Casting and Glassing
So, some explanation is required here, since it's been ages since I updated on the chess set.
Several things have happened since the last update. I've finished most of the casting of the bases (just the white side Marvel pawns left to go) which has taken WAY longer than anticipated. Half the figures (the white sides) had to have their bases painted white before molding, which I finally got around to a few weeks back. Once that was done, the sets were ready to cast. Each pour requires five or so minutes of preparation and then ten minutes of set time before the piece can be demolded. Multiply that by 96 figures and it's a huge chunk of time. Had I stopped to take pictures at each stage, well let's just say I'd never get finished.
Once pieces were cast on their bases, some figures needed to have final touches added. I'll note those in each picture. The first two figures are "finishing touch" pieces and the rest are final stage shots. I ran out of battery power on the camera (and got hungry for dinner!) late this afternoon, so stopped gluing for the day. I hope to finish the rest soon. Here's what's done so far.
Green Arrow. Sharp eyed observers will note that he now has an arrow (a boxing glove arrow, natch) and bowstring that were conspicuously absent from the figure previously. The arrow is fashioned from a length of fine (what else?) telephone wire (we call it "jumper wire") while the boxing glove is made from Green Stuff. The bowstring is made by untwisting a length of phone cord (the flat stuff you run from a jack to a phone, not "proper" telephone wire) and using just one of the dozen or so braided strands that make up the wire's diameter.
Wonder Woman. Sharp eyed observers will note that she now has a proper Lasso of Truth. Again, a single unbraided strand from a braided telephone cord was employed to create the lasso.
And now, we move on to the main event. Gluing the etched jars to the plastic bases. I just got the jars back from the etcher today, so I'm jazzed to see some of the final products for the first time! I've taken a picture of both the figure on its base and the final glassed product.
Harley Quinn.
The Riddler. Note the recent addition of his Question Mark Staff. That telephone wire comes in handy!
The Penguin
Catwoman
Poison Ivy
Mr. Freeze
The Persuader
Captain Cold
All 8 Stormtroopers
Ultron
Electro
The Green Goblin
The Silver Samurai. Sharp eyed observers will note that poor old SS has no sword arm. The glue I'm using to glue the glass jars to the plastic bases is E6000 which is phenomenal stuff. Unfortunately it cures slowly and to a slightly flexible consistency, which is great for the glass/plastic application but not so much for a metal/metal application, particularly when gravity is involved. I discovered that his arm was pretty droopy after a week or so sitting and curing. Turns out that was a blessing in disguise, since his sword was too long to fit in the glass jar and needed to be trimmed down to fit. If (and that's a big IF!) I've done it just right, the glass jar should fit snuggly enough to hold his sword at the correct angle inside it's permanent home.
Venom
The Mole Man. More sharp eyes will note the new staff in his hand. Yep, telephone wire again.
The first four rebel soldiers from the white side of the Star Wars set.
So, the camera batteries are recharging and the next post should (hopefully) see the very last of the chess set tasks complete.
Several things have happened since the last update. I've finished most of the casting of the bases (just the white side Marvel pawns left to go) which has taken WAY longer than anticipated. Half the figures (the white sides) had to have their bases painted white before molding, which I finally got around to a few weeks back. Once that was done, the sets were ready to cast. Each pour requires five or so minutes of preparation and then ten minutes of set time before the piece can be demolded. Multiply that by 96 figures and it's a huge chunk of time. Had I stopped to take pictures at each stage, well let's just say I'd never get finished.
Once pieces were cast on their bases, some figures needed to have final touches added. I'll note those in each picture. The first two figures are "finishing touch" pieces and the rest are final stage shots. I ran out of battery power on the camera (and got hungry for dinner!) late this afternoon, so stopped gluing for the day. I hope to finish the rest soon. Here's what's done so far.
Green Arrow. Sharp eyed observers will note that he now has an arrow (a boxing glove arrow, natch) and bowstring that were conspicuously absent from the figure previously. The arrow is fashioned from a length of fine (what else?) telephone wire (we call it "jumper wire") while the boxing glove is made from Green Stuff. The bowstring is made by untwisting a length of phone cord (the flat stuff you run from a jack to a phone, not "proper" telephone wire) and using just one of the dozen or so braided strands that make up the wire's diameter.
Wonder Woman. Sharp eyed observers will note that she now has a proper Lasso of Truth. Again, a single unbraided strand from a braided telephone cord was employed to create the lasso.
And now, we move on to the main event. Gluing the etched jars to the plastic bases. I just got the jars back from the etcher today, so I'm jazzed to see some of the final products for the first time! I've taken a picture of both the figure on its base and the final glassed product.
Harley Quinn.
The Riddler. Note the recent addition of his Question Mark Staff. That telephone wire comes in handy!
The Penguin
Catwoman
Poison Ivy
Mr. Freeze
The Persuader
Captain Cold
All 8 Stormtroopers
Ultron
Electro
The Green Goblin
The Silver Samurai. Sharp eyed observers will note that poor old SS has no sword arm. The glue I'm using to glue the glass jars to the plastic bases is E6000 which is phenomenal stuff. Unfortunately it cures slowly and to a slightly flexible consistency, which is great for the glass/plastic application but not so much for a metal/metal application, particularly when gravity is involved. I discovered that his arm was pretty droopy after a week or so sitting and curing. Turns out that was a blessing in disguise, since his sword was too long to fit in the glass jar and needed to be trimmed down to fit. If (and that's a big IF!) I've done it just right, the glass jar should fit snuggly enough to hold his sword at the correct angle inside it's permanent home.
Venom
The Mole Man. More sharp eyes will note the new staff in his hand. Yep, telephone wire again.
The first four rebel soldiers from the white side of the Star Wars set.
So, the camera batteries are recharging and the next post should (hopefully) see the very last of the chess set tasks complete.
posted by Greybishop | 9/06/2010 01:02:00 PM
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