Spin casting miniatures in metal
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- Опубликовано: 4 фев 2025
- It's been a long journey, but things are moving along finally! Just a short video about casting figures in white metal. No doubt there will be loads of stuff for me to learn, but I'm looking forward to getting our hands on some of our own figures and bringing them to market soon!
Shoot bro! I worked for 20 long years doing molds and casting . You bring me good memories!!
That was a really fascinating look at the process Viv.
Cool!
You must be in heaven. I would love to get a setup like this! I hope things fall into place for you and you get something going soon.
I do this as my job. I hope you've refined things about your process; Less over pouring, be more careful about locking the top plate before you put it down on the mold (Causes mold shift). I find it interesting that you are using gas to heat the metal to the point of liquidius instead of electricity. It should be cheaper with electric, no? You should also hold the ladle with two hands (safety!) and turn slightly to the side when you pour. It makes it easier to avoid any small splashes just in case they occur. You keep your work area nice and clean at least, I appreciate that! Be careful not to knock the talc off the molds as soon as you put it on. No talc can mean a bad pour. Good quality video.
+David McLeod Thanks for the feedback David. The gas was easier as we already had existing gas lines connected in that space ... electricity would be cheaper and if we start doing more serious/full time casting work I might look at switching things over. I'm learning by trial and error so yes ... I'm learning more each time I make something and pour various molds, being careful with the locking plate (and making sure I have it the right way round!!) Talcing is still an issue ... I need to get a better talc bag, though I've taken to gently brushing the surface of the mold and leaving it whilst I do other things before spinning it. Thanks for watching!
Talc will not get better by sitting. The best talc bag is a lightly used (and washed!) sports sock in my experience. Cheese cloth is some people's preference. I like to let the first spin of a mold sit for an extra 20-30 seconds just to help warm it up to open up the gates and vents completely. When you tap the mold sides together I find it helps to either hold them really close or close the mold up as the newly loose talc can then coat the surfaces properly. Tapping then opening the mold up will only serve to spread the talc into the air where it can't do any good. Keep experimenting!
Nicely done! I appreciate your organization and shop set-up!
very sweet setup - cool to watch. Reminds me of stuff we did in high school metal's class. :)
So jealous! Looks like a ton of fun, Viv. I hope you'll keep posting these videos so we can see your techniques and results continue to evolve.
Have fun!
Once I get some of our own figures from the sculptors, you'll see quite a lot of the process
Thanks for the great video Viv. I'm glad to see things are going good in our new shop. Good luck on the figure and game endeavours.
GO VIV! GO! That is an awesome set up mate. I love that conquest machine. Looks like you have come along well and fast.
I dont know about fast Brian .. I've had this equipment for going on close to six months! Things are moving forward though, its very exciting and I'm looking forward to a great future for KoD!
RubbishInRubbishOut Hey, you got a lot going on, but it looks like you have adapted to the process well. I hope you do well because they need more guys like you in that part of the world.
good luck and all the best for both ladies!
That is just awesome! Best of luck in your endeavors!
Amazing stuff Viv. Wow, they are coming out crisp. Can't wait to see where you are heading!
Thanks Myth ... really happy with this mold, previous attempts where not so great but I spent a bit more time on the preparation of this one ... shame I cant really use it, the figures come out perfectly!
OH man that is AWESOME!!!!! looks like you got the hang of it, really looking forward to seeing what sort of minis you come up with :)
Oh sweet man, best of luck on this kick ass project.
I had a friend nick named Dwarf and yup I named him that (long story) Anyways he worked for kesser company I believe was the name and he went down to reaper in texas and learned how to make molds and cutting vents excetra. I guess there is a real art to pouring to get good figs. I went there one day and watched. It was a fun day! You brought me back about 10 years Bro Thanks for the good times Buddy!!!
There is a great set of videos on RUclips about Reaper and their casting facility ... must be nuts to work there, 12 hour days constantly spinning molds!!
That is some CRAZY HOT work! Never let your sweat fall in the liquid metal! I think Dwarf still has some scares from that. I'm excited to think of what you might come up with game and figure wise. I'm glad you got this, you have given SO MUCH to the hobby I hope it can give a TON more back to you!!!
