Review- Amazing Casting Resin

http://amazingmoldputty.com/

Amazing Casting Resin by Aluminite Corporation is a easy to use two part casting
resin. It is a great “odorless” resin unlike regular urethane and polyester resins. It’s low viscosity allows for the
liquid to easily reach all areas of the mold
and makes vaccum degassing not necessary. The starter kit conviently comes with mixing cups and stiring sticks.

Simply mix equal parts A and B. Stir for approximately 15-20 seconds.

Pour the resin into your mold. The resin will go in a translucent yellow and will turn white.

In approximately 5-10 minutes it will be ready to demold.

I made several different molds for a street I needed for a Dream Forge Games display board.

After casting up the required number of pieces, I glued them to the board and painted it up.

Amazing Casting Resin is available in 1lb. and 2gal. kits.

Review- Easy Mold Silicone Rubber

http://www.eti-usa.com/index.html

Easy Mold Silicone Rubber is another simple to use 1:1 RTV rubber. It is a food-grade mold-making material so can be used for
baking and chocolates. The rubber has a 1 hour working time and is fairly thick which makes it
good for brush on applications. I found when fully cured it was a bit stiffer than some other rubbers which might make casting
items with lot’s of undercuts a problem.

Simply mix equal parts A and B

Make sure it is thoroughly mixed. Otherwise, you might find soft spots in your finished mold.

Pour the silicone onto the object you want to cast.

You can help air bubbles to escape by using a hand held massager to vibrate out any trapped air.

Let the rubber cure for 8-24 hours. Then it is ready to cast!

Easy Mold Silicone Rubber is available in 1lb. and 2lb. kits.

Troll Kriel Shrine

By Pat Ohta

This tutorial was originally published in No Quarter issue 21 featuring Dr. Twitch.

A massive obelisk of carven stone rises from the rocky ground and dominates the surrounding landscape. The low guttural voices of stone scribes fill the air, causing it to buzz and hum with ancient power. A massive troll emerges from the darkness into the flickering torchlight that illuminates the sacred site, hauling an enormous stone carved with runes that flicker and pulse. The troll gingerly and lovingly places the stone within an alcove at the base of the obelisk, and the runes burst to life in a frenzy of light as the power of Dhunia courses into the krielstone.

The Stone Base

Step 1.
The stone tile base is comprised of two pieces. Start by making the bottom tier. Cut two 9”X9” pieces of ¼”foam core. Glue these two pieces together.

Step 2.
Cut out 2 6”X6” pieces of ¼” foam core, and glue together. This will be the top tier.

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Hot Wire Foam Factory

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/

Hot Wire Foam Factory produces a series of products that can be used to
protect and enhance our foam creations.
These products are very useful to anyone who needs to make their creations
more durable.
As a scenery maker, I know our foam buildings and hills are pretty fragile.
Over time, many of the items will wind up with dings or, even worse,
a crack or chip. These Hot Wire Foam Factory products were designed with
this in mind and will alleviate most of the problems that occur when our
terrain is packed for storage or used by careless gamers.

Foam Coat

Foam Coat is a dry, semi-gritty concrete based product. When applied it adds a hard outer shell which will protect the item it covers.
To mix up the Foam Coat, add equal parts Foam Coat powder to water.
Stir it until you have a smooth and even consistency, then it is ready to apply.

If you want it to come out slightly textured–like the surface of a road–use 3 parts Foam Coat to 1 part water. Once it dries, you’re done.
Foam Coat can be applied with a putty knife or, if you thin it more, with a paint brush.
Foam Coat should be used on pieces that will see heavy use.

I also like it for gap filling.
To do this, I mix a slightly thicker batch by using less water and apply it where needed.
Once it dries, Foam Coat can be sanded.

Foam Coat can also be pre-coloured by simply adding some paint to the mixture.
Foam Coat has a working time of 10 minutes and cures in 24hrs. If you need to extend the
working time, Hot Wire Foam Factory recommends adding some latex paint to the mixture.

Clean up with soap and water.
Foam Coat is available in 3lb. and 25lb lots.

Boost

Boost is an additive for Foam Coat, which makes Foam Coat much stronger It will almost insure that there will be no damage to your piece.
Boost also makes Foam Coat tackier. Applying Foam Coat to vertical surfaces like a wall or tower can be tough, as sometimes the mixture will fall off.
Adding Boost to the Foam Coat mixture will make it stick to the wall with no problem. The tackiness goes away when dry.
Mix two parts Boost to one part water. Thoroughly mix this and then add Foam Coat to the mixture. Apply this mixture and then clean up with soap and water.

