Estonian SS 1st Day

[ironcross1]

Raymond.
How many pieces will the plaster mold be ?
What kind of deflaculant do you use with cement or do you use any ?
Does the cement wear the mold down fast ?
I have never cast cement before. I have only sculpted in wax.

Thanks for your comment Ade , cheers .
Steve , it will be a two piece mold , i will make a seperation seem that will run from the base (once its completed) up along the shoulder over the helmet say where the decal is along the top and then down the other side , i will them plaster the whole thing , once dry i will pull the two halfs apart , this will distroy the clay original as the under cuts will tear pieces of the sculpture apart .once they are apart i will wash all remaining clay out of the plaster mold , when they are dry i will coat the inside of each part with a sealer , when it is time to pour with concrete i will join both halfs back together bind the two halfs tight with clamps , i do use a release agent its called PVA , its a white liquid , but you can use detergent, cooking oil ,vasoline , even diesle , i use this when pouring concrete staues in fibrerclass molds ect . I then pour the concrete , once its set i remove the clamps and slowly chisle away the plaster , haveing a release agent applied good size pieces of plaster will break off but you still have to be careful not to break off pieces of your concrete sculpture , when finished a good wash down and there it is .This way of casting is good for one offs , or in some cases you can still take a mold off the concrete piece if need be , for this i use latex , it has its draw backs but is cheaper than useing silicone , silicone very expence over here but a better product i feel than latex .I have a couple of pieces i intend to cast in wax , but i better finish this one first , any other questions id be happy to answere if i can , cheers mate Raymond

[SteveR]

Thanks for your comment Ade , cheers .
Steve , it will be a two piece mold , i will make a seperation seem that will run from the base (once its completed) up along the shoulder over the helmet say where the decal is along the top and then down the other side , i will them plaster the whole thing , once dry i will pull the two halfs apart , this will distroy the clay original as the under cuts will tear pieces of the sculpture apart .once they are apart i will wash all remaining clay out of the plaster mold , when they are dry i will coat the inside of each part with a sealer , when it is time to pour with concrete i will join both halfs back together bind the two halfs tight with clamps , i do use a release agent its called PVA , its a white liquid , but you can use detergent, cooking oil ,vasoline , even diesle , i use this when pouring concrete staues in fibrerclass molds ect . I then pour the concrete , once its set i remove the clamps and slowly chisle away the plaster , haveing a release agent applied good size pieces of plaster will break off but you still have to be careful not to break off pieces of your concrete sculpture , when finished a good wash down and there it is .This way of casting is good for one offs , or in some cases you can still take a mold off the concrete piece if need be , for this i use latex , it has its draw backs but is cheaper than useing silicone , silicone very expence over here but a better product i feel than latex .I have a couple of pieces i intend to cast in wax , but i better finish this one first , any other questions id be happy to answere if i can , cheers mate Raymond

Thanks buddy.
I appreciate your time to answer questions.

[SteveR]

Here is a 1/3 portrait bust I did of my father some years back from a photo when he wored in the lead and zinc mines after WWII. I also had him set for me while I took specific measurements of his head.
I modeled it in sculpters wax, made the plaster mold, and cast the bronze at 2300 degrees.
I patinated the helmet with ferric nitrate.

[ironcross1]

A great piece Steve and being your dad makes it a special bronze , cheers Raymond

[ironcross1]

Evening all , well finished sculpting my Estonian SS volunteer today next step is to make the plaster mold .cheers Raymond

[Glenn66]

Would you mind taking some photos of the mold and casting process? I'd love to see how it is done.

[Paul D]

Raymond i've just come across this thread , incredible work mate Looks like he's just come out of the Putki swamps !!!

No doubt there would be a market for something this good, especially in Estonia !!

regards

Paul

[stuka f]

Great work!
Nice details, nice characters and you finisched it so rapidly!
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[ironcross1]

Would you mind taking some photos of the mold and casting process? I'd love to see how it is done.

No problem Glenn, ill take pics as i go and post them , cheers Raymond

[ironcross1]

Raymond i've just come across this thread , incredible work mate Looks like he's just come out of the Putki swamps !!!

No doubt there would be a market for something this good, especially in Estonia !!

regards

Paul

Hi there Paul , thanks for your comments mate ,, iv really injoyed doing this guy iv been wanting to do it for a long time ,and its only my first attempt at a full bust so im happy with him .Iv had a bit of interest and people wanting one so i may have to take another mold off him later on and reproduce a few but if so i think it would be a limited edition type thing , anyway cheers mate Raymond