Composite base suggestions please

[Morag Jones]

Duck decoys

I need to make a life size blank for a project and I want to try some form of composite.
Has anyone got any suggestions for something I could try building up rather than carving away?

Just an experiment for a friend.
Thanks.

 

[Bingy man]

Not sure how big your blank needs to be but you could try taping up a large -strong box and filling it with expanding foam -let it cure and you can easily cut or shape it to your requirements

 

[Dee J]

Life size blank? Core mode out of any old stuff then build up with plasticine, clay, paper clay, air during clay, plaster or similar...

 

[Morag Jones]

I was hoping to find something of a plastic nature I could use as a base for another coating. If the plan works, I would like to take a mould of it and replicate half a dozen or so, no more. Yes life size, the boys are about 10" long.
Expanding foam won't let me do enough detail, but a trip to a hobby superstore might reveal something...

What gets added to resin casts to make them feel like stone?

 

[Dee J]

+1 on hobby stores. But clay, plasticine, even paraffin wax can be worked to fine detail and act as a master for mold - making in latex or silicone.

 

[frankendoodle65]

What gets added to resin casts to make them feel like stone?

There's all sorts of additives you can use for different finishes in resin, but often it's exactly that - ground up stone dust. A good art supplies shop will sell varying grades of marble dust but you can use all sorts - I spoke to an artist once who used ground up olive stones!
You'd have to experiment with the ratio of resin to filler and technique used to get a decent cast, just bear in mind some resins can discolour with age so if you use a white marble dust it might gradually turn yellow if you don't use the right sort of resin.

I'm only scratching the surface here, to be honest I played with a bit of resin at university but we're going back ten years and it's not something I ever did a lot of but the information's out there if you want to do the research - hopefully I've given you a few ideas anyway!

 

[Morag Jones]

Thanks that’s great, I will do some experiments!