Discussion
Here's an unusual one. Does anyone remember the 'Anatomy' kits - Visible Man and Visible Woman?
I'm working on four and just bought a second Visible Man. He's all there but for his eyes. These are mouldings about 5mm x 4mm x 3mm deep, each basically an eyeball with the ocular muscles roughly forming a cross shape when viewed from the front.
I have the eyes of Visible Man 1 to work from but these have been painted and cemented into the skull. Visible Woman 1's eyes may be the same (haven't looked yet), and Visible Woman 2 is still boxed and mint - these kits are rare and valuable now.
Could I 'cast' some new eyes? I'm thinking make a female mould, maybe from something flexible, then make a pair of eyes is some solid material that can give the necessary detail.
Also, the task of painting the veins and arteries on the inside of the clear plastic 'body' is proving tricky. I'm using acrylic paint and a long, 00 sable brush. The veins/arteries are moulded in and raised but they're very hard to paint neatly.
Any ideas on either challenge would be gratefully received. Thanks.
I'm working on four and just bought a second Visible Man. He's all there but for his eyes. These are mouldings about 5mm x 4mm x 3mm deep, each basically an eyeball with the ocular muscles roughly forming a cross shape when viewed from the front.
I have the eyes of Visible Man 1 to work from but these have been painted and cemented into the skull. Visible Woman 1's eyes may be the same (haven't looked yet), and Visible Woman 2 is still boxed and mint - these kits are rare and valuable now.
Could I 'cast' some new eyes? I'm thinking make a female mould, maybe from something flexible, then make a pair of eyes is some solid material that can give the necessary detail.
Also, the task of painting the veins and arteries on the inside of the clear plastic 'body' is proving tricky. I'm using acrylic paint and a long, 00 sable brush. The veins/arteries are moulded in and raised but they're very hard to paint neatly.
Any ideas on either challenge would be gratefully received. Thanks.
You could get a resin casting kit. You'd make a flexible silicone mould using the existing part, then cast the part in resin. It's really easy. I experimented on making a nose for a P-51 aircraft, from an existing part, and the detail is pretty much perfect.
Plenty of stuff online (including YouTube) about how to do it.
Plenty of stuff online (including YouTube) about how to do it.
Thank you.
Good idea, Voldemort, but I don't know a 3D printer owner!
dr gn, your recommendation has given me an idea. How about this for locally available and inexpensive...
1: Make two small tubular moulds about 10mm diameter and 6mm deep. A bit of copper water pipe would do.
2: Put a layer of plasticene or blu tak in the bottom.
3: Press in an original 'eye', face up.
4: Paint on a release agent...car wax, Vaseline, or Maskol?
5: Fill each tube with bog standard silicone sealer.
6: When the sealer's cured, invert the tube, peel out the plasticene and original 'eye'.
7: Put in release agent and use car filler to mould a new 'eye'...x2.
This would work as I only need the part that shows. The back face of the original is like a cone that goes in the skull's eye socket. A flat back would work perfectly well.
Hmmm
Good idea, Voldemort, but I don't know a 3D printer owner!
dr gn, your recommendation has given me an idea. How about this for locally available and inexpensive...
1: Make two small tubular moulds about 10mm diameter and 6mm deep. A bit of copper water pipe would do.
2: Put a layer of plasticene or blu tak in the bottom.
3: Press in an original 'eye', face up.
4: Paint on a release agent...car wax, Vaseline, or Maskol?
5: Fill each tube with bog standard silicone sealer.
6: When the sealer's cured, invert the tube, peel out the plasticene and original 'eye'.
7: Put in release agent and use car filler to mould a new 'eye'...x2.
This would work as I only need the part that shows. The back face of the original is like a cone that goes in the skull's eye socket. A flat back would work perfectly well.
Hmmm
The thing about silicone sealer is that it's quite viscous, so if there's small detail it may not conform to it. Then if you're using car body filler to make the part, again it's quite thick, so it may deform the silicone mould as you're putting it in. With a resin casting kit, both the silicone mould and the resin compounds are relatively low viscosity liquids, so both conform to small details on both the pattern, and subsequently the mould.
If you're just effectively wanting spheres, why not use painted ball bearings or glass beads?
If you're just effectively wanting spheres, why not use painted ball bearings or glass beads?
The project itself is strange. They're for this website www.dead-interesting.com
On the case looking for substitute orbit fillers!
On the case looking for substitute orbit fillers!
The project itself is strange. They're for this website www.dead-interesting.com
On the case looking for substitute orbit fillers!
On the case looking for substitute orbit fillers!
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