casting plastic figures

Discussions on historical model building of all eras.
User avatar
yantaylor
Member
Posts: 1038
Joined: 20 Mar 2011 14:53
Location: Cheshire

casting plastic figures

Post by yantaylor » 26 May 2022 13:38

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
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Gary Kennedy
Member
Posts: 962
Joined: 28 Mar 2012 18:56

Re: casting plastic figures

Post by Gary Kennedy » 26 May 2022 20:34

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

User avatar
ShindenKai
Member
Posts: 474
Joined: 29 Jan 2012 05:43
Location: USA

Re: casting plastic figures

Post by ShindenKai » 27 May 2022 07:00

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

User avatar
Max
Member
Posts: 2605
Joined: 16 Mar 2002 14:08
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: casting plastic figures

Post by Max » 27 May 2022 13:22

Greetings from the Wide Brown.

Wat Tyler
Member
Posts: 32
Joined: 06 Apr 2020 17:30
Location: Staffordshire

Re: casting plastic figures

Post by Wat Tyler » 27 May 2022 15:27

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.

User avatar
yantaylor
Member
Posts: 1038
Joined: 20 Mar 2011 14:53
Location: Cheshire

Re: casting plastic figures

Post by yantaylor » 27 May 2022 20:54

Thanks Guys, I think I am a little out of my depth here :D
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

User avatar
T. A. Gardner
Member
Posts: 3070
Joined: 02 Feb 2006 00:23
Location: Arizona

Re: casting plastic figures

Post by T. A. Gardner » 29 May 2022 23:25

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).

User avatar
yantaylor
Member
Posts: 1038
Joined: 20 Mar 2011 14:53
Location: Cheshire

Re: casting plastic figures

Post by yantaylor » 11 Jun 2022 19:11

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

Return to “Model building”