How I cast one of these suckers
Well, since I wanted something sturdy, cheap, and hollow
I decided to go with polyester resin and fiberglass mat. I started
out by mixing up some resin with some talc and pigment, a nice thick
consistency like cold honey. I brushed this into the mold trying
to get an even thickness on all faces while keeping the lip of the mold
free from resin. This was allowed to gel and was backed with two
layers of fiberglass mat. At this point the mold was closed, with
some mat left "dry" sticking from one half of the mold into
the other to bond the two halves together when a resin/bondoglass mixture
was poured into the casting. This mixture was slushed around onto
all areas of the seam until it set. Another coat of this was slushed
in trying to get it onto the entire inside surface.
At this point the mold was allowed to set for maybe an
hour, then opened. The casting was carefully removed from the
mold. Some sections didn't have full coverage, so further mat
application was done, as well as bondo on the outside of the casting.
This was all allowed to set fully, then sanded and blended into
the contours of the battery. The bottom required further attention
to seal the pour hole. Fiberglass tape was used to cover it, then
bondo was smoothed onto the bottom in two thin passes completely sealing
the hole and leveling the bottom out nicely.
Further sanding, spot putty application and finishing
was done followed by a coat of primer. Paint was a mix of several
acrylic colors airbrushed on, then several coats of clear acrylic spray
finished the paint as well as the entire green lantern power battery.
Just a note, I may work on the illuminated version and
add some detail on that in the future, but no time for that right now,
sorry.
Proceed
to the casting gallery