The Tortoise Continues (Making the Mold)

A recap!  I carved a tortoise from red polymer clay in my previous post.   The turtle needed a little more detailing with a carving tool to make the design on the underside more visible. 
Now it’s time for the next step – Making the Mold from the red tortoise model. 
  
 The two part mold compound in this case is Part A white and Part B purple.  When part A and B are mixed I have about 10-15 minutes of working time before the mixture sets. 
A small amount of this mold making compound went with me to Tanzania where I made a mold of a beetle.  It amazed the guide and I gave him some to take home to his kids.  I always wondered what they did with it.


Part A and B were mixed by pressing and folding them into each other. 




Then I wrapped it around the red tortoise pressing so that the designs on the model would show in the mold. 
To give a separation for the top and bottom of the turtle, I took an x-acto knife and cut the mold in half without removing the turtle. 
The mold compound set and I removed the red turtle.  Check out the mold!
The turtle’s head might be a problem when I put the metal clay in the mold so I decided to make another mold that would let the head be in a better place when I removed it.  My next post will show two turtles in metal clay – one from each mold.  
So far so good!  Stay tuned!
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