First off I want to be perfectly clear. This is NOT a post about recasting. It is a question of technique.

I have been bitten by the 3D bug and although most of my initial attempts have been relative failures, I have a few that have come back from Shapeways recently that I am really happy with. (I will share them when I am more confident in my design skills.)

So this has led me to look back upon some of my prior experiences casting custom bitz in a 2-part Silicone/Resin method. Long story short I pulled out some of my Forgeworld pieces to get a better vibe on mold lines and cut depth, etc. One of the first pieces I looked at was my precious Lucius Reaver. (cold dead hands, boyz...) I was immediately appalled by what I saw. the biggest no-no in casting, a off-axis undercut! (GASP!)




So......the question is how the heck do they even manage this? I thought this was no-no number 1 in modelling? Is this a technique that can be mastered? If so, it will open up a new dimension (cough) to my 3D work.

mm

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MadMagician
Epic Tyranids

Just to be clear before debate gets under way: discussing how to re-cast a GW part is not permitted on these forums. Please keep any responses general and not about GW specific pieces.


I'm not a resin person, but i think people slit the mould internally when they have pipes and other gubbins sticking out, then the sticky out bit is just pullet out/through the slit. Rubber used for resin tends to be very soft, so nothing gets damaged. Rubber for metal tends to be far tougher, so you need extra cut out mould sections that can be removed with the cast, or make a mould with more than 2 planes.

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AFK with real life, still checking PMs

Are you sure it is only a 2 part mould? Saying that I knew one of the guys who made moulds for forgeworld and his skills were insane! His large scale space marine with scooby dos head on it was awesome and it was a one piece he had done by combining moulds alone. I was in complete awe!

Absolutely this is not a chat about recasting.

I am really astounded at what FW has managed here. These castings and the technique are truly masterful!

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MadMagician
Epic Tyranids

I didn't think about that. The reason I am inquiring on this is I am still working on my construction tools for large Mecha Project and have been frustrated artistically by having to keep cable and hose loops on axis if I ever want to cast them.

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MadMagician
Epic Tyranids

As someone that casts in resin, i'm hoping i can be of some help. Forge World casts almost completely in single part split moulds. A two part mould is a mould that has each half cast independently, both have their uses but if you can master single part split moulds that is the way to go. To say those cables are advanced is an understatement, i am fairly confident in what i do and i wouldn't try that. If i did i would add a piece that connects the item to the torso that you couldnt see without really looking for it, or cast it independently. I can see something like that causing extra degrading to the mould from pulls, decreasing it's life, unless you had a really solid technique to pop it open without pieces catching.

I'm curious on what scale your modeling in(how big is the item), and are the cables really necessary to hang? If the item is big enough is it possible to make cast on its own?

Blind-

Right now I am focused on 6mm Power Tools for large Mecha

I am not in a position to pull a render from my home PC but this image is an example of an early revision. In this example there is a hose/cable bundle that connects the mount to the rear of the hydraulic box and an additional cable that goes from the box to the saw body. I don;t like the simplicity and would rather have something that looks more like the below (more dramatic at base)

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MadMagician
Epic Tyranids

I could cast those, the hoses run with the cut so they will slide out. The reaver torso's hoses are at the back of the mould and don't run with the cut, that is why I would have so much trouble casting that piece. Let me know when your ready and I can show you what I'd do, I see your on resin addict as well I learned how from their.