I am just starting to spin casting any advice
Thanks for sharing the vid. I had understood the spin casting process, but had never seen it before, that was kind of cool. I hope this project works out, and can't wait to see what all you do with it.
Bloody awesome Viv. You truly do have ALL the best toys. Love the Spin caster, love the idea of KoD own range and love the idea of you bringing a game(s).
Seems that your knowledge base on how to use the machine is coming along nicely as well mate.
very cool, I've done a lot of jewelry lost wax stuff for personal stuff a while back, I love miniatures and this was a great little show of how spin cast works. thanks.
Great workshop you got there Viv. Its been a long journey to see everything come together and I for sure do admire your little dreamfactory at the other side of the world. Really looking forward for thing to come :)
Still a long way to go, and I'm sure there will be loads of bumps along the way, buts its a journey and will be a wonderful one!
Great video. I hope it goes well for you Viv. Your knowledge for minis is extensive, so I'd imagine the end product you come up with will be quite high on the quality range.
Looks like you got it down buddy. Thats pretty much how we do it just on a larger scale. Best of Luck !
I think it is great that you are realizing the dream! Good luck with it all ..
Thanks Ringo!
I think I get it now. I was reading something that briefly mentioned "spin casting", and I wasn't clear on what that was. From this video, I think it's pretty clear. It's a solid fill, and the purpose of the spinning is to increase the "gravity" to reduce bubbles or voids. Thanks for the video!
this is bloody epic man, hope it works out for you !
I know you didn't ask but, you may consider fluxing your pot as that slag is loaded with tin crystals...I use powdered sal ammoniac but it is very corrosive to steel.... Also, I would leave that slag in place until just before you take a ladle and the slag will help to keep the top crystals from becoming oxidized..I've been making molds and casting for around 15 years now...If you are getting incomplete casting you could try decreasing your clamping pressure and that may open up your vents and allow the part to fully fill.. Oh, btw, beautiful set-up you have....I'm jealous...
Great vid, was really surprised by how well the minis came out.
Thanks for posting. Great video.... Great education of process.
Great to see you are finally getting to use the spin castor for you're own mini's. hope the kickstarter goes well mate.
Thanks very much, it gets used from time to time but nowhere near enough ... moving forward though we will be fixing that!
That's a fantastic set up, I look forward to seeing all your future efforts (and a game with custom mini's?!?! very interesting!)
I have a concept for a game in mind, but there is LOTS of work to get sorted before much of anything happens
Happy to see your seeds of change growing. Hope all goes well. :-)
Always wanted to see this done thanks for posting :)
Very cool video, thanks for sharing with us!
That is amazing viv. Look forward to seeing more your stuff.
Peace
thank you. i am just a lay person who wanted to understand spin casting and you helped me nail it :)
we are manufacture spin casting rubber in india(delhi)
my contact No.+9119873384481,9560128828
Thanks for the insight. Keep up the good work!!!!
I find this process fascinating just shit done by hand is amazing!
It's pretty amazing watching the molten metal go in .. and less then a minute later you have a handful of miniatures!
Good luck with this one sir. I'm incredibly impressed by the skill and talent of some of the figure artists, and I can only hope you can line up a few talented ones, and that you have every success.
You make it look easy! Thanks for sharing!
centrifugal casting of lead into rubber mold.
nice presentation.
Wow! I hope this goes well for you, Viv! Never would've guessed that's how mini's were made. So many other aftermarket possibilities too in scale model circles.
I'd love to do something for the scale model market as well ... though not being my main area of understanding I'd need to collaborate with people.
Fantastic Viv.
Wow. Nice setup!
good stuff viv good to see you in action :)
Red hell! Vivaroo, mate - havent seen anything from you in a bit!
Keep rubbishing 🤙😃
Viv, exciting times mate~
Sure are!
Awesome Viv! :D
Hola que buen trabajo estoy entrando a este mundo de la fundición de metales y me gusta mucho
Fascinating. I’m most interested in how one would create the master mold though, that seems like the most tricky part
Verry good job keep us on
This gets me so fired up dude. What I'm sending you is for fun. I think some of it will really test your moldmaking skills. There's a lot to it! Can't wait to discuss future sculpts though, that's what matters. This is bad ass! Looks like some really nice equipment.
Good times ahead man!
