Saturday 4 June 2011

The Madness Continues

First Born
I've always had this sneaking regard for the early pioneers of the hobby who cast their own figures . So when I saw some Prince August moulds for sale on Ebay - I thought 'I could get them and cast my own Red-Blue Army in 54mm' . Of course any sane member of the public ( this would include my wife ) would say  A- 'you already have thousands of figures', B-'you can buy figures ready cast so you DON'T have to burn yourself with hot metal' . BUT they are NOT Wargamers !. So here is my first attempt- my first born, not a bad figure seeing it's  my first go . Have learnt a few things in just casting this one ! 1. DON'T just wear shorts when casting - if you splash molten metal about it's HOT ! (you do a little jig reminiscent of 'River Dance' whilst swearing loudly and still trying to pour lead !). 2. I need a proper ladle - one is being purchased off Ebay - an old pan will NOT do. 3. You have to clean off the scum to prevent it going into the mould - it causes pitting on the figure surfaces . 4 . This is going to be a LONG project . 5. It's  very satisfying  casting your own figures. The moulds allow for 2 body poses , 4 different arms and 4 different types of headgear, so this will mean I can  get the bulk of my armies from them. I will let you know how I progress ... now where are my gauntlets and face mask !.

6 comments:

  1. I do this for fun occasionally. You have the Guardsman mould I see. Best of luck with it.

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  2. I am thinking of following the same route for my next 'Little Wars' army, and I will follow your progress with great interest.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  3. Oddly enough I have been casting some 54mm toys for a forthcoming FLW army only today. Great minds?

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  4. It is very addictive , got my second figure cast with a definate improvment in quality - think its getting the metal temprature right.

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  5. I think the 2nd lesson is that hot metal looks like cold metal... PA has some good casting tips videos and tutorials as well.

    Now before you get too carried away with those big chunky 54mm PA molds, have you checked out the nice 40mm Zinnbrigade molds?

    http://www.zinnfigur.com/Moulds/DE_Moulds_Schildkroet_Set.asp

    -Ross Mac

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  6. Checked them out VERY nice , so much to do and so little time to do it in !.

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