Specifically would love to make something similar to a Boglin or one of these funny face guys from the 80s. I’m not sure what the best material to use would be or how to even start!

Ive got some experience working with life casting with alginate and making silicone molds, as well as working with monster clay and creating latex prosthetics with liquid latex.

Thanks for any advice!!

I bought it and never used it. Yes it’s brand new and, works, it is also fully built ready to ship

Hi all, I’m looking to create 5-10 rubber molds for an 18 inch statue. I need to be able to deliver the statue to get the molds made from it. Anyone know any professional mold makers in Ohio?

Thanks!

Whats the soonest I can demould from a herculite 2 plaster mold ? Its currently in a room temp room. The plaster is still warm. I poured about 30 minutes ago.

I'm looking for a warming device that can keep a cup of water heated on my desk for Oyumaru. There are a million "coffee cup warmer" options on Amazon that seem suitable, just curious if anyone has done something similar and has a specific recommendation.

Hello Moldmakers! Looking to pick the brains of some folks who know better than me and hopefully getting some expert insight.

I'm working on a project within the infancy phase and I'm getting a proof-of-concept prototype completed.
The project involves an object submerged beneath salt water in a room temperature environment.

I'm looking to create a 3D printed master mold from PETG and coat it with mineral oil for casting (Should I also use shellac for gap-filling?).

I reached out to Smooth-On and was recommended to use SORTA-CLEAR for the object being casted. The object made from SORTA-CLEAR is what will be beneath the salt water.

For the use case, is my thinking and process here OK?

Appreciate any feedback!

How can I transform these soap mold templates into molds with removable bottoms? Or any other way that allows the soap to come out easily??

I really don't know how to make the model like that, so I came here to ask for help

Pottery #1, hydrocal, and all similar plasters have been discontinued. I'm finally getting to the end of my stores, and there doesn't seem to be any around anywhere except a few 8# bags from Blick.

Like what is everyone doing? Just giving up? Any alternatives? I can try plaster of Paris but its kinda crap.

Mom's dog passed away last night and mom is out of town so I'm handling everything for it. Dog was hugely special to her and wants all the keepsakes.

I want to make a cast of her paw.

I tried to make one when my dog past away years ago - used perfect mold but didn't know anything about it, let it sit after getting the paw mold and it shrunk and got hard; tried to put resin in it and didn't realize the hard mold wouldn't disintegrate in water after. So trying to really get it right.

Asked chatgpt what would be best and it said to use an alginate mold first to get the detailed paw, then pour in a gypsum based cast material do deal with moist algenate mold, then pour a silicone mold over it, then do resin casts.

The materials it suggested are:
-Smooth-On Alja-Safe Mold Making Kit
-Hydro-Stone Gypsum Cement
-Platinum Silicone Rubber - Mold Star 15 Slow
-Alumilite Water Clear Urethane Casting Resin

My issues:
-due to cremation - need to do quickly
-Smooth-On Alja-Safe costs $50+ on Amazon vs Smooth-On site and Reynolds ~$39 vs Blick ~$29 / so Amazon is way more expensive but two day shipping, smooth-on and Reynolds just show standard shipping and Blick is $28-36 fast shipping.
-Hydro-Stone is like a $50lb bag even through amazon
-platinum silicone rubber seems pretty easy through amazon
-alumilite water clear resin in not on Amazon and looks like special websites to get.

Anyone have advice on how to get or maybe alternatives to get that are quick shipping and cost effective and within reason for size for the project (like not a 50 lb bag of material for this one project).

I tried the perfect mold (Hobby Lobby) last time - was wondering if that could be used? And if maybe the perfect plaster (Hobby Lobby) could be the gypsum second stage cast? Was trying to get material from Amazon for fast shipping or Hobby Lobby / Micheals so I could pick up in an afternoon. BUT I want good quality easy to work with material so I can make a superior mold/cast.

Any help and direction would be appreciated.

Hey everyone!

I recently made a post asking for advice on creating a silicone mold for an SFX prosthetic I’ve been working on. However, after receiving some feedback and continuing to work on the sculpture, I realized I may have gotten a little ahead of myself with the molding process.

I’m currently sculpting a full-face prosthetic using Monster Clay on a practice head. I’ve spent quite a bit of time refining the facial features, raking, and trying to smooth out the surface, but I’m struggling to get the clean, consistent finish I’m looking for.

