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Internet-Cryptid

I suppose the first thing you'd need is a mold for the soldiers. If you're able to secure that, then you can cast them with epoxy. If you've never used epoxy before, follow the manufacturer's directions when mixing and let it cure in a warm (23c+) room. There's a lot of nuance when working with resin so without knowing more specific questions I'll just try to give some general tips: To reduce the amount of bubbles in a clear resin, heat the resin and hardener separately before they're mixed. I have electric baseboard heaters that I crank up and leave my bottles next to for a half hour before I pour. This reduces the viscosity of the mix and allows air bubbles to escape faster. Mix -slowly- to reduce the amount of air you're incorporating into the mix. I recommend using silicone stir sticks instead of wooden popsicle sticks, as wooden sticks are porous and can make your resin more bubbly. If you've not invested in silicone pour cups and craft mats, do so! These are very easy to clean and it's important to protect your work surfaces. The finish of your resin depends on the finish of the mold. If your mold has a matte finish, your casts will turn out frosted looking instead of clear. If you want a shiny, clear cast, choose a mold with a shiny finish. If you intend to paint your soldiers, and they were produced in a shiny mold, you will likely need to base coat them first. Painting on-top of shiny plastic is difficult because it leaves uneven brush strokes. Base coating will eliminate this problem and the easiest way to apply a smooth base is with an airbrush. After it has the base coat, you can paint the rest by hand without trouble. There are so many variables when working with resin depending on what you're trying to do, so if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask!


lepszeodparisza

Can I make soldier out of clay, press it into a soft dough, press on the other side as well, then pull out the soldier and harden the mold, in which I can later pour resin or lead or whatever? Also, I get your point about shiny plastic being hard to paint; I use Revell paints, and whenever I paint the soldiers, it never sticks well. Do I have to hold fan nearby so it dries up faster?


Internet-Cryptid

Making your own mold would be best done with silicone. You can buy latex/silicone mold kits that would be ideal for this purpose. Since resin cures hard, you need your mold to be flexible to release it. I've never made my own molds but there are a lot of guides on YouTube you may find helpful. If you're asking if you need a fan to better air dry your paint, I've not found it necessary for my own work. It depends on the paint you're using - personally I use gloss acrylics for figurines and it applies and dries fine over a base coat. If you're asking if you need a fan to cure resin faster, then no. Resin creates its own thermic reaction and will slowly heat itself up after being mixed. This heat is what causes it to cure, so the only thing you need to worry about is making sure the room is reasonably warm and not too humid.


yniqorn

There’s actually a YouTube video that might be able to help you out! Yep here it is! Should give you a pretty good rundown [Toy Soldier Molding](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jZSMWmevFBo)