SimonT - 1/35th Tamiya T62 (well worn)

[JR]

Hi Simon, all ok, bit like Jim, can't really settle at the bench, do a bit then off into the garden .

You call that Simple ?

 

[Richard48]

Hi Simon.Nice to hear some success with the rubber moulds.Im sure the rabble would like to see some pics of castings when done.I stumbled on an article on Britmodeller about improving the Tamiya 62,Apparently the rear deck had a slight incline slope.
Carry on Carruthers.
Richard.

 

[SimonT]

John - just a bit of cutting, filling and sanding really

Richard - rear deck was sorted when I stitched all the parts back together

I will post pictures, good or bad, of the casting

 

[SimonT]

first casting under way

resin was best before 05/2012!
Still working though - just the dregs left now so will start new can next time (mind you that’s 6yr old, but unopened)

 

[scottie3158]

Simon,
That is something I have never tried. But it would be a useful skill to have.

 

[Richard48]

Looking good Simon.Fingers crossed when they are de.moulded.Drum rolls.
Richard.

 

[Graeme C.]

Simon, I'm very interested to see how the castings come out, yet another thing I've never tried.

 

[SimonT]

Scottie - really handy especially if scratch building multiples of the same part

Richard - not so great, read on

Graeme - mixed results so far, report follows below



took me around half an hour to wrestle this out of the mould only to find that it had a few problems

the old resin hadn't mixed too well and the back end of the turret stayed liquid, hence the large parking dent

a few air bubbles as well


well chuffed with the cast texture


opened the newer resin - what a difference, much better consistency

filled the turret mould again and had a go at embedding a wire loop inside to aid with de-moulding - assuming it doesn't just rip the turret in half of course


while I was making a mess I tried the fuel tank and sturmtiger rocket with the newer resin, the previous attempt with the old stuff had the same mix problems

worked fine this time around - couple of pin holes but nothing major


cast one of my homemade plinths as well for the MG34 figure if he makes it through to basing stage

I now have shiny resin fingers with no fingerprints and resin coated fingernails

cutting mat also coated in resin as are most other things in the immediate vicinity - I made a bit of a mess

 

[JR]

That's probably why I don't attempt casting, I'd get it every where Simon.
The newer mix came out well , think the plinth is very clean looking.

 

[SimonT]

Morning John - early start
I always get in a right mess with it but it is good fun, especially when the castings work
I have done a few castings of the plinth - it works well as nice simple shape


I have just de-moulded the new resin casting and can report success. A bit of brute force with pliers on the embedded wire had the thing out the mould in five minutes


there are a couple of minor air bubbles but I was expecting that as working time for the resin is only a couple of minutes so you don't get long to work out trapped air

the three small rods around the left cupola rim have suffered but that is an easy fix

pity the crew recesses had to be half filled in but a bit of work with a grinding bit in the Dremel will soon open them out again

overall I am well chuffed with the results

 

[JR]

Yes Simon wide awake up at 0300 so up kettle on , tea then back to bed and did the forum, U tube and Kindle . No doubt I will sleep all afternoon. .

Great result , suppose the wire for release helped as well .

Went back to bed at 1000 this morning , slept until 1600 .Now confused to A what day it is B what time is it . C shall I sleep to night ! .

 

[Jim R]

Morning Simon
Certainly looks successful with the fresh resin.
Jim

 

[Richard48]

Well done Simon.Really turned out well second time.Im impressed,
Good on ya.
Richard.

 

[scottie3158]

A black art indeed well done mate.

 

[Mini Me]

Mr. T, if I may, a little mould release agent might go a long way in breaking the grip of the mould and save you a little sweat in the process, not to mention possible damage to the mould and or the part you are casting. Just a thought
Rick H.

 

[Steven000]

Nice work on the resin-castings Simon, wish I could do things like that too, so many possibilities! Have fun, Steven

 

[MikeC]

I’m rather intrigued to see if the mould rubber has worked ok- it’s like a modelling soap opera!

Been watching far too much daytime tv - get a grip...

 

[MikeC]

Morning folks - mixed news on the moulding front

the fuel tank master released from the mould without problem and looks like it will cast ok

the rubber for the turret has cured and appears to be ok

it appears though that I pushed the depth of the cupola wells too far - something i did wonder about when pouring the rubber but by then it was a little late of course

due to them being a bit deep i can not get them to release from the turret master so currently the master is stuck inside a large blue rubber block - what little I can see indicates that it has moulded well though


UPDATE
well, using a bit more brute force and a pair of pliers I have finally managed to remove the master from the rubber block

slight damage to the master turret but fixable if I need to make another mould

I think I shall have to reduce the depth of the figure bins before trying a casting by slicing some of the rubber off the mould

Hi Simon,
I was going to suggest cuttin down the plug height for the cupolas, and then put the part you had cut off into the turret so reducing the depth of the plug. A good dose of release agent should help things along. As for the life of the rubber, I used some that I opened over a year ago and all went well, even though it had been in the shed all this time.
Cheers,
Mike.

 

[MikeC]

Simon,
Well done on the turret, looks so much better than the original kit offering.
Mike.

 

[Graeme C.]

The second version looks much better Simon.