Super, duper, ultra, omega awesome!
impressive to see this progress! thank you
Cool!
Suerte amigo lo estas haciendo muy bien
Viv you lucky SOB good luck with everything Brother..
I'm an amature miniature sculptor. This was great to see the production side of the process! You had mentioned wanting to acquire original sculpted master figures for future reproduction: Do you still need sculptors and original green epoxy masters figures? I'd be interested in sending you samples of my work.
Hi Matt - thanks for watching and your comment ... feel free to contact us via the Knights of Dice website. Cheers, Viv
Hey man, Great video! I have a few sculpts kicking around i have no use for, if you want them for your range i'd happily sell them off!
I'd certainly be keen to have a look, send me an email to viv@knightsofdice.com Thanks for watching
Hey dude, how you did the first stamping on the mold rubber? i mean the master that you used to make that shape on the mould?
That is just very cool, something I would love to give ago one day in the future. Best of luck with designing your minis mate :D wish you all the best ;) So0o00 when is the kick Starter lol
What material is that mold made out of? Is that a form of silicone?
what field is this, this looks very interesting.
Great stuff mate! I have learnt how to cast things up from your videos, and I am progressing my way along from plaster to resin and hopefully to metal!
A few questions -
1) What is used for the masters in the rubber mold? Metal miniatures or some other material? If it is metal, is it something other than lead or white metal, which might melt too quickly in the mold, giving a poor cast for the figure?
2) Where did you source your metal ingots from? I have a supplier of casting materials here in Perth, but their metals are more for jewelery.
Cheers mate, love your work!
Masters can be almost any compound ... that can withstand 160C temperature and ~5000 PSI. Most two-part epoxy's such as 'green stuff' and other oven fired clays. Metal, sure ... as long as its melting point is above ~160C, sometimes metal figures are cast using a low metal point metal (~140C or less) and therefore these figures will melt if you try to use them as masters. Though depending on the silicon (or rubber) you use for your spin molds, even if the master melts you can still get a good impression before the master melts - it depends. The metal ingots you see in the videos came with my equipment, though I will probably restock when necessary from a local company - can't remember their name, will need to check emails. Cheers
thank you very much i'm seeing your work here in BRAZIL.
Thanks for sharing. Cool...
what material are you using for the mold? i'm doing some small scale pouring at home uslign mold max 60 and was curious if this was a similar material
Great video. That's a million pounds worth of forge world models 😂😂😂 spun in 30 seconds.
How much did you spend on your equipment? What suppliers would you recommend?
Man... that's fuckin' awesome.
Always wanted to try spin casting, i have some experience casting w/the molds I got from prince august, their 28mm romans & celts & the details are good if you use a good mix of quality metal but w/the spinn casting it seems you can use basic metal mixture & get all the fine detail to come out easily. The 1 problem i have w/spin casting is that you need a good deal more metal to cast with, though i understand the excess sprue does get melted back down & used. For those who preffer metal minis it is the way to go as a spincast mold produces a good deal more figures than the gravity cast ones i use ( 2 figures a pour/cast). TY for posting this really fascinating & informative video, I'm very happy i've subscribed to your channel as you allways have great content . 1 last thing, do you ever heat up your molds before casting ? By doing that you can avoid the problem you had 1st casting, I have the same problem w/mine if i dont warm them up the figs might not fully form, though by 2nd or 3rd try they are definately warm enough
It's hard to beat playing with molten metal when it comes to fun things to do.
Great on a cold day too!
If I want to have a tool, where should I buy it?
Viv, That is very cool. Let me know when you get everything up to speed. I would really like to see the fig's you release.
We'll be collecting a wide variety of figures ... but our own commissioned range will still be some time off, lots of art work to get organised etc etc
sir can you tell us that how to make that mould which you are using for spin casting?
are there any magnetic materials that can be cast with that kind of detail?
Hi Viv, big fan of your videos and really excited to see of this new miniatures project your working on. Out of question are you looking for more sculptors? I'm a practicing miniature sculptor myself and would be interested in this project, I'm currently in the process of sorting out my online galleries and taking photos of my works, but if you give me a few weeks I could drop you a link when I'm done.
Just let me know. :)
Happy to hear from you mate, you can always send me mail to viv@knightsofdice.com. Cheers
I want a spin caster so bad.....
