Advice on Making Molds

[Stormy3D]

Hey, guys. I am in need of advice on making a mold. I have heard of using wood, but for many parts, that is extremely hard to do, with the uneven, organic parts of a build. I have tried clay, which was pretty hard, for me. So I was wondering, how do you guys make a master mold, cheaply? Thanks!

(For those of you wondering, I am giving vacuum forming a go, to build, not just stormtrooper armor, but other costumes as well. I thought I should try it out.)

 

 

[tydirium1[TK]]

The easiest way to get started is to use MDF. Medium Density Partial board. Every home depot type store has it. You can cut pieces and glue them together to form a block from which to start cutting and sanding . Best to have some good tools , dremel , bench sanders , you can never have too many tools.  Another thing to keep handy is some Bondo. It's for doing body work on cars but you can use it on wood too. Dries quick so use it fast. But if you sand too much off of the wood, just slap some Bondo on and start reshaping.  That's one way that's quick and easy to get started. Although,  getting your molds to look the way they are supposed to takes some time and tweaking, and tweaking, and more tweaking if you get my point. Don't expect quick satisfaction.  It's a art form that takes time to refine. I'm very handy with building things but found this to be very challenging.  On the flip side..... it is a lot of fun and so very rewarding when you get things to look good.   Keep asking questions,  others may have more ideas to share. 

 

Good luck,  Tom

[walt[501st]]

I started with plaster of Paris  cheep and easy