I just picked up a mold for a skull that is 3 inches tall and was wondering if anyone would use something this size for a shifter knob? The skull is pretty cool and I think that I could cast some using fairly lightweight plastic so that it wouldn't be too heavy. I know that on one of the other posts we talked about bakelite and catalin, maybe I could work up something that looked like some of the old stuff. Here's a pic...
very cool, i have an artist friend skulpting some knobs right now that im gonna try to cast in resin, lemme know if you make some,, wes
There's a gal in England who is selling these molds (moulds), I bought the small one but I am also looking at this larger one...it's close to life-size. I agree with past observations, it's cool to see something that looks more realistic and less cartoonish. I found a new source for industrial plastics and I am amazed at what is available now...lightweight and durable enough to be used in the casting of foundry parts. As soon as I get set up I'll post some pics of the finished pieces. Here's a pic of the larger skull, just a little different than than smaller one...
OK, I finally got all the materials pulled together and cast my first trial skull. I am very happy with the detail of the mold, the texture of the skull looks like real porous bone. The color is also fairly close to bone maybe a little too yellow but close. The resin that I used costs $30 and would be enough to do about three skulls...I am going to look into it a little more and see if I can't get the cost done by ordering in quan***y. This skull weighs about 7.5 ozs...feels about like a pool ball in weight. Here's a pic of the skull by itself and another with me holding it...
Don't forget that I was the second to want two of them. I need one for the 58. Besides I need to add to my collection of over 200 skulls.
Oh what the hell....let me know when you get them ready and I'll be in for one!! Damn I hate peer pressure!
yeah man let us know when they might be in production, sounds like you got a ton of guys wanting some...including me.
OK, I used up the first batch of expensive resin making three skulls. These are the ones that look a little more yellow in the photos. I did a search for a local vendor and found a resin that is stronger, a little lighter in color, and considerably cheaper. The mold is very flexible so I found that I had to be careful where I set it while the resin was curing...one skull ended up with a narrower jaw because I put the mold into a cup which pushed the sides in a little. Another skull has the top dented in...it didn't like sitting on a flat surface. Knowing the range of tastes on the HAMB I am sure that someone would want one of these that are "different". In fact, if someone wnated one with a more contorted shape I could do that fairly easily. Here are the pics of the six that I did this after noon...I haven't spent any time cleaning them up or applying any coatings, I think that they would look good with a little antiquing to bring out the texture.
The Jalopy Journal
