Gates & fences...

[Ithoriel]

Wulf, you may know of them already but if not, if you get through to Edinburgh at any point check out Wonderland on Lothian Road (or order stuff up on-line) for plastic, metal, balsa, model railways, plastic kits, r/c aircraft, 54mm scale fairy princesses and BB weaponry! :-)

[Wulf]

Wow, that brings back memories... is Wonderland still there? Sadly I'm never over that way (well, not that sadly, Embra is OK for the tourists, but it's a pain in the neck to actually get anywhere...

[Wulf]

You can buy anything on eBay - including a dirt cheap bulk job lot of N Gauge fences, on the way to me now! Hopefully some gates in amongst them.

[chalkie]

These are sime od the walls ive been making. Not to bad.

[Techno]

A lot better than "Not too bad", Chalkie.
They look dead spiffy !!
Cheers - Phil.

[chalkie]

Thanks Techno, I've bee talkingto Leon about moulding buildings , walls and the like, I want to go self employed again but Iam not sure if I could mould off these ? What do you recon ?

Paul .

[Wulf]

I tried replying to this, must have got lost or stuck on the end of another thread...

I now have about 10' of teeny little fences - all for a fiver! Only 3 farm gates & 3 garden gates though, but on reflection I may just leave gaps - if there's a gate, the first thing anyone will want to do is drive a tank over them...

Still to decide what to do about walls...

[Techno]

Thanks Techno, I've bee talkingto Leon about moulding buildings , walls and the like, I want to go self employed again but Iam not sure if I could mould off these ? What do you recon ?
Paul .

Hi Paul....
I think it would depend on whether they'd be intended to be 'cast' in metal or resin.
I'm not exactly sure what you can get away with as regards 'undercuts' in resin.....Which is what I'm presuming would be the idea.
If Craig (Tiny Terrain) jumps in.....He'd give you a much better answer, I'm sure.

I've done a week's 'crash course' in moulding and casting in metal.....But resin casting is really something I know next to nothing about.
if you can get along to one of the shows that Pendraken goes to, I reckon your best bet is to show Leon the actual items and be guided by him.
If Martin (Mart678) pops round soon...... I'll pick his brains too !!

Cheers - Phil.

[chalkie]

Ok mate cheers, I don't think this particular wall would mould because shaggy bits but what do I know...lolsee I make terrain but don't think people would buy that to be honest.

Paul.

[Wulf]

Are those based on tongue depressors? I recognise the style. I'd have considered buying resin copies of those, some of the ones I've seen on sale looked less appealing!

[chalkie]

What do you mean " tongue depressors " Woff, sorry for being thick ...lol

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Big wooden lollipop sticks!

[chalkie]

I seeee, no they are on old floor tiles, not ceramic though. Quite tough. 

[Leon]

You'd struggle to mould those, as the gaps underneath the rocks, and around the stacked ones, would cause a problem.  Making the mould itself, you'd get a lot of air trapped under there, so you'd need to either vacuum it or use vibration to try and get the bubbles out.  Then you'd get similar problems when casting as well, with air pockets dotted about.  You'd also be very likely to tear the rubber mould, as there would be little strips of rubber separating all those rocks, and they'd probably come away within a few casts.

Making walls like these for resin casting, you need as 'complete' a surface as possible, if that makes sense?  So a smaller grade of stones, and not too much depth to the wall face, so that there aren't any little gaps or holes along it.  You do sacrifice a little in the detail, but it makes for much easier moulding and casting, and means your moulds will last a lot longer.

[chalkie]

I thought these would cause a problem but wasn't sure, thanks Leon.