Bionicle Mask Molding?

[jelidycus]

 How would one make a Bionicle Mask without the use of a 3-D Printer/ Like what tools and materials would I need? I specifically want to make Kanohi Ignika Mask.

[-Windrider-]

Moving to General Art!

[IXRollOutIX]

I guess you could make a silicone mold? If you don't already HAVE a physical Ignika in the first place, I can imagine it'd be more difficult. You would have to sculpt one yourself out of clay or something beforehand. I dunno. Look up a silicone mold tutorial. 

Edited August 4, 2015 by IXRollOutIX

[TheOneVeyronian]

As has already been mentioned, making a custom mask of a mask that already exists is much easier if you have a copy of the physical mask. Making a silicone mould of it is the easiest way to go. I've been spending the last couple of weeks trying to produce transparent masks using silicone moulds and crystal resin, and while I'm yet to perfect the technique, it's producing some promising results.

 

What I basically do is make 2 silicone mouldings of the mask, one of the outside, one of the inside (alternatively one could apply the silicone completely over the mask and then cut it in half once the mould has cured to free the mask and make the mould useable). Make sure the two halves can sit flush so it can produce an accurate moulding. Then make a cast of it using your preferred material, you can use strong plaster (which might be sufficient enough for a 2008 Ignika but I'm not sure) but if you want strength and durability, pearl colours or transparent colours, go for an epoxy or crystal resin. Sometimes it's necessary to mould 2 or 3 times to be able to fill everything, and some trimming may be required, but it should produce at least satisfactory quality custom masks

 

I personally recommend Pebeo Siligum moulding paste - it's about £12 for a small pack where I live, but it's top quality stuff and perfect for making moulds of masks, and it cures in 5 minutes. For resins and plasters, I recommend Pebeo Resin Plaster (dries in an hour) and Pebeo Crystal Resin (can take 36 hours to harden but it's much stronger)

 

If you want to make one and you don't have a physical copy of an Ignika to hand, then I recommend polymer clay like Fimo or Sculpey (it's easier to work with than air drying clay). I can go through some techniques you could use for that particular route as well if this is what you are thinking of doing

[Heir of the Chronicler]

Are you referring to mold making, ie casting duplicates of existing masks, or are you referring to making a custom mask from scratch? Because those are two totally different things, with several ways to go about each.

 

- Heir

[Toa Nekar]

As has already been mentioned, making a custom mask of a mask that already exists is much easier if you have a copy of the physical mask. Making a silicone mould of it is the easiest way to go. I've been spending the last couple of weeks trying to produce transparent masks using silicone moulds and crystal resin, and while I'm yet to perfect the technique, it's producing some promising results.

 

What I basically do is make 2 silicone mouldings of the mask, one of the outside, one of the inside (alternatively one could apply the silicone completely over the mask and then cut it in half once the mould has cured to free the mask and make the mould useable). Make sure the two halves can sit flush so it can produce an accurate moulding. Then make a cast of it using your preferred material, you can use strong plaster (which might be sufficient enough for a 2008 Ignika but I'm not sure) but if you want strength and durability, pearl colours or transparent colours, go for an epoxy or crystal resin. Sometimes it's necessary to mould 2 or 3 times to be able to fill everything, and some trimming may be required, but it should produce at least satisfactory quality custom masks

 

I personally recommend Pebeo Siligum moulding paste - it's about £12 for a small pack where I live, but it's top quality stuff and perfect for making moulds of masks, and it cures in 5 minutes. For resins and plasters, I recommend Pebeo Resin Plaster (dries in an hour) and Pebeo Crystal Resin (can take 36 hours to harden but it's much stronger)

 

If you want to make one and you don't have a physical copy of an Ignika to hand, then I recommend polymer clay like Fimo or Sculpey (it's easier to work with than air drying clay). I can go through some techniques you could use for that particular route as well if this is what you are thinking of doing 

 

 

I too have been experimenting with making silicone molds of masks, and have produced some promising results. I guess bzp will be hit with some custom resin masks soon

Edited August 6, 2015 by Toa Nekar

[SixFootBlue]

Another nice brand of casting materials to use is Alumilite. They sell a variety of plastic resins and molding silicone you can use for this type of work. They also sell a variety of pigments which you can use to colour your plastic resin, including metallic powders which can create both frosted metallic, and pearly metallic effects depending on how you apply them. Also, at least in my experience, you should be able to find a place that carries it locally. Ordering online is always an option, but if you buy local, you'll save quite a bit on shipping costs, since higher quality casting materials tend to cost a bit.

