Busy weekend today! Sadly, NONE of it was spent on the book... which puts me a week behind (again, still, whatever).
Actually, that's not entirely true. I got Chapter 14, linkages, started and worked up several models and several more renderings. Getting started is the hard part. The other hard part, unfortunately, is writing the rest of it.
What I did do was work up a bunch of my notes for the Vdgo people, who I consulted with before National. Getting all of my notes in order, so they can finish their pitch to the investor on Monday. If it goes well, I expect to be amply rewarded for all that consulting... and if it tanks, well, I'm a week behind. Could be worse.
And, umm, I spent a chunk of cash on Trails stuff. Casting and molding materials, mostly, with a couple of sub-woofer floor shakers for jollies (heck, for $30 a pair, how could I not?).
I was not terribly happy with the materials last year... the squish tears too easily, and it's hot and hard to work with.
This year, I'm exploring the product line of Smooth-On -- their Dragon Skin looks awesome, and their Body Double skin-safe silicon molding compound should put alginate to shame. Really, hanging its head in embarrasment shame.
The process of casting, say a face, in alginate is this:
1. Measure, mix, and apply alginate to said face. Wait about five more minutes for it to harden.
2. Apply a plaster bandage "mother mold" shell.
3. Remove and then cast a plaster positive in the alginate, RIGHT AWAY or it shrinks.
4. Make a final mold on the positive using rubber or whatever... there are different ways of doing this.
5. Cast your prop in the final mold.
With the new body-double stuff, you cut out steps 1-3 and go directly to the final mold. Full head casts may be trickier, but faces, hands, and their ilk are much easier. And, you use less, it hardens FAST, it doesn't require mixing if you get the cartridge form, and so on.
Then, for the props themselves, I'm looking at both silicon and polyurethanes.
The materials themselves are not actually that expensive. The pain comes in from the supporting materials -- the cartridge gun is $68, the silicon tints are $15 each, the NON-silicon tints are $10 each. And you need four to five of each type... black, red, blue, yellow, and white if they have it (which they don't for the one set).
That's a couple-hundred dollars just to get in the door.
The materials aren't CHEAP mind you, but they aren't too bad.
It should be fun! Whoo!
I almost let slip WHAT we were going to make with all this... but that would be telling. All I can say is that we hope to inspire wet knickers all around.
A guy can dream, right?
Posted by Edwin at May 9, 2004 05:00 PM