ORIGINAL Dark Assassin Molds

Every saturday Charles and I meet for coffee.  We discuss ideas, projects we want to build and how we might accomplish it.  I dont know why but today, Charles brought along the "SWORD" mold and the original prototype used to make the mold...and he gave it to me.  I was stunned.  I was even more stunned when I looked at and held the mold.  It could still be used.  After 20 years the mold is still good to use.   Im considering using it for my new magno.

 Actually its just a more customizer friendly form.  Instead of all the fancy hardware running through the limbs, it will be either rivets or magno knees.  Im leaning towards magnetic knees but we'll see.  Magna Man had complete magno ability for lack of the right wording and it is a hard set to pose.  Sometimes less is more.  I might just stick with rivets in the knees. 

But here it is the Original Molds used to make the Sword for the Dark Assassin.  WOW!!!

Edmonton Eskimos '10 Grey Cup

A friend of mine told me about the Superbowl he went to.  I couldnt believe all the things he told me.  It sounded like a blast.   Now we dont have a Superbowl.  Instead we have our Grey Cup.  Its The Canadian Football Leagues 98th Grey Cup.  And its being played here in Edmonton. 

We all have little goals in life.  One of mine was to own season tickets to a professional sporting team.  A few years back, I went to an Edmonton Oliers vs L.A hockey game.   I was so put out.  It was my first and last hockey game.  I couldnt go to the bathroom.  Sorry you have to remain in your seat till commercial break.  I couldnt go back to my seat till a commercial.  It was like going on the biggest and best amusement park ride you could possibly imagine and then they strap in your legs/arms/shoulders and body to the seat so you cant move while on the ride.   I haven gone to another game since.  Nor will I.

Then a friend of mine took me to a football game.  I had the time of my life.  Everyone was having a great time.  I didnt feel like I was in the presence of snobs.  With the Grey Cup being held here this year, I wanted to be sure I was going and had awesome seats.  As owning season tickets was a personal dream, I bought season tickets to the Edmonton Eskimos last year to guarantee my seats to the Grey Cup.  And not just any seats...right on the aisle 4 rows down and not quite centre field.  One section over.  So Im on the 40.  So this year I renewed my season tickets and bought the same seats for the Grey Cup.  I also picked up 2 extra seats in the same place, just in the upper deck above me.  So I have 4 Grey Cup tickets.

The first game is this weekend.  Edmonton and Calgary...preseason.   And Im back on the 40...Yeah Baby!!!  We're going to the Grey Cup!!!  BRING IT ON!!!   Now all we gotta do is get the Eskimos into the final.

4 Pc Mold Works Excellant

WOWzers.  I can believe how well it worked.  I am impressed.  The saddle turned out excellant.  I will have a couple pictures up in my flickr account.  Others will only be found here.   SO there it is in all its glory...

Centaur Field Medic.  Thats him.  There will be a few changes in the actual figures.  Like I said, red resin will be layered in instead of painting and red clear holders and brain.  So now its make a few figures and I can finally get the right Centaurus figures for my Chess Set.

Its been  a long while to get to this point with this figure.  Or at least it seems like it.  Im entirely happy with my results.  Remember this is just the test pieces.  I didnt want to throw them out, so I experimented on them to see what I liked and didnt like. 

What once was a saddle is now saddlebags.  Nice and short so it doesnt hide the red stripe across the back.  Its been quite the experience making the mold for the saddlebags.  I'm very happy with my results. 

Now its finished.  I can make a few and then I can close the door on this project.

Do I need a Pressure Pot?

Do you need a pressure pot or vacuum chamber?  Well ...that depends on how meticulous you are.  In a perfect world, we all have vacuum chambers.  Those cost money.  So before we start shelling out money, lets look at what we want.

We want to cast.  If you are looking at this as a way to make money, forget it.  Its too labor intensive and time consuming to make a living at it this way.  So for the most part, unless you are a perfectionist and even then...for basic home use...skip the vacuum chamber.  I would have to say as a self proclaimed perfectionist that for what we are trying to achieve, the results we are after can be easily obtained using a basic pressure pot and compressor.

I bought a 10 liter (2.5 Gal) paint pot on sale for $70.00 Canadian.  The compressor I salvaged.  Now while I realize not everyone will have my luck, if you know what you want and are willing to hunt around, you can put this setup together for less than $200.00

IF you cant afford a pressure pot system, that doesnt mean you cant cast.  It means you need to be efficient in managing your "casting time" and you will need to find alternative methods to disposing the air from your molds. 

First, the mold.  I would drop my silicon mold on the table right after pouring it.  Only an inch or two.  You just want to impact it enough to drive the air bubbles up.  I would repeatedly hit the frame of the mold with the bottom of my screwdriver handle.  I would take my exacto knife and actually 'cut' through the surface of the silicon to slice up any air bubles that were just below the surface.  I would use pins to make sure the silicone got into every nook and cranny to help guarantee my mold wouldnt have air pockets in crucial places.

