im thinking of using the plans from vankman71 but i dont really understand what i need to do this. cause i really dont feel like keep making proton pack body out of wood. i would like to have a mother mold so i can keep reproducing them if need
.http://www.gbproject.com/plans/mctut/index.html
like I would like to have a list of what i need & cost? and if other people have done this cause this a skill that i would like to achieve.
Well if you have the master already built, it’s going to cost about $1000 in supplies to make the mold and get your first casting from it…
If you don’t have any experience in molding and casting may I suggest you get as much as you can doing smaller stuff, before diving into such a large and complicated mold where the potential to be out $1000 in supplies and have nothing to show for it is very real…
I fully agree.
Do your homework, get knowledge, read, and before trying on the real big thing try smaller.
Making moulds is an art that not everyone can master. its also a good way to waste money.
In the meanwhile, you might want to contact smooth-on, they have a fair number of informative videos on their moulding products, might give you ideas on where you stand.
Or you could go McGuyver and use regular silicone over the master, then a quick fiberglass shell over the silicone.
Then just brush on a few coats of fiberglass resin, add a bit of fiberglass cloth for body, and finally, pull it out when done.
I’d been wanting to make a fiberglass shell for years because the ones available around are kinda pricey.
the fiberglass material itself isn’t cheap, let alone the silicone to actually make a mould.
Selling the fiberglass shell at the price we find around here, with the material cost and time involved, isn’t overpriced compared to making one yourself…
If only it was as simple and easy as it sounds, it’s actually a lot harder and costly then it appears up front…
Decent Silicone is $100 - $170 a gallon, you need on average 2-4 gallons to get a decent thickness for a mold the size of the pack…
Fiberglass resin isn’t too expensive but give or take $30-$40 a gallon for cheapy resin, or about $100 for decent quality stuff, you will need at least 2 gallons…
Gel coat or brush up resin so you have a nice finished surface with good details, about $100 a gallon…
Fiberglass mat/fabric, enough to do a decent fiberglass backer mold and a few shells at lets say 5-7 layers each (about 1/8" properly laid fiberglass) $150 - $200
Total on the cheapy cutting corners side, about $500 realistically by the time you purchase all the other misc things $1000
I guess you could go all ghetto and try to cut every corner and get it done for less, but it’s still not going to be cheap and I personally wouldn’t suggest it…
And if you have never laid up fiberglass, lets just say it looks a whole lot easier then it really is when you actually get down to doing it… Believe it or not IMO the fiberglass shell offerings have been very reasonable for what they are…
In addition to what has been mentionned by Exoray, you need to add safety equipment. You shouldn’t touch fiberglass with bare hands, and should protect against the fumes of all chemicals involved..
There’s also material for actually laminating the fiberglass sheets. You can’t go gettho with those unless you want something very not practical. and maybe pretty heavy too. remember, its the fiberglass that makes the rigidity, but its the resin that is heavy… but you need the resin to hold fiberglass together, and something for the outter layer since the proton pack isn’t a nice plain surface like a boat, a car or a park bench.
keep in mind, without proper experience, or by trying to cut too many corners, you’ll scrap more then one packs. With luck you can bondo some mistakes, but its time consuming. If you end up making 3-4 non-usable packs before making a good one, you won’t be saving money…
You’re not being Mcguyver enough. Silicone sealant can be used and costs about 5 bucks a tube. I’ve used it for molds before and works fine.
TWO GALLONS? For a pack? Are you sure? That’s almost 20 pounds just in resin.
I built an entire Spartan Armor (halo2) out of fiberglass and used more glass than needed for a pack and didn’t even spend $200 for everything.
Well, you might consider it ghetto but if I had one of those nice fiberglass (X71?) shells and decided to be a jerk about it, I could make copies and happily sell them for $100 and still make a profit. 
But I’m nice, and I still wish to acquire one of his spiffy shells.
