Sonnenschein

Painting...

It does.

Me neither, until this morning! I tried several methods to cast the knuckle indentions. None worked really satisfyingly. So I took the sanding drum and ... voila! Instant knuckles. This may explain why they varied (or didn't exist on some) with the originals

It usually takes a little more to make me happy, but the existence of a dremel just solved the last "latex hand guard myst ery" I've been struggeling for months

Thanks, Dennis! Believe it or not, this just made my day!

Just wondering, if they had the help of this handy tool back then.

Okay, I cast up another one with the refined knuckles. Although I'm doing this for almost 2 years now, it is still a learning experience! I'll post pics tomorow.

LOL... I like the "hero upgrade kit"

I know Dan, I still remember our conversations I wrote your name on the list in the FS thread for the hero guards several months ago I'll cast some more and let you all know (In fact, you're #2 on this list already) I was just teasing you

Thanks! Not bad for the first attempt, isn't it? Going to cast the next one soon; hopfully it will be even better. Paul, PM replied!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfOpgTN2ZqY Thanks Rick!

Well, I couldn't wait for it. I baked them in the oven over night (hello electrycity bill!) and took them out. I'm quite happy with, but I'm going to tweak the indentions a little. Anyway, they'll soon be for sale (once cured), fully painted and weathered. If anyone wants to call first "dibs" feel free to do so! Non-latex guards for comparison.

If you like them and they fit... they're perfect for you.

Did you paint them?!? They look silver in the 2nd and 3rd pic. The first one is okay They're acceptable. But the be "über"-accurate, they should have textured "finger nails"

Yeah, lots of TLC

Not out of latex No, seriously, I use a mix of some silicones and other ingredients. That's why the raw material are quite pricy.

I know Stevie

hm... I understand your thinking, Dan. You'll get some kind of return edge with the shrinking of the latex, as it "sinks in" while shrinking. The alternate version is quite thin (about 5mm),so it follows the contour of the hand easily, the standard, however, is about 15 mm at its thickest point. and can't figure out a way to make the indentions. But your input is highly appreciated! Maybe I'll try one with brushing, but I think you'll need about 15-20 passes to achieve the disired thickness. And once the latex loses contact to the plaster, the curing takes a lot longer. The minerals in the plaster (Ca+ and Mg2+) are needed to start the curing process and the liquid (ammonia) has to be "sucked up" by thev plaster

Of course, Paul! Thanks for your input while I made the master tools! Oh Stevie, I know you're pure, darling! Isn't it ironic that the purists want to have their gear dirty and abused?

Nope, not possible. Latex shrinks about 7%, I need to make a complete new master mold for the non-latex ones. Let me know how the paste works!

We'll see Thanks for the kind words. The non-latex don't take that long (only a couple of hours), and have many advantages. These latex ones will be for the purists, with all the paint cracks, chips etc.

depends on the temperature. usually 3-5 days to be taken out of the mold, 7-12 day until they're fully cured. Quite a long time...

Correct aswell! These are the master tools for the indentions: