn’t stay on its feet. It flipped over onto its side…oops. Good thing I wasn’t using silicone rubber for my mold! First, I wouldn’t have known that it was flipped over because the silicone is opaque, second I would have wasted $30 on a messed up mold.
With ComposiMold, I placed the mold in the refrigerator to cool off, started to pull out the dinosaur to do it again, when I realized that the mold turned out pretty good.
When it was solidified, I thought that the mold looked pretty good, so before remelting it, I poured a little more ComposiMold over the side to make it a little thicker, cut out the dinosaur and filled it with the epoxy just to see what it would be like…it was difficult to fill the small parts…I used a small wire to push the bubbles out of the hands and tail. So the mold worked. This blue dinosaur is actually a color changing dinosaur. When I add heat, it will turn clearer. (She’ll turn invisible!)
But since that wouldn’t make a good video I decided to do it again. Yes, I know. ComposiMold is cool…no wait, warm, warm when it’s melted. So I remelted the mold and did it again the “right” way so I can have it on video….
That great part is that I have not wasted any money or mold making material. I’ve experimented, learned the best way to duplicate the action figure, and can do it again! Experiment #1 is a success.
First I coat the dinosaur with a thin layer of mold release, and then spray it with Bubble Buster to reduce the chances of bubbles sticking to the part.
To hold the dinosaur in place now that I know it will flip over, I have several options. I can glue it in place, do it as a two part mold, or the way that I chose….I poured a little ComposiMold into a cup and let that solidify first. Then I placed the dinosaur into the cup and poured a little more ComposiMold around its feet and torso and let that solidify. This ComposiMold held the dinosaur in place while we made the rest of the mold. Because we did not cool the first part of the mold or put a mold release in between the layers, the ComposiMold will melt together.
Another advantage of ComposiMold is that it is transparent. We can see where the dinosaur is within the mold. This lets us cut the parting line where we want it to be.
We could also have done this as a two part mold, but this seemed easier. Maybe we can do a two part mold next time… just to show the difference.
I assumed that the people who made this dinosaur originally put their parting lines in good spots, I decided to copy where they put them. But since I used a rubber mold making material, I need less of a parting line. I cut from the top so I could remove the part without damaging the feet and tiny hands.
I used Resin Obsessions Clear Casting Resin…This was my first time using that resin. It was thin for easy pouring and easily colored with different color dyes…also from Resin Obsessions.
I made several dinosaurs with this mold. Then, because I can, and ComposiMold is awesome like this, I remelted it to make a new mold. I made a rabbit to keep the town safe from the Dinosaurs!
Thank you for watching, and please let us know what we can do to help!
In this twisted and completely made up turn of events, Anakin Skywalker is being cloned to make the next Clone Army. This video demonstrates how the new clone army is to be made using ComposiMold Reusable Mold Making material and a urethane resin.
The process begins by dipping the Jedi master shape into a Bubble Buster solution. This Bubble Buster can also be sprayed. The Bubble Buster reduces surface tension so the bubbles do not stay attached to the surface of the Jedi Master.
He is then placed carefully into the cloning box, also known as the mold box, or in this case a plastic cup.
The Cloning solution, ComposiMold, is first melted with electromagnetic radiationusing a specialized heating system called a microwave. The melted ComposiMold is poured over the Jedi Master. A toothpick or paperclip can be used to pull bubbles away from any areas where bubbles may stay such as in undercuts or sharp corners.
When Anakin is completely covered, the mold cools to solidify. This cooling took approximately 1 hour at room temperature. The Jedi Master is removed from the ComposiMold mold. To help make the part easier to remove, a slice was cut along the back. The process was started with scissors, but a scalpel ended up being a little easier.
Each action figure must be made to look like the first to create the new army is to be constructed.
Because we are using a very fast curing urethane resin in this cloning process, the mold must remain as cold as possible so as to not melt the ComposiMold. We will place the mold in the freezer prior to pouring in the urethane to reduce the temperature of the mold.
The sides of the mold are taped shut again to keep the mold together and the urethane in.
Spray the mold with mold release and let the mold release completely dry before pouring in the urethane resin.
After the ComposiMold mold has been in the freezer for about 30 minutes, pour the urethane resin into the mold. Place the mold back in the freezer while the urethane cures. This will slow the curing time slightly, but not much. The entire process takes approximately 10 to 20 minutes depending on the urethane used.
Anakin has now been cloned! But does the new clone also have the power to control the force or just Anakins good looks?