Fiberglass is a lot harder than it looks as Exoray has said,I’ve dabbled with it here and there,making a few sets of Clone Wars Obi Wan armor and a few Fett helmets,you really don’t want to cut corners with this stuff,you mix the MEK in wrong and your resin will kick too soon or not soon enough,I can’t tell you how many shoulder pauldrons we have messed up do to the resin either not kicking right and staying tacky or the resin kicked too soon and the part is way to thin to use.
Trust me,you need to listen to what Exoray says,he knows his shit,him and fifthrider have given me some very sound and good advice on fiberglassing and I took it straight to heart.
Non-permissioned recasting is for douchebags
Good luck making a profit on selling one for $100. I guess 1/2 a layer of fiberglass can suffice, for you at least. Personally I prefer quality items that will last longer than 2 days out of the mold. Which if you’re turning a profit on a $100 fiberglass shell then there’s absolutely no chance there’s anything *quality *about it.
Indeed,recasting is for doucebags.
And you REALLY think he would consider selling you one after saying that?
Thanks CPU for your input…
Sorry but I’m not that ghetto… $60 a gallon for ghetto caulk silicone, sorry I’ll take the professional route…
Mother mold and one shell, yep about 2 gallons to accomplish this… Even two gallons on hand to get a good shell…
My finished and trimmed shells weight in at about 7lbs, so do the math that is one gallon of resins there after trimming and waste…
Nice comment from a long time veteran of this community…
Nice thread. If I ever do parts runs, I know who not to sell to.
I think you guys are totally missing the point.
Hey all,
I’m new to this whole pack building thing but I have done fiberglass before. Has anyone tried using Hydrocal or Ultracal for their molds? The cost of those materials is significantly less and since your average pack doesn’t have many ( if any at all) fine details, you maybe able to get away with it. Using so much silicone (or silicone at all) just seams impractical in this application. I would cover the crap out of your mold with poly vinyl alcohol or another type of mold release because fiberglass resin tends to be unforgiving on hydrocal sometimes pulling large chunks out if not properly coated. But that’s fixable with bondo.
Also is it really necessary to use more than one layer of fiberglass on these? They’re not a boat hull or meant to be bullet proof. Seems like you could get away with one layer and if you still feel insecure add some wooden gussets in key stress locations inside the pack. Like I said I’m new so be nice but just trying to offer cost effective solutions..
huh… bullet proof packs…
so, who wants to put theirs to the test?
Amazing, only throwingChicken got the point of my post…
Did the rest of you even read it all before you started foaming at the mouth and hit the reply button? Wow.
First, many of you don’t even know me or how involved I’ve been in the GB prop projects.
Second, many of you also kinda suck at reading and comprehension. LOL
Well, you made a snide/suspicious/unnecessary comment about a topic that is frowned upon by every single person who posts here regularly. Half joking or not, It really doesn’t matter what point you wanted to reinforce, it sounded pretty absurd. It would be the equivalent of saying “yeh…i could totally just walk into that bank and rob it, but i wont. because I’m just that nice a guy. By the way, can I still have the keys to the safe?”
The point that YOU missed, i believe, is that there are long time veterans who are trying to get across that “you get what you pay for”. Sure, you can go as cheap as you want, cross your fingers, still end end paying over half of what premium product would cost; end up with utter crap as a result.
I’m also sure that your “cost effective” alternatives would have been far more welcome and received, had you not laid out your spiel in such a condescending matter, that Howard Stern himself would frown. I’m a fan of cutting costs, as I don’t have a lot of cash to drop on projects. But when I throw my ideas out there, I don’t denounce the advice of people who were kind enough to give it in the first place.
Your reading comprehension might be top notch, but your social skills lack just about everything.
Getting back on topic, is there a technical name for Fibreglass “Mud”? I haven’t been able to find it on any supplier websites in Australia. Is it just a type of resin, or is it like Bondo?
Reading Sean’s tutorial, it looks like the purpose of using “mud” is to fill in the fins and other details of the mold, is that right?