Resin is a useful material that begins as a liquid and cures to become a solid, making it a model-maker's dream. Whether you're making a resin figure for display, or for use in a board game, making a figurine is fairly simple. The individual steps may take some practice to perfect, but you can make your own resin figures quickly. Casting figures in resin is only half the project. After that, you can decorate and bring the creations to life.
Make a mold for your model in clay. Use the clay to make a prototype of your figurine.
Cure or fire the clay model. Follow the directions of the clay you've purchased to make it solid.
Mark the figurine's halfway point. Trace a line around the middle of the figurine to divide it in half. This is where the model seam will be when casting. For example, if you have a model person, you may want this seam to be on the sides of the model, not the front and rear.
Insert a drinking straw into the bottom of your model in a location you can later cut to be flat. Try to position it so that the straw is in line with the seam line you drew earlier.
Mix the molding building agent according to directions. Pour enough of the mixture into a cardboard box to nearly fill it but leaving about half an inch clear of the top of the box.
Submerge your model in the molding agent to the halfway line you marked earlier. Dip the model in the center of the mold box. The straw should be half-submerged, but not so it shifts the halfway line. Leave the mold to cure and dry.
Remove the model when the mold becomes tacky. Repeat the mold-making process with the back part of the mold: pour the remaining liquid, submerge the model and let dry. Again, half-submerge the straw because it is how you will pour resin into the mold.
Remove the model when the back part of the mold becomes tacky. Leave the mold sections to cure.
Place the two mold halves together so that the cavities form a negative of the model and the two straw halves match up. Hold the molds together with elastic bands.
Mix your resin. Pour the resin into the mold through the straw hole using a funnel. Leave the model to dry overnight.
Remove the elastic bands and open the molds. Be careful not to damage your resin figure when removing. Cut the straw mold off the bottom of the model.
Paint your figure and allow the paint to dry.
Things You'll Need:
- Modeling clay
- Clay modeling tools
- Drinking straw
- Mixing bowl
- Silicon mold compound
- 2 small cardboard boxes
- Resin mixture
- Stirring stick
- Craft knife
- Paints and finishes
References
Writer Bio
Grahame Turner has worked as a freelance writer since 2009 and a freelance reporter since 2010 for Wellesley Patch and Jamaica Plain Patch in Massachusetts. He also works part-time as a bookseller at the Northeastern University bookstore. He is a Northeastern University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in English.
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