The model is resin, Masters are made from Ureol (PU wood), wood and
cardstock/platic. More or less I started this as a proof of concept.
Your blog inspired me.
I have a cutting plotter so I did some tests with Pepakura
to build some mechs. Works perfect. sharp edges, very accurate.
Then I read your post on Zealot and used your tip with sticky paper: Cut
the pepakura file in sticky paper, make some slides out of Ureol in the
right thickness and band saw / sand down the contour. Made in minutes,
very good results. As you can see on the pictures also angles can be
sanded down very accurate. Then glue the pre-masters together, make a
mold and cast it. Combine different pieces and set up the final master.
Detail photos show the imperfections, I have to work to improve quality.
The armor plates on the masters are also made from card-stock. You can
see the rough surface on the photos of the first assembly. As I said -
proof of concept. Now I will smooth out the surface before I put it together.
See the armor plates on pic 13. Made from card stock. Used without finish
the edges will fold "up". Better is to put Resin on the card-stock, press
it between PU floding bags and you will get a surface like Polystyrol.
See the square with round corners in the middle. Will do this next time.
The rivets are made from Card-stock (see the holes in the armor plates)
but later on I made a quick hack for a homemade punch and die set - now
the rivets are perfect. Will use it next time. Any other armor is pure
card-stock.
For the foot joint I have to use my mill. Bad planning in the beginning.
Next time I will build up such a thing from different slices, glued with
Elmers glue.
Now I am working on the upper part of the mech. The sides are too
complicate to do it with Ureol. Strange angles. I use now Card-stock in
two layers. The inner body is scaled down 2%, then I glue an extra
layer on it. Its like plywood. See the WIP photo. The blue one is the
outer layer - some parts are missing. But very stable. After finishing
the surface with primer I will cast it.
For mold making I use a silicone from CZ which is very good. I have a
homemade vacuum chamber for degassing and use the "normal" pressure pot
for casting. No problems with bubbles.
Spin casting will be used for the bigger side parts. See attached my
homemade version. Looks ugly but works fine. BTW: The trick ist to use
the right resin _and_ speed to get a uniform thickness of the walls.
Thanks for the interest in my work.
cardstock/platic. More or less I started this as a proof of concept.
Your blog inspired me.
I have a cutting plotter so I did some tests with Pepakura
to build some mechs. Works perfect. sharp edges, very accurate.
Then I read your post on Zealot and used your tip with sticky paper: Cut
the pepakura file in sticky paper, make some slides out of Ureol in the
right thickness and band saw / sand down the contour. Made in minutes,
very good results. As you can see on the pictures also angles can be
sanded down very accurate. Then glue the pre-masters together, make a
mold and cast it. Combine different pieces and set up the final master.
Detail photos show the imperfections, I have to work to improve quality.
The armor plates on the masters are also made from card-stock. You can
see the rough surface on the photos of the first assembly. As I said -
proof of concept. Now I will smooth out the surface before I put it together.
See the armor plates on pic 13. Made from card stock. Used without finish
the edges will fold "up". Better is to put Resin on the card-stock, press
it between PU floding bags and you will get a surface like Polystyrol.
See the square with round corners in the middle. Will do this next time.
The rivets are made from Card-stock (see the holes in the armor plates)
but later on I made a quick hack for a homemade punch and die set - now
the rivets are perfect. Will use it next time. Any other armor is pure
card-stock.
For the foot joint I have to use my mill. Bad planning in the beginning.
Next time I will build up such a thing from different slices, glued with
Elmers glue.
Now I am working on the upper part of the mech. The sides are too
complicate to do it with Ureol. Strange angles. I use now Card-stock in
two layers. The inner body is scaled down 2%, then I glue an extra
layer on it. Its like plywood. See the WIP photo. The blue one is the
outer layer - some parts are missing. But very stable. After finishing
the surface with primer I will cast it.
For mold making I use a silicone from CZ which is very good. I have a
homemade vacuum chamber for degassing and use the "normal" pressure pot
for casting. No problems with bubbles.
Spin casting will be used for the bigger side parts. See attached my
homemade version. Looks ugly but works fine. BTW: The trick ist to use
the right resin _and_ speed to get a uniform thickness of the walls.
Thanks for the interest in my work.
