casting plastic figures

[yantaylor]

Hi everyone.

I am building a British WW2 Para/Glider Company and I am 90% there but for figures operating the 2in Mortar.
I have one figure which fits the bill perfectly, it is a 1/72 scale Italeri figure from the set called "WW2 Anti-Tank Teams".
Now this kit is really hard to get hold of and is expensive, it has two of these figures in each kit, so I could do with five or six kits, which would be around £60-£70 to buy, a lot of cash for a dozen 1/72 figures.

So how easy would it be to cast figures from the figure I have, can I make a mould and churn out a dozen of these figures in plastic?

Here below is the figure in question;

ITA6131c (2).jpg

Can anyone help me?

Regards
Ian

[Gary Kennedy]

Hi Ian,

I'm pretty sure that 'recasting' is a bit on the dodgy side, as in infringing copyright and the like. Given the 2-inch Mark VIII was pretty much just a barrel, might it be possible to nominate a few existing figures as mortar numbers and stick an appropriate length of plastic tube to them? I vaguely recall having that as an idea way back when for the same purpose (in my youth we didn't even have 2-inch mortars for our British troops...well, apart from those couple with the Esci Commando set, but other than that, nowt!).

Gary

[ShindenKai]

I've used products from this https://www.smooth-on.com/ company and they've worked great.

[Max]

Have you thought about 3d printing?
You might be able to modify these figures


https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d ... el/1072033

https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-print-model ... twerfer-g5
https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-models/soldier?page=2

[Wat Tyler]

I have friends who cast in pewter often off things like original medieval badges which can be quite intricate. They use silicon rubber for the moulds , it comes as a two part that is mixed just prior to use , and can hold fine detail. Pewter has a pretty low temperature melting point and the moulds are good for quite a few castings.

[yantaylor]

Thanks Guys, I think I am a little out of my depth here
All great suggestions though.

Gary, if it were Infantry I would get that commando figure, chop his head off and replace him with a head with a tin hat, then stick a back pack on him and "bobs your uncle", but the figures I need are in para uniforms, he would stand out a mile.

I do find it annoying that these kit companies miss out the 2in mortar, it was an important weapon in every platoon and used in every theatre.

Ian

[T. A. Gardner]

The internet is your friend. Rather than me explaining this, there are plenty of videos available on how to do it.



https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/det ... res/758372
(see episode 1)

These are just two of dozens available on the internet. You can cast in pewter, lead, resin, epoxy, or plastic depending on your needs. I do mine in resin, epoxy (a form of resin), or lead alloy (due to the crossover for casting bullets for black powder).

[yantaylor]

Hi T.A, nice clip.
I will try to find more on the net.
Thanks
Ian