Hey! nice video. Whats is the mold material? Polyurethane?
OMG i wish i have that kind of Machine!!! I would make so much miniatures, from "GW old ones"...
40K from the 90s and Warhammer fantasy miniatures who comes like 89-94...
where do you buy that centrifuge?
Amazing your work, what is the metal alloy used?
white metal pewter
How do you know how much metal to pour in and how do you measure the amount you poured in? Thanks
What brand of machines are those? I am considering getting a setup like this for my high school shop.
They are from Conquest Industries in the US
I want one! lol where do folks get these? ive always dreamt ofproducing mini's but the how to just seems so underground, unspecific, and unknown, of how to get greens, how to make masters, how t get you figures casted, where to, who, and how.
Seth Lippa Hehe, it does take some research, there are many mold making techniques that are not widely published as people feel those techniques give them an advantage. As I've also been discovering, there certainly is an aspect of 'who you know' in terms of finding people to work with. FYI, my equipment is from Conquest Industries though finding equipment is probably the easiest component of the process.
RubbishInRubbishOut thanks, although it may be out of my price range right now, its good to know where to get one, id love to be able to produce minis one day. im assuming, you get greens from sculptors (any suggestions?), then make a master from the greens and then after that you have your basic mold, and from there its just a matter of business costs and licensing to actually being able to produce casts to sell? thanks :)
+Seth Lippa I saw a RUclips video.... Tulsa Centrifugal Casting Machines LLC
They also sell these machines.
Great video i apreciate, have you tried before using the 3d printer for making a masterpiece that can be silicon rubber moulded for the spin casting
Ahmed Ghanem Not yet ... the printer wont be arriving probably until the end of February, but that is certainly something that will be achievable
Very informative
wish you all the best
How many rubber mold plates can you stack?
I like this project
Any idea to where manufacturer of this kind of machine in india?,,
i want to ask. what material do you use for the mold?
Great machine! Great video! Can you use also bigger molds used for small terrain bits? Is it only usable for metal or also for resin? Greetz! :-)
This was a small 9" mold, I can spin 12" molds as well ... spinning resin is not as easy as metal ... you can see the inside of the spin caster, I had a small accident with some resin! :) Due to resin setting due to thermal properties, the mold would need to be spun for a considerable amount of time, plus demolding is an issue with parts snapping etc. Spin casting is pretty much for metal, and pressure casting for resin. But yes, small terrain bits could be cast in metal.
how much did the whole setup cost ? I want to cast my greens in the future. Bet it's expensive though, probably end up giving them to someone like yourself like you was mentioning.
This setup cost me approx US$15k ... plus shipping to Australia ... not a cheap investment, but not bad if you are planning on doing a LOT of casting. Unless you have a significant range of figures, its probably better starting out with a contract caster until you have a large enough range to warrant the investment
RubbishInRubbishOut Thanks for getting back to me mate. That is useful to know, that is alot. Not sure how much I thought it would cost, it doesn't look cheap! Yeah think contracting someone like yourself is a good shout. I may PM when I get a bit better (I'm still learning but had good feedback from a couple pros)
Heyya there sir. I have this major dream of getting a miniature piece of an Indian idol in metal . Any idea or help on how miniatures with precise detailing can be done and suitable people who can do it
Can You please let me know where You got this maschine. I really would apareciste this. Thanks si mucho and gree5s from Mexico
Is that Zamak 5?
Estimated there is silicone that can withstand more than 350 ° of heat, which type of silicone would be if it existed
Please can you tell me what's the powder that you apply at the rubber mold at the beginning of the process? thanks in advance
He said it was talc. Just talcum powder - available at any supermarket, pharmacy, etc. Also comes in unscented variety because it's used by the ceramics industry as an ingredient in slipcasting.
Which metal is used zamak or something thing else
Hello. What is the material for the rubber form? I will bild elements for my rc car.
greetings are you fusing zamac or aluminum and what is the thickness of the material to the centrifugation?
Neither ... we use an alloy specifically made for casting model toy soldiers. We use 1" thick molds and the models inside are very thin
do we use the spin casting only for small pieces?
azif zineb you can cast larger pieces, it just depends on how large the piece is and how much you want to spend for the metal.