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Resin Casting Questions


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hi, i was wondering how easy it is to cast your own resin (with a bit of practice)

 

also how limited is it? i have made up a set of bases which i want to reproduce but they are very irregular in shape and the content of the base overhangs the base itself. will i be able to make a mold that fits that?

 

also there are some pretty fine details on the base including engraved writing and runes which are very small. will i be able to cast this level of detail?

 

thanks

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Your question has more to do with the actual mold than the resin. For the record, most poliurethane resins (yes, there are a lot of them) will pick up any detail that the mold has.

 

As for doing the mold, I use RTV silicone. If I remember I'll post you some pics tonight of some bases I've done for DE...with lava overflowing from the base, with cracks, symbols and so on...

 

You should have no problem if done properly.

There are a variety of suitable casting rtv rubbers that are flexible enough that even undercuts/overhangs can be dealt with.

most of them can resolve fingerprint ridge level detail (I left a fingerprint on some GS once and made a mould of the piece. The mould also had the finger print in it and it showed up on the castings also (with a wash).

 

With some practice, it's quite easy to do. You can get starter kits (be prepared to sacrifice ALL of the materials from this kit as mistakes. You will make them, but you should also LEARN from them.) for not a lot (still more than a pack of bases, but usually less than a box of GW models.).

oh great thanks.

 

by the way, i know its illegal but i'm not going to do it. Why don't people cast their own versions of GW sprues.

 

like the new GK terminators. there are arms etc enouh for 15 but only bodies and legs for 5. why dont people cast heads and bodies and get 15 for the price of 5?

From what i've seen elsewhere, I think answer is a bit more complicated then just a straight, No. I think it has to do with the country you live and what nations rule you are supposed to follow. - At which point everyone pretty much goes with, No cause its the safest to say.

It is generally illegal to do it.

If no-body knows about it, the crime is still committed (copyright infringement is NOT theft in a legal sense), but how will they know?

 

The only times I've 'recast' another company's models, it was with tacit approval. They sold me the metal ingots, the figure AND the mould.

Bottom line is; if you go out and buy 5 terminators and then mold and cast them for personal use, once those puppies get primed, who is going to know? That is my take on it.

 

Now I have been making custom parts for many years, not 40k, I have been building models for years and often have made my own barrels, or re-casted things like gas cans, guns, lots of stuff I have used in WWII and other military modeling, some sci-fi and Star Wars stuff....now that being said, to be able to accurately reproduce something like a terminator would require some pretty specific equipment, other wise you are going to go through a lot of resin because of air bubbles. It is not a matter of the mold being able to handle undercuts and the like, it is more a matter of the viscosity of the casting material, air bubbles are a casters worst enemy. So to do something like terminators I would almost think a pressure casting set-up is a must.

 

Ashton

Its not a matter of getting caught or not: his question is whether its legal or not... and the answer is no.

 

And I agree about the bubbles: I've done a few items (such as shinguards) and its always a pain to cast properly.

 

But once you learn how to get the airchannels, it usually works ;)

The illegality of it (iirc) depends upon whether or not you distribute your 'copies'. Selling them is definitely a breach of copyright, and I believe giving parts to people is iffy. Casting for personal use? In the eyes of the law it's fine. However casting up a buttload of models just so you don't have to pay for five squads? Well, first you will be seen as cheap even though any savings you will have will be small to the point of irrelevance. Second, it will probably require trial and error on your part even though there are online guides - this further retards any saving potential. And lastly, deprivation of revenue for GW (personal opinion aside) does not bode well for the rest of us. Granted GW aren't really going to miss one customer here or there but this stuff is a slippery slope - finer operating margins, cutbacks, store closures, removal of certain services can and does happen when customers seek the same product elsewhere. It sounds extreme, I know, but that's the writing on the wall.

 

My advice? Use casting only for specific conversions when you have need of 'unique' pieces but do not wish to use rare parts for want of devaluing it

Maybe I should have written a bit clearer my thoughts. By saying it is legal for yourself, by that I meant (though originally I did not state in my first posting) that yes you can cast parts in the sense that they are customised. I have seen several people on this forum in the last 12 months with some wonderful actual scale legs they have casted or customised bolters. One that springs to mind is a guy who had casted to my memory the best part of 60 odd actual scale legs for a Black Templar army. If it was illegal I am sure the mods would have said so as would have others. Yes it is very illegal to cast parts and sell / pass them on & as Olisredan pointed out, could have huge implications to GW. If they are not exact i.e customised then I am pretty certain that it is not illegal. I am sure (although I have not looked) that on the GW website there might be some legislation on such things?

Now, let's step beyond legality and jump squarely into feasibility of duping GW parts.

 

With the cost of most of RTV silicone and Resins available, casting a few of your own original parts is fine. There is no known value on your ORIGINAL parts other than your time & raw materials. Reproducing GW parts would outstrip the value of those original parts.

 

In other words...

 

It would likely cost you MORE to make poor quality resin casts of those GW terminator parts than it would to purchase two more boxes and ebay the extra parts you don't need.

True, true. You know, I think what we're getting at here is if it isn't a labour of love, the whole thing costs too much. Unless you seriously had no other choice, it's not worth it.

 

henry, by all means cast up that base you made. I won't complain and I hope others wouldn't either. So long as you remain properly informed that's all we can do.

I will, the best solution is to buy them from the bitz barn. with spare parts from various dreads i can buy torso and legs from them for $10.

i get an extra dreadnaught for $10, nice. i might consider doing the same with my new GK terminators but they so far only sell space marine terminators.

It might work though, wilst they wouldn't look 100% grey knighty i doubt they would mind an aquila on their chest.

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