BassJunky Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 I spent some time today working on my first 2pc silicone molds, but I really struggled to get the soft plastic originals I was using to sit properly in the clay Im re-creating a frog that has thin legs and everything Ive read on 2-pc molds says to burry the bait "half way" but using modeling clay it still looks like they are just sitting on the top of the clay, not really buried. Im a little nervious they may flat during the silicone pour Any tips or suggestions on making 2pc molds out of soft plastic baits (not resin or wood masters) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wchilton Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 The modeling clay will soften and even melt if you get it warm enough. It's just clay mixed with wax and oil to get the desired consistency. It hardens back up when it cools down. Try a hair drier on high heat to soften it up. Melting point is around 200 deg F but it will get pretty soft if you get it up to about 150 deg or so and a hair drier will do that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleT Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 12 hours ago, BassJunky said: I spent some time today working on my first 2pc silicone molds, but I really struggled to get the soft plastic originals I was using to sit properly in the clay Im re-creating a frog that has thin legs and everything Ive read on 2-pc molds says to burry the bait "half way" but using modeling clay it still looks like they are just sitting on the top of the clay, not really buried. Im a little nervious they may flat during the silicone pour Any tips or suggestions on making 2pc molds out of soft plastic baits (not resin or wood masters) Get some sculpey clay. Shape it how you want it to look. Place it in the oven and bake it according to the directions on the box. Once it is baked it will be hard. You will then be able to sand it and get it nice and smooth. Use that as you master. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted April 6, 2017 Report Share Posted April 6, 2017 On 4/4/2017 at 9:22 PM, wchilton said: The modeling clay will soften and even melt if you get it warm enough. It's just clay mixed with wax and oil to get the desired consistency. It hardens back up when it cools down. Try a hair drier on high heat to soften it up. Melting point is around 200 deg F but it will get pretty soft if you get it up to about 150 deg or so and a hair drier will do that. Once you have the body half embedded, lay out the legs like you want them, heat the clay like wchilton says, and then use something flat, like a piece of ceramic tile, to push the legs into the softened clay. It won't hurt if you wind up with them being flush, just as long as they aren't completely covered. They don't have to be only embedded half way, that's just the ideal. I have lots of two piece molds where the masters were deeper on one side, and the still pour fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassJunky Posted April 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2017 (edited) Thanks guys, I'll give the heating method a try. I also considered dipping my soft plastic bait in epoxy to harden it the. Make the mold Edited April 6, 2017 by BassJunky 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
