I'm considering getting into casting in a few weeks and have been trying to find a good starter kit to try and teach myself. The Alumilite site has a decent one for $30, so I may try that one out first. If anyone has any tips please feel free to chime in.

edited

www.smooth-on.com has the best starter kit for the money I belkive they call it a sampler however yoy are only allowed to buy one. I had both the alumnite and smooth-on and think the smoothg on is the best due to its 1:1 silicone.

http://www.smoothonsecure.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=50_759&products_id=722&osCsid=63b94c9319cc7b81c0b6a988171b72a4

Ouch the price doubled but they added a bunch to it.

Rog, I still have the plastic filler that Mike King sent me over the summer, unfortunately the rubber mold material had dried up. All I would really need to buy is that part. I've been reading how the resin sets in as alittle as just a few minutes, if that's the case then I'm really jazzed. I already have two subjects I want to do, I just need to build up a slot car interior and driver for them. I'll check them out as well.

Here is what I use it is almost identical to smooth-ons Smooth Cast 300 series. You can demold most bodies in 10 15 mins. If I heat the mold in the microwaver for 1 to 1:30 I can fdemold in 5 mins. I like the Cr300 because of the packaging ie nice pourble bottles vs the wide neck bottles smooyj-on uses.

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=81544

I like the smooth-on's Oomoo 25 because bit has a 90 min cure time vs the 4 hours for the Oomoo 30. In the summere cwhen the garage is warm I have demolded a mold in as little as 60-70 mins

Pete the Alumilite has an interesting metallic dust you can put into the molds before you pour the body that gives the parts a very metal type look. This could be handy if you do roll cages or windshield frames, exhaust pipes or bumpers. And since it's in the molding process it won't scratch off like foil. Once you do get going let me know and I have a very nice body I'd like a re-pop done of.

Like Roger said, the 1:1 ratio makes the Smooth On one easy to use. I have tried them a number of times and been happy, I know theres better out there, but for about 25.00 I cast 4 different bodies (HO) and made around 70 cars total. Not bad.

Do It!

Peter - the only 'advice' I can give is what I would like as a potential consumer. Keep the bodies light and able to fit more than one chassis.

Deane

I use this place local here in Chicago for my resin. It is very consistant. It is EP8036.
Eager Plastics (http://www.eagerplastics.com/)

For silicone, I use the 1:1 stuff from MicroMark
RTV silicone (http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82083)

Deane, my first subjects will be the cars I plan on running at Laguna Seca 1967, I will be designing a Daytona Prototype this summer for mag chassis. Since T-Jets seem to be the prefered resin subject I'm going after that first. I want to do some early Can-Am cars too for the HP-7 chassis.

www.smooth-on.com has the best starter kit for the money I belkive they call it a sampler however yoy are only allowed to buy one. I had both the alumnite and smooth-on and think the smoothg on is the best due to its 1:1 silicone.

http://www.smoothonsecure.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=50_759&products_id=722&osCsid=63b94c9319cc7b81c0b6a988171b72a4

Ouch the price doubled but they added a bunch to it.

Thanks for these links...just bought the doubled price deal. Have been wanting to do this for a long time and now is as good of time as any. Bam!

Ooooh boy! :woohoo:

Bob...zilla

I've been looking at some of the other stuff from other casters. Some offer solid windshields, I think what I'll do is have a windshield as a seperate piece. Maybe something as simple as a curved piece of clear plastic held in a slot molded into the body. Anything I do will have the driver figure molded in, I'd like it to be as one piece as possible. I've also seen some putty type stuff, no pouring required, you just mold it into the inside and then it hardens. I'm also wondering....can you make cars out of JB Weld? :)

Be careful when using a resin from one company and a silicone from another. Micro mark resin bonds itself to alumilite molds.

Also think body prep over and over again. The mold will pick up any imperfections.

When doing a diecast I:

1. Remove all plastic parts.

2. Strip the paint. Forget Pine sol here. Get the real stuff. I use Bix and you can watch it work it is so fast. For some reason silver on Hot Wheels is hard to get off. A lot of detail is lost with the thick factory paint. If you skipped number 1 well, you'll see.

3. Fix the defects. Gouges, mold lines whatever.

4. Sand the entire body with a very fine sandpaper.

5. Re-install parts.

6. Fill in gaps. The silicone will get into all nooks and crannies. That leaves jagged edges on the mold. Those in turn will get stuck in the resin pour and torn off leaving other edges to get caught in the next pour. I use the same clay I use for the mold.

7. Clean the body. You don't want any fingerprints or dust on it.

8. Gloss clear cote.

Have fun and looking forward to seeing how you do.

Here's the beginning of my first mold:

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/MVC-703S.jpg

I'll be stripping the body tonight using brake fluid. Since it's a diecast there shouldn't be any problems. The roll bar will be just a single solid hoop but will have an indicator as to where to open it up. Either that or I'll leave it off and use a paper clip for the hoop. But it'll be as much a one piece deal as I can make it: pipes, roll hoop, driver figure, bumpers will all be molded in.

I have the Porsche 356 I'll do after a successful resin cast of this one, then I'll do a 56-60 'vette. I haven't had much luck getting a 1/76th scale Jag C, and I don't think I'll do the Ferrari 250 GTO for a while. I'm really having to look for subjects and was pretty fortunate to find the Cobra and the Porsche.

Naked Cobra. This is about as bare as I can make it.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/MVC-704S.jpg

I even took my polishing kit to it afterward.