What kind of casting resin?

In article , says...


I need a resin that is as hard as the bone from which the original scute is
made. It would also be nice if the resin cured to an ivory or bone-like
color.

Any recommendations?

Nothing takes more of a beating than boat hulls,
so I'd think the same technology would apply to
your application. There is nothing quick and simple
about building fiberglass products, but that seems
the answer to your query. Any resin you use without
the fiberglass - whether it be epoxy or polyester -
is going to be prone to fracture/shatter.

I plan to make resin replicas of this alligator scute, one of the bony
plates that form the ridges on a gator's back:

http://www.nopoliticalcalls.com/scute.jpg

and sew them together into scale armor similar to this:

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/squamata.html

The armor will be sold to Renaissance Festival and Society for Creative
Anachronism types. It will be worn in semi-real fights and will take quite a
beating from blunted swords and battle axes, maces, etc.

I need a resin that is as hard as the bone from which the original scute is
made. It would also be nice if the resin cured to an ivory or bone-like
color.

Any recommendations?

"Perry Winkle"
There is nothing quick and simple
about building fiberglass products, but that seems
the answer to your query. Any resin you use without
the fiberglass - whether it be epoxy or polyester -
is going to be prone to fracture/shatter.


Ewww. There'd better be another answer. We're talking about several hundred
scales per armor shirt.

In article , says...


Ewww. There'd better be another answer. We're talking about several hundred
scales per armor shirt.

Well, you give the impression this is a "do it yourself project."
If this is a commercial venture, then there are the extruded
plastics that could work, but then you're talking about
having someone both design and make the parts for you, and
that isn't going to come cheaply.

"Perry Winkle"
Well, you give the impression this is a "do it yourself project."

Most things are, the first time. :-)

If this is a commercial venture, then there are the extruded
plastics that could work, but then you're talking about
having someone both design and make the parts for you, and
that isn't going to come cheaply.

What's to design? The scute needs four holes in its corners and cast
replicas. The rest is a matter of connecting the scutes with split rings and
sewing the "mail" to a leather jerkin. There aren't enough potential buyers
to make a mass production deal out of this. It's a handcrafted item,
probably good for $800-$900 per shirt.

Now I'm contacting some alligator farmers to see about getting a variety of
scutes. It would look more natural than identical replicas of one scute, and
I could cast a bunch at once. I dread the thought of making several dozen
molds of this one scute, one after another. Can't mold & cast one, two,
four, etc., because I'd lose detail with each generation of casting.

Back to my original question: what kind of casting material is best suited
for this sort of thing?

www.nopoliticalcalls.com/scute.jpg

It measures 1-3/4" x 1-1/2" and 1/8" thick. The ridge in the middle rises
5/8" above the rest of the scute.

This will be an "open face" casting. The details of the back side do not
matter and the back will be flat.

Resistance to strong blows is critical. The castings will be pierced and
linked together to form a scale armor shirt worn by Renaissance Festival
types who bang on each other with blunt weapons.

Fine detail is also important. The scute features large indentations about
1/8-3/16" wide and 1/16" deep. Some are slightly undercut. It is also
textured with many very shallow, tiny pores that appear as black dots in
this image, which give it that natural boney look.

David Hakala wrote:

"Perry Winkle"

Well, you give the impression this is a "do it yourself project."


Most things are, the first time. :-)


If this is a commercial venture, then there are the extruded
plastics that could work, but then you're talking about
having someone both design and make the parts for you, and
that isn't going to come cheaply.


What's to design? The scute needs four holes in its corners and cast
replicas. The rest is a matter of connecting the scutes with split rings and
sewing the "mail" to a leather jerkin. There aren't enough potential buyers
to make a mass production deal out of this. It's a handcrafted item,
probably good for $800-$900 per shirt.

Now I'm contacting some alligator farmers to see about getting a variety of
scutes. It would look more natural than identical replicas of one scute, and
I could cast a bunch at once. I dread the thought of making several dozen
molds of this one scute, one after another. Can't mold & cast one, two,
four, etc., because I'd lose detail with each generation of casting.

Back to my original question: what kind of casting material is best suited
for this sort of thing?

www.nopoliticalcalls.com/scute.jpg

It measures 1-3/4" x 1-1/2" and 1/8" thick. The ridge in the middle rises
5/8" above the rest of the scute.

This will be an "open face" casting. The details of the back side do not
matter and the back will be flat.

Resistance to strong blows is critical. The castings will be pierced and
linked together to form a scale armor shirt worn by Renaissance Festival
types who bang on each other with blunt weapons.

Fine detail is also important. The scute features large indentations about
1/8-3/16" wide and 1/16" deep. Some are slightly undercut. It is also
textured with many very shallow, tiny pores that appear as black dots in
this image, which give it that natural boney look.

Sounds like you need to talk to a theatrical costumer - they do this sort
of thing with some regularity, and are familiar with a variety of
molding/casting materials that are both rigid and light-weight enough to wear.

You might want to scout around for a copy of The Prop Builder's Molding &
Casting Handbook by Thurston James (ISBN: 1558701281) - it's a classic, and
provides concise how-to directions for creating molds and casting in a wide
range of materials.

Off-hand, thermoplastics sound like a good bet for this project, but I'm
not an expert. Get the book.

--
Pat Kight

"Pat Kight"
Sounds like you need to talk to a theatrical costumer

Ah-HA! rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft - of course!

Thank you, Pat. :-)