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In another group somebody mentioned clear ABS. I had to research it. Like Clear PVC pipe I didn't even know it was a thing until I looked. From what I read clear ABS is less impact resistant than even regular ABS, but I don't know what that means in the grand scheme of things. I think I'm just going to make some using different materials and conduct an exacting scientific stress and wear test, but tying them to a stick and beating them on the sidewalk.

ABS would be my first proto material for sure. Cheap, readily available, same density. Dave

… and injectable in the same machines. Just slight adjustments in temperature and/or pressure at most. I figured I'd test with ABS. Easily injected, and takes paint fairly well.

If I was going to attempt a carving project. I would make a mold and cast the simple un-carved body in Bondo and then carve. There is no grain to be concerned about, and if I screwed up, I could quickly cast another master for my next carving attempt rather than starting from scratch. Dave

There is no ideal solution to this dilemma. Acrylic is hard, scratch resistant, but shatters under impact. Polycarbonate is soft, easily scratched but it can take the impacts. Fishermen, the customer base, can put up with the scratches. What they cannot abide is breakages. For me, poly would be the way to go every time. I wish I had the funds to develop and prototype my triple point lure, funds and materials are holding me back, otherwise I would be tempted to throw it your way for a limited production run. What I need is my own 3D Printer. As for design, all the materials available have roughly the same density, around 1.2g/cm2, so interchange of materials is not an issue. Dave

From Europe with sympathy, here you are a system really strong, called 360° rig without wire. If you need to position the treble hook more close to the tail, then you can put a pc. of single wire between the jig hook curve and the swivel, of course the 2 wire loops must be crimped really well. Bye Cami

I don’t like the storm system because I have had big pike tear off the treble hook. They poured the hook hanger into fairly soft lead and it has no other connection to the single hook you tie too. This is not an issue for smaller species but larger fish will tear the hook out at times If you are going to make an internal harness weight system I would improve the storm system.by running the wire from the hook hanger up so it connects to the single hook then cast it in lead the other option is external. Run a small chunk of wire leader material between the single and treble. Add a corkscrew to hold into the bell of the bait or just use one of the barbs on the treble These are two options off the top of my head. If the external system interests you there are a ton of options. If you do a google search on how musky and pike guys rig swimbaits you will find some ideas for sure

I use both Createx paints and KBS diamond coat

There are 3 basic “good to go” topcoats used by most hobby builders. Slow cure epoxy, moisture cured urethane (MCU) and uv light cured polyester resin. KBS Diamond is a MCU and is very popular.

Thanks ill try the tyvec. I use harbor freight white and add 3-4 oz's of ultra gloss clear to 1 lb white. That seems to make it roll nicely in the cup without volcanoes. There are two other things I do when my colors give me trouble. The first is I run it through a fine screen. That seems to help a lot. The other is I add some moisture remover in the paint and store it that way. At Walmart in the closet section they sell these packets to remove moisture from your closet. I have saved a few Paints that way that I was ready to toss.