Frodo (left) - Halfling Frodo (right)
Creating a mini-Frodo: first I took a cast from the original-sized mold, using a special resin that shrinks. You can see here that it has already begun shrinking, as I placed the sticks touching the model when first de-molded.
After a few hours: I took a second copy to increas the chances of a successful copy. The left hand model is the first one I cast after a few hours; the middle copy is quite fresh, and the right-hand copy is a resin copy of Frodo, for size comparison.
After a few days: this photo is of the same three models as the previous photo, but this is after a few days. As you can see, the shrinking models are reducing nicely - theyare warped as the thicker areas shrink more slowly than the thinner areas. The black model is a normal resin copy for size comparison.
A Twist: this photo show what is possible using the materials out there - the top row shows the shrinking Frodos, and the bottom row shows a resin copy of Fly Fishing (white) alongside an enlarged copy! Resin can go both ways, smaller OR bigger (2 different types of resin were used). The enlarged copy is still growing here, so is also warped, but it evened out eventually.
Shrinkies complete! This image shows the three models as pictured before, after several weeks sitting out in the conservatory (where temperatures regularly reach over 50 deg' C!), middle copy is a normal resin copy for size comparison. The left hand model has shrunk more than the right hand copy, as I mixed the shrinking resin differently - this is the final size reached by these models, and as both copies cast relatively ok (they both had many air bubbles due to the speed the resin gels), I chose to use the left hand side copy for my edition, as it was smaller.
The resi original: this is the resin copy that I used as a prototype for the final mold. I wasnt 100% happy with the finish but due to the extremely tiny details (they were small on the original, this is 50% of the size!) I couldn't get it any better.
The Prototype model, showing how deep I had to make it so that the resin wouldn't spill out of the mold when I put it in the vacuum chamber (where it expands as the air comes out).
01 - Copper. I was really pleased with this finish, copper is my favourite normally, and this was no exception!
02 - Nickel Silver. Again, the metal finish brought out the detail beautifully.
03 - F.Gold.O - The glitter obsures the detail on photos, but the sparkly finishes were very popular, even those winning the metal finishes chose to swap them for more glittery copies!
04 - F.Silver.N - I really like the effect of this material, although it's more pearly than metallic. This is the new version of the silver material I normally use, I hope to be able to still get the other silver stuff, as although lovely, this ain't silver to me!
05 - F.Silver.O - This is silver, in my opinion! Terrible photo, but the finish on this copy is nice and metallic.
06 - F.Bronze.O - A tricky colour to capture, this model is more bronze than gold, but is a great colour!
07 - F.Red - Affectionately named "Fred" by his new owner, this material is quite striking.
08 - F.Violet - This is when Frodo became Funky - I love these purple tones and this model was commented on lots! The photo washes out the fine detail, but the colour is just fab!
09 - F.Lavender - Another Funky copy, this photo is awful for the details, but the colour is beautiful - this model was the first to sell from the bunch!
10 - F.Green - This colour makes him look pretty laid back and cheerful, a very sparkly copy that catches the sun beautifuly.
11 - F.Blue - I was secretly very pleased that this copy came home with me, it's now a part of my own collection!
12 - F.Gold.N - Another new material, I like that this doesn't detract too much from the details than the old more glittery gold material.
13 - Slate/Mica mix - Very similar in finish to the F.Silver.O model (05), this effect was created by mixing black slate with Mica.
A good day! These are the only models I brought home with me (plus the blue one, which I've chosen for myself). I took 13 copies with me so am very pleased with the response! Models shown from left to right - Silver (old), Copper, Silver (new), Gold (new), Bronze. Also shown at the bottom are the original and the mold, and a peek of a full-sized Frodo in black.
14 - Smokey. Ok so this one didn't turn out so well - I though that if I put a thin layer of black (slate) into the mold, then back-filled with a sparkly resin, the details would highlight. The opposite hapened and the result wasn't really that great. Mind you, I still think I'll try the double-layer effect, perhaps with a frosted white and black back-fill instead.
14 - F.Violet - Another copy in this popular colour; I really struggle to photograph these colours as my camera seems to dislike picking up the red tints, so this photo is blue-er than the model is.
16 - F.Blue + F.Silver - A slight twist on the same theme, I added quite a lot of silver to the mix on this model, but the blue is very strong and it ended up only very slightly lighter than the other blue one.
17 - F.Red - A second red copy, photo taken outdoors this time - these things are so tricky to photograph!!
F.Green - This photo shows the hue much more accurately than the prvious one, this photo was taken in natural daylight.
19 - 70M30FL - bit of a code there rather than a name, but this model was made using a mixture of several shades of several materials. It was chosen as the pick of the bunch by the showholder at Collingham Live on 26th October for the raffle and received many compliments :o) This material is a sort of lilac-irridescent-silver and I really liked it!
20 - FSNinfP- ok another code-name, but again this model was made from a mix of materials. This is basically a new silver (the new is much finer and whiter than the old) model, with an irridescent purple inference-type colour added. The lilac/pink tones vary under different light and I find it captivating. I have just received three more tones of this unusual material, so expect to see more of these exciting mixes!
