Wiener birth

This post is dedicated to the first proof cast of my Untitled Man in a Hot Dog Bun #2.  I will say I was a little worried.  Despite having cast silicone in a urethane mold hundreds of times, the young women at Reynolds Advanced Materials told me the two were not compatible.

I made a small batch of silicone (small batches are dangerous because there is a narrow margin of error of about 4%) and I threw it in the mold.  I realized that the silicone didn't flow into all the nooks and crannies of the face, panicking, I opened the mold (also dangerous for bubbles and such) and crammed the silicone into all the details.  Then I put it to rest and hoped for the best.  This stuff is supposed to set in about 80mins, however, the thin film of runoff on the outside of the mold just wouldn't set up! This was no good.  I let it sit for several days.  I even put it in the oven for a little while hoping for the best.  Still the thin film on the outside wouldn't set up.

I used some rubbing alcohol to clean the outside of the mold, held my breath and cracked it open....  To my surprise the cast was in fine condition (perhaps a little sticky).  I trimmed him, cleaned him and popped him in the oven for about a half hour.

My 2-year-old daughter woke up while I was doing this so I told her I had a surprise.  I showed him to her (we aren't shy in our house) and she thought he was silly and said, "Put some clothes on, guy."  When I put her back down she said, "Thank you for the surprise, daddy."

So, this proof was a definite learning experience.  I need to get a pressure pot, start measuring my silicone by weight and I need to work out a way to get more consistent pigmenting, but otherwise, I'm pretty pleased.  Let me know your thoughts!

Next week, more masks.

Carbonite

flashing

Cross your fingers....

Hope for the best.

Flashing

Proof

Squishy

Headache