the process

[fsn]

Having been redirected from the mystery moulds thread, please could you take us through the process from receiving a master from say Techno or Mart to filling the Jiffy bags we all look forward to?
 

[Steve J]

http://www.guildwargamers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=44586

The above link is a really interesting overview of how Tony Barton of AB Figures starts from a sketch through to moulded and then painted figure. Not sure how this compares to the Pendraken route, but I found it a useful insight.

[Leon]

There's a few stages involved, so I'll run through each of them:

Master Mould
The master sculpts first need to be placed into a master mould.  This mould is the same size as a production mould, so can fit between 30-35 foot, 15-18 cavalry, or a selection of vehicle parts.  These sculpts might all be for one range, or could be a selection of odds and ends we've accumulated.  We try to keep it to a single range where possible, just to keep things organised for the future.  We've got tons of moulds from years ago with all manner of stuff in them, so it can be a nightmare trying to find the right mould for a specific figure.

Metal/putty sculpts are quite robust and can be done in a regular rubber, anything with plastic on it (like vehicles) needs to be done at a lower temperature and slower pace, so we use a low-temp silicone for these.  A regular mould takes about 90 minutes to cook, the low-temp ones are a few hours.

Master Castings
Once the master mould is done, we then spin it to get multiple master castings.  For a regular pack of infantry with say 2 poses, we would need to spin the master mould almost 20 times to have enough castings to fill a production mould.  Similarly if there were 5 poses in the final pack, then we would only need to spin the mould 6 or 7 times.  We usually do all of these spins in one session, slowly piling up the figures for each new code until we've got everything we need from the master mould.  It can then be filed away on a rack and won't be needed again unless we have to remould something in the future.

The master castings are then checked over for any mistakes.  Sometimes the sculpting putty can get caught in the rubber, things like hands, plumes, buttons, etc can get lodged in the master mould and stop you from getting proper castings out of it.  We also clean up any flash, mould lines, base nubs, etc so that we've got perfect castings for the next stage.

Production Mould
The master castings from the previous stage are then placed into a production mould.  Quantities are similar again, so 30-35 foot, 15-18 cavalry, etc.  These are almost always done in a regular rubber, soft enough to allow the figures to be removed, but hard enough to withstand years of use.  This is one of the benefits of 10mm, in that our smaller figures don't damage a mould as quickly as 28mm's do, so we've got moulds that are still putting out good castings after 15 years of use.

The production moulds are designed to produce a full pack of figures per spin, so a mould of irregular foot would just be filled with infantry to give us a full 30-figure pack plus a few spares.  A pack of cavalry with command (Naps for example) would have 12-14 troopers and 2 of each command figure, so that we're always going to get 12 troopers + 1 of each command figure per spin, plus a few spares.

Generally one mould = one code, but for smaller packs of 10 figures such as WWII or the Moderns, we would have 3 codes per mould, assembed as groups of 11 or 12 figures for each code, again ensuring that we're going to get the 10 we need from a single spin.

And that's it really.  There's a bit more in advance of these steps, getting the range lists put together and making sure the sculptors have the right info they need to make the sculpts.  Then a bit more afterwards, as we get a set of castings from the production mould and blackwash them ready for the release.

Let me know if there's any questions.

[Sandinista]

Do you have copies of all master figures stored off site in case of fire, so you could more easily recover from a catastrophe?

Cheers
Ian

[Leon]

Do you have copies of all master figures stored off site in case of fire, so you could more easily recover from a catastrophe?

Unfortunately not, as most of the master figures are broken during the moulding process and go back to the sculptors to be used as the base for future sculpts.  Ideally, we should have all of the master moulds stored in a separate location but there isn't really anywhere suitable at the moment.  Longer term, I'd like to get them all out of the unit and somewhere else.

We do keep the master castings these days, so they're kept as a backup in case the worst ever happened.

[ronan]

There's a few stages involved, so I'll run through each of them (...)

Thank you, very interesting!

[Ithoriel]

On the Saturday before the "Joy of Six" show last year I joined a group (which included one or two others here present) at Baccus' workshop where Peter (and "Igor" ) took us through the process from design to finished figures - fascinating stuff.

I have a set of their Ancient civilians that were spun up for me while I watched.

Punters and hot metal ... WCGW*?


*What Could Go Wrong

[fsn]

Now this is going to sound very silly, and I know that that's not what happens when I usually post, but I assume the moulds are two part?

[Techno]

Yep...
Top and bottom, Nobby....and they have to be aligned very carefully......Otherwise you can get really horrid 'split lines'.

Cheers - Phil

[Roy]

Obviously this video isn't Pendraken, and Leon may be able to add comments on how/if Pendraken's set up and method differs, but this might prove of use to the topic?

[Leon]

That's pretty much the same as us, the only difference being that our machines are homemade so don't have the pressure lift on them.  We can adjust the spin speed, change the temp on the metal manually, and turn the machine off when we need to though!  If I was going to nitpick, I say that he wants to give the machine a few seconds to get up to speed before putting his metal in, as he's more likely to get miscasts putting the metal in straight away like that.

I liked the nice clean gauntlets as well, shows how much use they get...!  Trying to cast with those on is a nightmare, especially with our smaller figures, so most of use either our bare hands or a rubber glove instead.  It won't protect us from the heat, but it stops the little nicks and stabs you get while picking the figures out.

[d_Guy]

A very informative thread. Thanks for taking the time to run through the process, Leon. Also Steve's link and Roy's vid helped with understanding the process as well. I take comfort that Pendraken built their own spincaster (which obviously works). I assume there was a good deal of trail and error in the beginning or did you already have experience?

I think the furnace / spincaster setup in the vid is by Mayco Industries. If you have to ask the price you apparently can't afford it! 

[Leon]

I assume there was a good deal of trail and error in the beginning or did you already have experience?

Dave's an engineer/welder by trade, so built his first machine around 1990 I think.  The oldest one we've got in the unit here was his 3rd machine, selling the earlier two as each replacement was made.  Since then he's made a few more so we've got 3 machines we use here and a 4th he's just finishing off now.  We've also built a few for other companies over the years but we're not able to do that anymore.

[Roy]

Thanks Leon. Great to know.

How do the vehicles differ? I always wonder when I receive those 10mm tanks you make, how do you go on casting them - the moulds being just the same as for little men, but with a couple of great big vehicle recesses instead?

[Leon]

How do the vehicles differ? I always wonder when I receive those 10mm tanks you make, how do you go on casting them - the moulds being just the same as for little men, but with a couple of great big vehicle recesses instead?

Not much really, the master moulding is different with the low-temp mould but apart from that it's the same.  The moulds are about 1" thickness so you've got enough for the larger pieces to sit in and we break them down into hull / turret / tracks (sometimes) to get better and easier casting.