Today I have been mostly in the workshop.
We had a machine failure in the week which resulted in a mould being destroyed.
So I was extra careful.
Today we now have Roman communications. Horn, cornicen and messenger.
Cuban heads (destroyed mould lost the masters too).
Heads for praetorians. Forthcoming.
AK AA helmeted crew.
martin :)
That must be soul-destroying to have a mould wrecked like that, Martin.
Nice to see the Romans progressing nevertheless.
Simon
Thanks for the sympathy. This is why only I make master moulds in case two weeks work goes up in fumes.
martin :)
Blimey, Martin, if you're using centrifugal casters they're built like brick outhouses. Having one of those fail AND wreck your moulds must have been terrifying, let alone seeing all that effort wasted...
Neil
Thanks for the sympathy Neil.
The mould was destroyed by the vulcanising press.
Casting machines are a bit more delicate these days.
The old ones (Saunders, SRL et al)had a big belt underneath and claws. As you say, pretty indestructible.
Newer ones tend to be pneumatic/hydraulic which brings a whole host of new engineering potential weak spots. The best machines were those made by MCP (in my experience). Much better than the NICEMS etc. Sadly the diminishing market makes selling UK machines not worth the work. The SEBA ones are a bit OK though.
The metal figure casting era is drawing to a close.
martin :)
I suspect it will decline slower than expected. WoFun are actually working on producing their figures in metal as well, to give buyers a choice.