In my spare time... (4 Viewers)

[mikemiller1955]

Wayne...

these were made with mold #75...

 

[villagehorse]

That church ruin looks interesting, especially when nicely painted. Who would have thought at your age Mike you would be a brick labourer. Just shows you even in latter years you can still be active, no wonder our Government is pushing everyone to work until 70.^&grin, Robin,

 

[waynepoo]

Wayne...

honestly...I never once used a measuring ratio and I have cast 1,000's of bricks...^&grin...for real...

almost any consistency will work...but I try to make something like a thin pancake batter...

the thicker it is...the quicker it dries...

the thicker it is...the harder it dries too...

but if it's too thick...you may see air bubbles that couldn't escape...they really look bad too...

Bruce Hirst has a method to eliminate trapped bubbles with an elaborate vibrating table set up...you really don't need that...

before I pour the mold...I spritz it with a water solution and then shake off the excess water...the water solution has a squirt of dishawasher rinse agent in it...you know...the blue stuff...over here it's called "rinse aid"...and it's supposed to help the batter seep into all the cracks...after I pour the mold...I tap if pretty hard with my putty knife which allows the bubbles to rise to the surface and escape...

I use a 12oz plastic cup...a large squirt bottle of water and a wooden tongue depressor to mix it...

some molds are deeper than others and require more batter...but you will get the hang of it after a couple of batches...the tile roof mold is very thin and uses very little Hydrostone...

I try not to waste any...so if I pour a mold and have 1-2 ounces left over...I get another mold and pour some select spots in that mold of bricks that I use frequently...

I do mine over a piece of newspaper...it makes a mess...after 2-3 casts...you will change the newspaper...

it usually takes 15-20 minutes to cure...but a fan on it speeds that up...

I pour my mold...let it sit for 2-3 minutes...the water comes to the top as the Hydrostone settles...then I scrape off the excess...

then wait 15 minutes to check it to make sure it's hard before taking out...

Wayne...I have seen the quality of your work...you're an accomplished modeler...this will be easy for you...you will be in expert after 6 casts...you will be amazed how your pile of bricks grows so quickly...

one last tip...

get some quality plastic baggies...make sure to label them with the molds #...with a marker...

ex: #70...#250...etc...

put all finished pieces of each finished cast into to that bag so you can find them easily when you want them...once they get mixed up...it's difficult to sort them out...

you will thank me for that tip later...^&grin

dying to see your work...they are addictive...good luck...

my favorite mold right now is #75...the "ruined fieldstone mold"...it works so good for exposed damaged brick...look at some of the "collapsed roof buildings I did...that is a nice mold...

Brilliant Mike, kinda figured out already much of what you say here and good to hear that the mix needs not to be too precise as I tend to go by feel and look much like your good self. I have five moulds in the mail and if all goes well I intend to get a few more so lets see the results and onwards we go. Many thanks mate.
Cheers,
Wayne.

 

[waynepoo]

That church ruin looks interesting, especially when nicely painted. Who would have thought at your age Mike you would be a brick labourer. Just shows you even in latter years you can still be active, no wonder our Government is pushing everyone to work until 70.^&grin, Robin,

Ah Robin, the trick (if there is one) is not in the 'building of' but in the 'painting of' and Mike has aced that, it is something that I hope to still master ........:wink2:
Wayne.

 

[mikemiller1955]

Brilliant Mike, kinda figured out already much of what you say here and good to hear that the mix needs not to be too precise as I tend to go by feel and look much like your good self. I have five moulds in the mail and if all goes well I intend to get a few more so lets see the results and onwards we go. Many thanks mate.
Cheers,
Wayne.

Wayne...

just curious...what molds did you decide on?

do you have anything specific in mind that you want to create...

I got a feeling you're gonna be very good at this...^&grin...

 

[waynepoo]

Wayne...

just curious...what molds did you decide on?

do you have anything specific in mind that you want to create...

I got a feeling you're gonna be very good at this...^&grin...

The first five are these........................





Wayne.

 

[waynepoo]

Then if all goes well I'll get this also.......Will be mainly Great War things for our dios.





Wayne.

 

[mikemiller1955]

The first five are these........................





Wayne.

#701...I don't own...is a good mold...you will get a lot of use out of it...it's pretty good for chimneys and any fieldstone structure...

#265...I don't own...but it will make a good floor that is pretty timeless for any era...I have the fieldstone and Egyptian floor molds...

#230...I have...is a great mold...it make a very nice roof...uses very little hydrostone as it is so thin...very nicely detailed...

#200...I have...is good for building straight wall sections...the trouble is that you have to cut off the staggered bricks on one side when you come to corners...they are brittle and sometimes chip...ruining the whole cast...I use a wheel grinder and have pretty good success...but I rarely use that mold...you can build a structure very fast with those...they are pretty big...