 

 

 

If you don't want to shell out too much money for fancy silicone solutions for mold making, there is a much cheaper solution, but it's more difficult to do it properly.

 

Essentially you can create your own silicone putty which you can handle with your hands, and it hardens up in about 5-10 minutes or so. (Most silicone solutions take about 5-24 hours to set depending on the formulation.)

 

You can search DIY Silicone Molding Putty on youtube for a variety of tutorials on how to mix a batch together, but the short form is essentially this: Buy a tube of 100% clear silicone caulk (Not all formulations work. If you're buying GE brand silicone, make sure you buy their Silicone I formulation. Silicone II will not work.) You'll also need some corn starch, and a bit of acrylic paint, but the paint is entirely optional.

 

Just eyeball how much silicone you need for the mold and squirt the amount into a mixing container. Then add a couple drops of paint if you like, and then start mixing in corn starch. Keep adding it until you have a soft putty you can knead with your hands (Dust your hands with corn starch before handling as it can get pretty sticky). It starts to set up fairly quickly, depending on how much corn starch you add, so once you can knead it in your hands, start applying it to your mask to create the mold.

 

Keep in mind it's not food-grade, so don't try making candy masks using the molds you make with it. Also make sure you do it in a well ventilated area. One of the chemical components in silicone caulking mixtures is acetic acid, which gives off a VERY strong vinegar smell. A lot of silicone formulations also have chemicals in them which prevent fungal growth, and can irritate the skin, so it's best to wear gloves, or just work as quickly as possible, and then thoroughly wash your hands after.

 

Another thing to note is that, at least in my experience, polyurethane plastic resins will react a bit with this type of mold. When you pull the final mask out of the mold, you'll see some super tiny bubbles coating the surface of the plastic. This is likely due to the activated resin mix reacting with the components in the putty. Could be the acid, or moisture trapped in the corn starch. This can be masked by using several coats of spray paint of your desired colour, but it's just something to keep in mind.

 

It's also likely you'll need to sand out some imperfections on your cast mask, since the putty may have some creases in it when applied to the mask. Again, you can mask this with paint after sanding.

 

I used this method to cast a Kanohi Rau a while back, which you can see here.

 

 

 

I'd still probably recommend pourable silicone, or the paste that was mentioned above, mainly since you have a greater working time, meaning you can prepare your mold more carefully, as well as do a lot of prep work before pouring. I've yet to try pourable silicone yet, but coincidentally I was going to run out tomorrow and buy some, and see how it turns out. The product I was considering was Alumilite QuickSet Silicone Rubber. I can update my recommendation after giving it a go if you'd like.

 

One last tip I can give in regards to plastic resin is that with some (or most, I'm not sure) types of plastic resin, once the mask hardens up, you're going to want to heat it up under a hair dryer or something. This is mainly because a handful of resins rely on heat producing chemical reactions when you mix the two components together in order to help cure it, but when the solution is spread thin, like in a bionicle mask, it can't generate enough heat for it to harden fully. With polyurethane, heating it up is kind of a must. The mask will still be flexible after heating, but just leave it in the mold so it retains it shape. Once it cools down, it should be really solid, and ready to use.

 

And that's about all I know.

 

Also, keep in mind this is essentially bootlegging, so don't try and sell these XD

No matter how good your mold looks, people can always pinpoint subtle imperfections in the molded shape, or different density, flexibility, or texture of plastic.

 

Best of luck to you!

 

UPDATE:

 

Took a stab at casting a kanohi rau again, using the pourable silicone, and it turned out great. You can see the results here.

 

The silicone itself cost me $30.00 for 16oz. The net amount of silicone used to create the mold was about 5oz or so, and I spent two days creating both halves of the mold (Made each half in the afternoon, and let them harden overnight just to be sure). One jar of the QuickSet silicone should be enough to create two mata mask molds, depending on how you build your mold box.

 

It's definitely more expensive than using mold putty, but the results are incredible. If you create the mold properly, and are generally careful with mixing and pouring in the resin, the only work you'll need to do afterwards is just trim away the excess plastic, and sand the edges of the mask down a little. The silicone captures every detail of the mask perfectly, and cleaning your mask before molding ensures a glossy finish, just like a legit mask.

 

I 100% recommend using pourable silicone if you can afford it.

Edited August 24, 2015 by SixFootBlue

[Wazdakka]

^ Very helpful post above, thank you!