Boost has a working time of 10 minutes and cures in 24 hours.
Boost is available in 8oz., 16oz., 32oz., and 1gal lots.

Bounce

Bounce is also an additive for Foam Coat. It is a liquid rubberizer which will make the Foam Coat more flexible.
This is a great product to add to hills and other items that get tossed in a box for storage.
Combine one part Bounce to one part Foam Coat. Mix and apply. You can dilute the Bounce by adding water, but this will make it less flexible.

Bounce can also be used to seal a foam terrain piece prior to painting. A thin layer of Bounce will prevent spray paints from eating through the foam.
It brushes on white and dries clear.

Bounce has a working time of 15 minutes and cures in 24 hours.
Bounce is available in 8oz., 16oz., 32oz., and 1gal lots.

Grit

Grit is another additive for Foam Coat. It is a silica based product and adds texture to whatever it is covering.
Thoroughly mix Grit with Foam Coat and add to water. For maximum strength, add Boost.
This mixture will give you a textured, rock hard surface.
Grit is great for terrain pieces like walls, castles and other rock-like formations.
Used by itself, grit can also be mixed with larger sand particles and used for basing miniatures and terrain.

Grit comes in 3lb. lots in medium and course grades.

Foam Fusion

Foam Fusion is an EPS foam friendly glue. There are no solvents in it so it won’t eat your foam.
Many people like to use hot glue, but in areas where it gets really hot or really cold, a hot glue
bond can break. PVA glues can sometimes take too long to dry. Foam Fusion creates a nice strong bond with foam.
Once dry, you can cut through the glue using a hot wire cutter.

Foam Fusion is applied straight, by brushing it on. Clean up with soap and water.
Foam Fusion is available in 8oz., 16oz., 32oz. and 1 gallon lots.

Hot Wire Foam Factory makes great foam cutting tools. It only gets better with the addition of the foam fortifiers.
I like these products a lot and they are now part of my scenery construction arsenal.
I highly recommend that you try these products.

Hot Wire Foam Factory Pro Scroll Table Kit

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/home.php

Hot Wire Foam Factory makes some of the best foam cutting tools on the market. They appeal to the
crafter and hobbyist to the professionals. They have been in business since 1991
and their products are reliable and very affordable.

Their tools are used by many people who work in movie and stage design.
Disney, Six Flags Amusement Park, Fao Schwartz, Knott’s Berry Farm, and the TV Show Deal or No Deal are just a few
in the industry that use their products.

For scenery makers, their products will make doing some difficult shapes and cuts very easy.
If you have never been to their website you should take a look.

One product I find myself always using is the Pro Scroll Table Kit.

The kit includes:
Scroll Table, Stationary and Travelling Fence, four precision 8” cutting blades, 4 Pro Blades, Nails, Pro Power Station and
a 90 minute Instructional DVD.

The table measures 12″ X 13″ and is made of industrial strength ABS, but what makes this cutter unique is the
adjustable cutting arm.

The arm stands at 10″ from the table which makes it very useful for cutting thick pieces of foam.

The arm swivels from left to right which makes cutting almost any angle easy to do.
Simply place a protractor in back of the wire and figure out the angel you are going for.
You can change the angel by
adjusting a screw on the back.

Attaching the wire to the table is easy to do. Just hook the wire to the bent screws on the top and bottom of the table.
The screws thread help to hold the wire in place and are also useful in changing the angle of the wire.

The stationary fence guide is useful for making straight and angled cuts. The fence can be adjusted and locked back in place with the clamps in the back.

The traveling fence is used for making more complicated cuts. Simply position it anywhere and guide the foam along it.
The fence also has holes so you can insert pins to secure the foam to it.

The kit comes with the Pro Power Station, which by itself is $100. The power station is great because it runs most of their tools,
which will prevent your power strips from filling up with lots plugs and adapters. The power station also has an adjustable temperature setting,
allowing you to cut fast by giving more heat or having more control by adding less heat.

Here are some of the different kinds of wires available for the Pro Scroll Kit.

The Pro Scroll Kit is extremely useful for any scenery maker. It makes cutting large walls, straight cuts, and angled cuts all really easy.
I was able to make an Egyptian obelisk in less than 5 minutes. Using just a foam cutter would of taken a lot longer and been much more complicated.
Sure it’s possible to make things without it, but the scroll kit makes it a million times easier
saving you lots of time.

This board is a  4 X 4 and could be used for either Malifaux or Warmachine.

The tutorial for this board is in Game Forces Magazine issue no. 19.

http://www.gameforces.net/