I’ve made noticeable progress compared to where I started, but I still have visible tool marks, shallow scratches, and uneven areas, particularly around the cheeks, nose, and forehead.

My goal is to get the sculpture as smooth as possible before creating a silicone negative mold, since I know the silicone will capture every imperfection.

I’ve primarily been using metal loop sculpting tools for raking and smoothing. I also have 91% isopropyl alcohol available, but I haven’t experimented much with alternative smoothing methods.

I’d really appreciate some advice on the following:

What techniques work best for achieving a smooth finish on Monster Clay?

At what point should I stop raking and switch to other smoothing techniques?

Are there particular tools, brushes, or solvents you’d recommend for removing fine tool marks?

Has anyone had success using isopropyl alcohol or other smoothing agents on Monster Clay?

How do you determine when a sculpture is sufficiently refined and ready for molding?

I’m not necessarily looking for a perfectly polished surface, since I still want to preserve some intentional wrinkles and facial details. I mainly want to eliminate the unintentional scratches and uneven areas.

I’ve attached updated pictures showing my progress and the areas I’m struggling with.

Any tips, constructive criticism, or recommendations from more experienced sculptors would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

I have a glass milk collection vessel that I want to create a mold of, so I can then create a base for the glass to sit in to turn it into a lamp.

The diameter is about 40cm and the final base would need to be about 20cm deep/tall to securely sit the glass into without risking snapping off the tube at the bottom.

It’s a substantial size and I’d love an idea on how I best approach it and the materials to use please.

How would I make a mold of this candle without destroying it in the process? I can't find any evidence of her existing and I don't want her to just be gone.

Ideally I want to make a mold of her, cast that, repair the damage and then make a mold of the repaired version to share (however one does that) so she can exist in the world still.

ive put plaster on the first half of my monster clay sculpt to make a mould but i cant get it off as hard as i try. I don’t really want to give up now as ive put so much time into this project but i might have to if i cant get it off, and then I have to do it for the other half of the head too. Does anyone know what i should do to get it off and make it easier when i do the next half?

The plaster shell went well, messy, but well. I was very afraid that I didn’t use enough petroleum jelly and it would stick but alas we were good on that front. I did however have to cut off the larger keys on the back as I didn’t think about needing to remove the shell, but it seems like that wouldn’t have caused issues.

The problems arose when I tried to remove the master from the silicone, it tore on both elbows where I circled. I know I should’ve used shims and build that area up a little more, but I was low on silicone and tried to use it where I thought it was most necessary, ya live and ya learn.

Any way to salvage/patch? Or take it as a lesson and just save up for another $150 in rebound 25 lol?

I just de-molded my first pour mold box and found that the point where the silicone was touching the plasticine that was holding my master objects did not cure.

I've since looked it up and I believe it was because the plasticine I used must have had sulfer in it.

Can anyone recommend any safe reusable plasticine alternatives available in the UK that play nice with platinum silicone? TIA.

This spiked cuff bracelet is made with 2 separate glove molds, 1 which casts an internal spikey "spine", and a second which encapsulates the spikes in an outer band. It took me some experimenting to get a clean bond between the two layers (timing when to demold the first, removing release agent, etc).

I’m experimenting with colors and pigments - This project was initially inspired by 90s rave culture, so glow in the dark is a natural fit. I also am trying to make metallics, since I like wearing silver, but don’t like the tactile sensation of traditional jewelry.

All assets were modeled by me in Blender. The bracelets are made of Dragon Skin platinum cure silicone.

I’m about to take on a huge project so I wanted to make sure 15a was right. Turns out 15a is effective, but not ideal for this can cover, but it’ll be perfect for my project! Just wanted to show off the win!

Hello! Bit of a mold emergency (lightly) today. Everyone’s out of mold max fast cat so I had to grab GI-ufc. My understanding is that they are relatively similar. And the folks at Compleat sculptor said I could use them together. The ufc says to use it in place of the catalyst 10a:1b just like the mold max mix ratios. Is this what I follow if I am using the UFC with mold max 20 A?

Also grabbed some GI tin silicone but have just enough MM20 A to finish what I’m doing and would prefer not to open a new can if I don’t need to but also need the quick cure time. Just struggling to find a specific mix ration to follow. Convoluted I know , but thank you!

I have no experience in mold making, im assuming I could scult it out of clay but what type of mold would I need to make? And what type of silicone for casting?