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I jumped the gun with the mold that featured corrections to the scales and poured resin in before it was fully cured. So when I took the resin out, chunks of mold came with it.

I haven't tried CA,...

The temperature thing isn't as bad as it sounds, and I'm hoping that given 3-4 days and a really solid cure, it will be even less of an issue.

If not, I suppose I'll have to move to...

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Smooth-On’s Epoxacast 690 can probably be a winner for this project.

Preliminary tests with the Smooth-On epoxy makes me think I got it.

Having a couple of bum molds is handy, since it gives me scales to do destructive experiments on. In this case, I got impatient...

I've avoided the whole class of resins that fume things up while curing because I don't really have a place that is both climate controlled and ventilated, but that may well be where I end up going....

I'll just drive on over to pick it up. ;)

Seriously though, if I can avoid getting one, I'll be happier. My tiny workshop is a little overstuffed as it is, and this whole resin casting experiment...

The more I look at this project, the more I suspect a Harbor Freight pressure pot is in my future. Looks like lots of folks are successfully using these for castings.

With the first batch of stuff, I didn’t pay too much attention to getting everything flat since it was much more about just testing the material.

However, with the last batch of molds I’ve made,...

Another update.

I’ve now made a better mold and used clay to sparkle over the scratches in the original scales. I also got a new epoxy, SmoothOn Epoxacast 690.

It’s also sloooow, but it’s fully...

I'd like to know!

Today was just generally a day when nothing went quite right, so I didn't have a chance to go buy new resin stuff and all sorts of other things just went ever so slightly wrong.

BUT! I haven't...

I went and dug around some model making forums where it's been pretty extensively played with, and it looks like This Is Just How It Is.

Luckily, there's also this in the world.

An update on the progress here.

I'm now a full 72 hours into curing the EasyCast resin I got from TAP Plastics and I'm prepared to say it is NOT viable for scale replacements.

I've got a couple...

Surgical prep razor!

They’re completely enormous!

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That said, the one you’ve got is in much better shape... and that’s after I sanded the color little bugger up one side and down the other.

Oooh! Is it one of the ones in German silver scales with the crowsfoot mark on the tang?

Oh yeaaah!

This is looking good, now!

They still need more time to cure, but it’s pretty obvious these are going to work. It’ll just be a question of flex/brittleness at full cure.

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The set I poured this morning is gonna work. Though I botched two pair by being impatient. No problem. I wasn’t fully happy with the color match, so I made two more pair.

In the process of all...

https://media.giphy.com/media/TjyVI8FepmMVi/giphy.gif

Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. :D

Seriously though, I've got one half the the Otto Von Deutsch scales (but no razor to go in them -- sometimes I buy up huge lots of scale parts for...

This batch is clearly going to be a winner. 2.5 hours after pouring, the leftover in the cup is already cured hard. It'll take longer for the stuff in the molds it's much thinner, but I'm confident...

Well, it wasn't quite a full 72 hours, but the last resin pour has not noticeably hardened since I took the spare ones out of the mold over a day ago, so I'm gonna call those failed too and blame it...

Rope? Twist? Something like that.

The downside of the silicone mold stuff is that it isn't cheap. $25/lb (though the 4 pound version gets a nice price break).

My ultimate goal with this stuff...

Just keep an eye on the spec sheet for what you got, not all silicone molding formulas are compatible with all scale material. So far, this is a lot of messy fun.

I've cleaned up the scales I'm casting and minimized the scratches from pin removal, gotten more Silicone RTV, and poured a new mold.

By tomorrow the scales I poured should be getting close to...