Eagle Statue - Zapins

Discussion in 'Lost wax casting' started by Zapins, Dec 10, 2017.

  1. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Well I do seem to have a lot of chick sculptures. Whats one more? I'd just need to look up several hundred photos from different angles to make sure I uh get every detail right :) all in the name of art!
     
  2. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Last edited: Jun 2, 2021
  3. Petee716

    Petee716 Gold Banner Member

    Jason likes this.
  4. ddmckee54

    ddmckee54 Silver

  5. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Stupid "art" selling for this kind of money just proves once again that most of the modern trash is just money laundering. No sane person would pay 18grand for nothing.
     
  6. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    just spent hours reading through this project, great stuff. Is it finished now?
    You have come along way since the old days Zapins. Very impressive I love your wax work. I did a few pieces of mine in wax but switched to clay now. I find it easier and quicker
     
  7. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Thanks. I gotta finish the final patina. I want to try some ferric nitrate and ferrous nitrate in it for browns and then polish wing tips to shiny gold high gloss. Still haven't gotten around to that yet.

    I've been thinking of trying out clay for a while now because I think it would probably be much faster to work with. My only issues with it are that it seems to deform very easily so I can't hold or handle the piece after putting details on it. Also it deforms differently from wax. It seems super fine details don't take well without deforming.

    Good to see you back by the way to been a while!
     
  8. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Clay is much quicker, but then you're stuck making a mold. Then ya end up making copies and I hate repetitive shit. I'm one and done these days. No copies, no editions. If you want it, pay up or piss off.
     
  9. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Yeah I'm with you on that. Thats why I have 30 sculptures all stuck in the need-polishing/patina-phase. I hate repetitive boring work too.

    I don't mind making a mold. But its expensive and definitely time consuming. Probably for my rooster I'll make one as it has taken a crazy amount of time to make so far.
     
  10. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    Ive never had a problem with clay (oil based) being to soft that it deforms when held. Maybe its your climate. Infact even with the soft chavant clay i have to heat it first whn working with large pieces. Try the hard chavant if you live in a hot climate. For water based clays they are soft and therefore easy to form the basic shape. If you prefer the hardness of wax then water based clays can still be used as you can let it harden to the leather stage and carve it like a very soft plaster.

    On the subject of the cost of silicone rubber it is super expensive. As mentioned dont throw old silicone away, cut it up and use it as a bulking media.

    For your eagle mould Zapins, I dont think you needed to make it that thick, not with a supporting mother mould. I think I would have used less than half of what you used. I would never use fibre glass for a mother mould unless I was mking very large sculptures. For your eagle sculpture I would have just used a hard dental plaster, cheap as chips compared with fibre glass. For support use wire mesh. Put on a layer of plaster,press in the mesh while still wet, then another layer of plaster. I will then work in a similar way as reinforced concrete. Heavier than your mould but I still think managable for a guy like you with your crucible lifting abilities
     

Share This Page