By doing those things, I was able to make some AWESOME casts.  I made PEREFECT detailed Magno Chest Hilights and Missiles.  Good enough that I said dam!  and am using them proudly.


NOW..as for the casting...you really are at the mercy of the gods.  You have to hope you made your mold in such a way  (sprue or smuch) that resin got into every corner and that there will be no air bubles to mar the surface of the figure.  Clear resin casting is out.  Seriously.  Dont try it.  Ok...go ahead...but I warned you.

Clear resin casting WITHOUT a pressure pot wont work.  You WILL get air bubbles and you will be upset.  Doesnt matter what you try or dont try.  They will appear.  You are creating a chemical reaction.  And they arent air bubbles that will interfere with the cast.  Oh no.  They arent empty spaces where resin should be.  They are little air bubbles everywhere evenly placed throught the cast.  That if you didnt see them, the cast would be perfect.

I thought like you.  Oh yeah?  I said...thats what YOU think.  I can do it...   And I tried.  And then I tried again.  Then I got one that was perfect.  I was so happy I...oh wait...nope...I couldnt see them at first, then I turned the head in the light...TONS of little tiny bubbles.  It was at this point I stopped casting till I had a pressure pot and an air compressor.  But I wanted to make production quality style casts.  And I was then able to do it with a pressur pot system.

If you just want to make some crafts for the kids, then I wouldnt even bother with the compressor system.  If you just want to kill an afternoon with the kids or you want to make a few things for the church social, then forget the compressor.

Homeworld Remembers Bernice Lawrence

Today we take a step back from everything.  Life has reared its ugly head and made itself known that there is a darker side lurking beneath a calm surface.

May 11/10,   Bernice Lawrence passed away.  A single mother of 3 beautiful girls, survived by her 2 daughters Dee and Tracy.  A fighter of a woman with the heart of a tiger, who helped a niave young boy become the man he is today.  She was both a friend and a mother to me.  Recently I had the oppotunity to say goodbye to her...and I did.  But I didnt know it was the last time I would ever see her.  She was a good woman and I will miss her.  But I will never forget her.

Dont put it off.  If you have the chance to see some one and say hi...I was thinking of you...thank you for being you...do it.  Because tomorrow may just be too late.

No More Color Chrome Magnos...For Now at Least

Well Chuck has informed me he is most likely closing the chroming portion of his business.  That really sucks because I only had 4 more magnos I wanted chromed.  I wanted the Copper Chrome Magno's the most.  These 'other' magnos were practice so he would have all the bugs worked out for this color.  Im not sure what will happen at this point.  Here are my options.  Try to find someone who can do the job. Buy a small metalizer and do it myself.  Cost...$5k-$10k.  

One way or another I want the 4 Magnos in copper chrome.  So with everything else, it may take a couple years, but I will somehow find a way to get the 4 magnos chromed in Copper.

Man...thats a BIG BUMMER.   :~(

Pressure Pot Modifications/Suggestions

The pressure pot I am currently using is an old paint pot.  What I have done to ensure that it works properly is to use Teflon tape on the pot threads ,  I like the white tape.  There are several types of teflon tape.  Green/yellow etc.  It depends on the usage.  For my purposes the general all purpose white tape I find works the best.  The second thing I have done is I use a chain wrench to tighten my pressure pot lid securely.  Yes it has indents on the lid to grab, but I cant get a good enough grip without tilting the pot and putting it between my knees.  Doing that just slopped my mold around inside.  So having your paint pot secured is probably a good thing if you are using a modified design.

My First Pressurized Mold

Well I finally got my first half of the mold done.  I need a new gasket and couldnt find one.  So for 5 hours I turned my compressor on every 15 minutes using the shut off valve as a regulator to keep the pressure maintained at about 50 lbs.

WOW...what a finish.  The top of the mold looks like a mirror and not a single air bubble can be seen.  Compared to my old molds where you can see the air bubbles right below the sureface.

Im glad I stopped casting 4 months ago and waited till now.  I'm looking at all the molds I have made so far without a pressure pot...as good as they are...OUCH...Im throwing them all away.  I am going to try and find some kind of gasket material, maybe a mason jar something along that line.  I dont mind babtsetting a leaking pressure pot right now, but I can tell it will get old real quick.

Anyways, in these next 2 pictures, what I am trying to show is that while the texture of the silicone is somewhat rough, there are no air bubbles.  Of particular interest is look how smooth the alignment holes are.    I plan to take my time making the molds.   Even if it means babysitting the pressure pot because of a slow leak.  The results are so worth it.   I can hardly wait to try out the clear resin to see how it will work.  A Clear Centaurus.  I can finally get my Chess set done.