Oh dear!
I lost 9 masters of figures due to a mould fail.
The first one ever in 1500 moulds.
The problem is that a mould is made of layers.
If those layers are put together with too much soap in between them, the mould will blister and bubble when under heat and pressure.
This blistering causes the two mould halves not to mate.
I have no recourse as the masters cannot be bought. They are destroyed.
I was very annoyed (angry face with tears).
I am awaiting replacement moulds to see what may be done next.
I will post again about this.
On a side note I have milliputted my workbench to help it recover from a yeras ago gouging attack. Milliput is great.
martin (sad face)
I'm so sorry to hear that, Martin - it must be heart-breaking when so many hours' work gets destroyed.
Best of luck in doing it all again when you're up to it.
Simon
Thanks Simon
I was most upset.
New mould blanks on the way from the mould blank makers.
martin :)
I can imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth, Martin.
I did wonder why the Persians were late to the fight - now I know. All very sad.
Simon
Sorry to hear this Martin
A lot of work destroyed
Hope you can recover and start again.
Of interest, were these the Persian foot?
Do you have to start from scratch with the sculpts?
Stewart
Thanks for the commiserations.
It was Persian foot archers, Persian foot spears and Romans in chainmail.
The failed mould has broken the figures into small pieces.i.e the same numbre of parts as number of putty pieces used. Usually about 40.
I will take the basic major parts, glue together and start over.
martin :)
Huge sympathy, Martin - it's so frustrating to have a failure like this over which you have no control at all - bad enough when it's a production mould, to have it happen with a master mould is an order of magnitude worse. I've had such things happen a handful of times over the years, and sometimes it has just made me feel like giving it all up! :(
I haven't made a black mould for over fifteen years now, these days I use all silicone for both masters and production - it doesn't completely remove the risk (I've still had a silicone mould fail once or twice for different reasons) but it is so much gentler on the masters due to the much lower vulcanising temperature and pressure.
Chin Up and Push On!
Jon.
Thanks Jon. I feel a bit better for your consolation.
I think Silicone is a good idea.
martin :)
This must be very upsetting :-[
With the news that Irregular are going, and the state of the world, there doesn't seem to be much good news around at the moment.
When the Persians do get remade I shall buy an extra unit of each to compensate. This will make me feel better if no one else.
Quote from: martin goddard on February 10, 2026, 09:12:53 PMThanks Jon. I feel a bit better for your consolation.
I think Silicone is a good idea.
martin :)
Glad to be of a little help... if I can offer any advice about the silicone moulds, drop me a line, I'm happy to share info!
If nothing else, if you just use silicone discs for the master moulds then your masters should come out intact and undamaged.
Jon.
Thanks Jon and Sean
Good buddies are a great thing.
martin :)