MOLDMAKING TUTORIAL CUT BLOCK METHOD: DUPLICATING A FIGURE

This tutorial demonstrates a basic cut block mold. The cut block mold method works instead of a 2 part mold making process because the ComposiMold has good transparency so you can cut the parting line where you want. This molding process is used to reproduce figurines like this football player, model parts such as for trains or crafts, or small ornamental pieces.

This video provides instructions for duplicating a basic figurine using a cut block mold method and ComposiMold Re-usable Mold Making Materials and ComposiCast resin.

This cut block molding process can be used for most shapes. Start with a touch of polymer clay, a figurine like this football player, and a cup. Instead of clay to hold the figure down, you can also hot glue the figure to the bottom of the cup.

Now, we spray a little Bubble Buster over your figure to reduce surface tension so bubbles are less likely to stick to your part.

The ComposiMold is melted in the microwave. For a small container such as this 10 oz. container, it took about 50 seconds to melt. You only need to melt what you need, but if you melt too much don’t worry. It will still be good for next time you need it. ComposiMold is used because it can be re-melted and re-used for dozens of molds using the same molding material.

Another nice thing about ComposiMold is that it is relatively transparent so you can see where the bubbles may stay. Like any molding material, bubbles can still become stuck in any crevice or undercut. Use a paper clip to pull the bubbles away from the potential problem areas such as the neck and under the arms.

The mold will cool to solidify. This mold will take about 30 minutes to cool in the freezer.

We pull away the cup that was used as your mold box. You can also use legos, wood, plastic, or even aluminum foil to make your own mold box.

Now to pull out the original figure and prepare the mold for casting, we need to cut where we want the parting lines to be.
We do this with a knife, scissors or an exacto knife.
We also need to cut between the legs to get the figure out. With this figure, you can see the parting lines from the original figure, so it was a matter of following the same lines.

We are now ready to make the casting. We use ComposiCast White resin, which is an epoxy resin that mixes 1:1 and works fantastically with the ComposiMold and ImPRESSive Putty.

After mixing, we use a syringe to push the resin into the areas where we know there will be difficulty. Because the arm is facing the way it is, we know the resin will not flow into it, so we push some resin in before we put the two halves of the mold together. Just in case, we also put some resin into the football hand and the persons head and helmet.

Now we close the mold up, and tape it shut. We then pour more resin into the base and through the legs. To make sure all the areas are filled, we squeezed the mold and bubbles rose up and out. The resin is then pulled into the mold cavity to fill where the bubbles w