how to make molds

[lehsreh]

[COLOR=Red]a few months ago i saw someone make a homemade mold of a joe action figure. i really dont remember where i saw this or who did it. if anyone knows a place that shows how to do this or anything helpfull, please let me know.[/COLOR]

[Sonneilon]

First off, if you can find Phu (who is a member here), talk to him. Jay (smokescreen on the JBL) also does their own molds. These two guys are still learning how to do stuff. You can try and talk to Alyosha who does his own thing but from what I've heard, he's hard to get ahold of. There are kits you can buy and it's possible to do on your own.

[ender098]

Good Stuff...check it out:


http://wiki.joecustoms.com/wiki/Casting_Guide


That what you were looking for?

[lehsreh]

[COLOR=Red]yeah, these help, thanx to you both.[/COLOR]

[lehsreh]

[COLOR=Red]just wondering if anyone has tried this for a joe figure? i was wondering about the arms, you know, the pivot and stuff.[/COLOR]

[Sonneilon]

I have the understanding that Alyosha doesn't do it all himself. He outsources a bit of stuff.

But Jay was doing his own version of Techno Vipers and I believe he was doing it all. I have no idea how. I was trying to hit him up for Leatherneck heads. If you can find Phu, PM him about stuff.

[Jay]

[QUOTE=Sonneilon]I have the understanding that Alyosha doesn't do it all himself. He outsources a bit of stuff.

But Jay was doing his own version of Techno Vipers and I believe he was doing it all. I have no idea how. I was trying to hit him up for Leatherneck heads. If you can find Phu, PM him about stuff.[/QUOTE]
Actually, Alyosha does it all on his own, and it's actually his "full-time job"...
It's Bekker (who also works with his father in the family business) who outsources a bit of stuff.

[phu]

It's an expensive hobby, it's not easy, and the results can be disappointing right off the bat, but I think it's a LOT of fun.

A few of the parts I've cast successfully... the guns are pretty decent, and the vests came out very well (minus the one he's wearing, which was a very early cast and done with far less flexible material than the later ones).

http://kungphu.com/me/images/gijoe/cast_parts_1.jpg

This is the closest I came to casting a full Joe; around the time I did this I was dropping out of the hobby for a while.

http://kungphu.com/me/images/gijoe/t1kjoe_front.jpg

http://kungphu.com/me/images/gijoe/t1kjoe_side.jpg

You can see the myriad tiny air bubbles throughout the plastic; it's not easy to get them out (in no small part because I was using a very fast-setting 2-part polyurethane). The joints, however, are all functional and solid, and the helmet is removable. That's also Rollbar's head Frankesteined onto Gung Ho's neck to fit into the torso correctly. I had successfully cast most of the rest of his lower body and hands, but didn't attach them.

When I stopped, I was working on a progressive mold to make Barrage-style arms -- actually casting parts of the arm directly into others. I had limited success with it.

Hopefully, I'll be getting into injection molding in the next month or so. THAT will be fun... more expensive, but more promising. ;)

[kamikazi]

I just wanna make guns. i mainly want to make a modified version of an ar 15 so any tips are appreciated.

[phu]

[QUOTE=ender098]http://wiki.joecustoms.com/wiki/Casting_Guide[/QUOTE]
For guns you'll want a 2-part mold... a hard mold compound is best for that, softer rubber molds don't work so well for small, rigid parts. I've never used MicroMark, but whoever wrote that guide knows a hell of a lot more than I do. ;)

[kamikazi]

I read that but it didn't have the information I was looking for. Although it did have some useful stuff.

[Sonneilon]

Actually Jay, I remember when Alyosha was doing the figures he was selling at the cons, he said that he was getting help from a couple of other guys in terms of parts.