#70...I have...it is very similar to #701...except it has arches for a doorway...again...good for chimneys and any fieldstone structure...I bet I have 100 skulls in a baggie...hahaha...

 

[mikemiller1955]

Then if all goes well I'll get this also.......Will be mainly Great War things for our dios.





Wayne.

#40...I have...it's a good basic block...you will find lots of uses for it...

#75...I have...my favorite mold...it makes fantastic crumbling brick areas...you will love this mold...

#245...I don't have...I may buy it...I do own the Spanish tile and wood shingle molds...

#240...I have...it makes a very nice wood shingle roof...you will enjoy it...

#250...I don't have...but on Bruce's "resource page"...he has suppliers that will sell you all the pieces to build this piece...these guys cast the mold the appropriate amount of times to build the piece...then put them in a baggie and ship them to you...pretty cheaply too...

I bought the pre-cast bricks and made mine...it's a pretty good scale...this is a JJD piece standing next to it...I think you could make a really nice finished brick chimney for a house with this mold...I may buy it...it was a really quick fun build...

I completely deviated from his plan to build it...as all his plans are for wargamers...you can design the height or width to whatever you want...

you're very creative...I'm sure you will come up with a good plan...

 

[waynepoo]

Thanks Mike,
I am all geared up ready to start casting, I have the Hydrostone, rinse aid and all the bibs and bobs I need and I am now just waiting for the moulds to arrive. I will start a thread I think and post progress of my successes and I am sure failures as well.
Again many thanks for all your advice.
Cheers.
Wayne.

 

[mikemiller1955]

Wayne...

I do own #260...which is very similar to #265...

all of the exposed brick in these pics are from this mold...

in the foam building...I carve out (hollow out) a square to glue one of the tiles in...then plaster around it...it's easy...fast...and makes a very nice scaled exposed brick in spots where you want it...

 

[mikemiller1955]

Thanks Mike,
I am all geared up ready to start casting, I have the Hydrostone, rinse aid and all the bibs and bobs I need and I am now just waiting for the moulds to arrive. I will start a thread I think and post progress of my successes and I am sure failures as well.
Again many thanks for all your advice.
Cheers.
Wayne.

failures...what's a failure...hahaha...

I have seen your work...

you will have a ton of fun making anything you want...

and VERY CHEAPLY too!

I want to see what you do and see if I can steal any tricks from you...^&grin

 

[waynepoo]

We want some blasted ruins for our next Great War dios at the museum and these moulds will do the trick judging from what you have done. I look forward to having some fun with them, now to get some time off work :wink2:{sm2}
Wayne.

 

[Fraxinus]

Add me to the "Lets Be Like Mike" List. Trying my luck with 240 and 250 !!!

 

[mikemiller1955]

We want some blasted ruins for our next Great War dios at the museum and these moulds will do the trick judging from what you have done. I look forward to having some fun with them, now to get some time off work :wink2:{sm2}
Wayne.

Wayne...these should work well for you...good luck...

Add me to the "Lets Be Like Mike" List. Trying my luck with 240 and 250 !!!

Ken...these will make you a nice shingled roof for your fort and some nice forges and chimneys...

 

[mikemiller1955]

a friend of mine saw this diorama at KingsX and asked me to make one similar for him...

not sure who made it...maybe Gordon or an employee of KingsX...

maybe andy would know...

he changed the buildings some...and asked me to add a courtyard...

 

[mikemiller1955]

this is what I made for him...
I'm still going to add a small well in the courtyard...
and will wait to flock the groundwork when he picks it up...
I just added some of my palm trees and shrubs for these pics...

 

[Artillery_crazy]

Dear Mike,

Fantastic.....no other words for it!!!! I have put one together myself but not as close as yours in detials....It has a well also....Unfortunately I do not have the spare walls and corner towers necessary to provide it a perfect perimeter enclosure with adequate protection for flanking fire.....Pitty K&C is missing on all this opportunity to give us the means of building forts ourselves.....Attaching a few pics so that you can have a flavour of a fort like yours once the tenants move in....

this is what I made for him...
I'm still going to add a small well in the courtyard...
and will wait to flock the groundwork when he picks it up...
I just added some of my palm trees and shrubs for these pics...

 

[villagehorse]

I like the way you blended the ramp into the base, very neat. Stealing some ideas from you Mike now. :wink2:, Robin.

 

[waynepoo]

Wayne...

I do own #260...which is very similar to #265...

all of the exposed brick in these pics are from this mold...

in the foam building...I carve out (hollow out) a square to glue one of the tiles in...then plaster around it...it's easy...fast...and makes a very nice scaled exposed brick in spots where you want it...

Mike,
May I ask what you use to 'plaster around it'.............
Wayne.