mightypeesh Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi ladies and gents. One of my pet hates in this hobby is seeing otherwise gorgeous aircraft flying around without somebody sitting in the cockpit 'at the controls'. I know it is difficult to find suitable scale pilots, and normally sculpt my own from Super Sculpy, and then cast them up. On my current build however I found an old small dolls head that suited the style of plane, so I thought I would 'cheat' and use the head, that although perfect was a bit on the heavy side. Oh, and he had no body! I thought it would be of interest to you as to how I turn him into a light weight pilot, rather than a heavy lump of old plastic. Please note I am not advocating copying commercially available pilots, I just to show how a broken toy or charity shop find could be used to fill the office without a huge weight penalty. Ok, first off make a bit of a body for him. He will be known as Fred from here on in. I used Sculpy for this, but you could use plasticine if you have some. You can bake sculpy to harden it, but i left it soft for this exercise as it would have melted Freds head! Next stick him down to a bit of board, so he does not move or float off in the silicone, and build a wall around him. I used a glue gun just coz it was near by, though in the past I have just duct taped it up to hold it in place, and stop any leaks. The silicone I used is this from Mould Life, which costs about £18.00 for a kilo pack. It is a two part system, that picks up loads of detail, and is lovely to use, in a 10:1 ratio. It sounds expensive, but it does go a long way. I used 100gms for Fred. Use accurate scales, these are about £15 from flebay, and measure down to 0.01 of a gram. Mix until the two parts are completely mixed and it is a uniform colour, then pour into your mold box. It will then take several hours to cure at room temperature, so put to one side and go fly! Here we go. Fred in a block of silicone I cut down the back of Fred to release him. When you do release your object, cut in a zig-zaggy way so that the two halfs locate back together nicely. just to see the weight difference later. Tape up the mold, nice and tightly, leaving a small hole above the aperture. The stuff I use is household expanding foam. Very stick and messy stuff. Give it a really good shake, and then push the tube right into the hole and squirt until it expands out of the top. Now leave overnight, or longer if you can. Do not open too soon as it will collapse like a souffle if you take it out too soon! TaDah!!!! Fred the pilot. And he only weighs 1/2 a gram!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How good is that! here is another from my Tony Nijhuis spitfire blog I hope that was of use to you all. casting your own bits is so easy, and has lots of uses in this hobby, so give it a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Of use? That was great! Very useful and will no doubt occupy more of my flying time trying it out in the future! Thanks - Terry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josip Vrandecic -Mes Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi Mr. Mighty ,Thanks , because this is also modeling....so...laudably.... Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 You may need to start taking orders, brilliant well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclicscooby Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 That much detail from expanded foam... I wouldn't have believed it, if you hadn't just proved it..! Thats pretty amazing stuff, especially the weight saving.. 26 x lighter..!!! Thanks... Luv Chrisie.. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Excellent post, MP....cheers! Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delta Foxtrot Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Thanks for that MP! I may have a go at this as I find it hard to find pilots that are suitable for my models. can you paint straight onto the finished moulding or does it need some sort of priming? cheers dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plummet Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 How rigid and tough are the results? Good enough for an open cockpit model? If not, could you "prime" the mould with a coat of resin before you use the foam? Plummet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Goodwin Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 That was very useful and really simple thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Very Nice MP , I resorted to sculpting mine , and so not as detailed . And i painted them with acrylic paints , Steve , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightypeesh Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi Ladies and gents, glad to be of use. on the painting front I tend to give them a light spray of primer - if only because it makes it easier to see what you are doing. the surface is quite firm, so does not need a coat of anything, though I suppose the detail would be a bit crisper if you did run a bit of resin around first -at a slight weight penalty. The Spitfire pilot I sculpted is here **LINK** and starts about halfway down the page, I also showed the same method of casting, but on a slightly larger pilot. They are certainly fit for open cockpits, as I had one in this home brew plane here which I flew a lot for a couple of years, until the elevator came off mid flight and she re-kitted. The only part that is still around is the pilot that is totally unscathed from his experience!!!! On the painting front I use various - humbrol acrylics, artists acrylics and water colours occasionally, all seem to work fine and are pretty hard wearing. here he is cut down for the cockpit and painted. I hope that answers your queries, If you have any more please just ask. Cheers, Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightypeesh Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi Steve. They do the job in the cockpit, and look very happy about it! Cheers, Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Cheers MP , Heres another shot , Of the happy chaps , Cheers Steve , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Tayler Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 To re use the fix and fill foam ,clean the nozzel and valve with acetone/cellulose thinners, otherwise you will only get one pilot per tin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightypeesh Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi David. I found that if you bend the nozzel over and put a peg on it after use it saves the can as you seal it up. if it has been left a while you can simply use a skewer to clean the nozzel (it does not stick inside the tube and slides with a push) and if like yesterday it has been six months just unscrew the top and flick the dried lump off of the trigger bit with a screw driver. Good as new! Quick tip though, If you buy some from wickes I find their own brand is better to use, and make sure to ask for the nozzel at the check out as they dont leave them on the shelves with the cans because they get nicked as people think you cannot clean it to use again. Is that one of those mini-jet things - I think you have built a few, if it was your blog I read a short while ago. Good work Cheers, Simon Edited By mightypeesh on 10/05/2014 16:17:44 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPP Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi MP That is superb, will definitely be having a go, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveWMD Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Nice work. I love the idea of using the expanding foam filler. Is the silicon mould re-usable, so that you can produce multiple copies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightypeesh Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 Yep, you can use the mold again and again and again and.............. Cheers, Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Hi All I have just bought the two pilots for the TH Mosquito. They are very soft and rubbery. Do you think filling them up with expanding foam would be good so that they are stiffer for when I paint them? Would the foam deform the rubber though? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven S Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Try stuffing them with cotton batting instead, in case the foam deforms them, see if you like that. The stuff that comes in pill bottles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormB Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Thanks for sharing this MP : I'm amazed that the expanding foam picks up the detail. I'd never have thought to try it myself. The products on the Mouldlife site seem good value - looked at a few other sites and got put off by the prices! Must get some of this Super Sculpy too, got a full body 1/6 scale pilot to do for a Cub this year. Norm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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