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Australopithecus africanus Mrs. Ples


Bradley Flynn

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Borrowed this original museum replica of Australopithecus africanus otherwise known as the beautiful Mrs Ples.

I'm planning on making a ceramic replica of this positive foam cast. The detail on this replica is pretty amazing, it has the bone texture, cracks and the reconstruction of the missing pieces of the skull. 

 

Looking forward to sharing this project with the forum.

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Very interesting.

I look forward to seeing the development process of this project. :)

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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12 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Very interesting.

I look forward to seeing the development process of this project. :)

Thanks

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I did a test cast yesterday with some dental plaster as that's what I had on hand. It dries nice and quick, but I find that there's not enough time to get the air bubbles out, it also cracked on extracting the positive. The crack doesn't bother me though as it a clean crack. I'm going to continue with the dental plaster for now and make a complete mold. 

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So, is the big whiter block made of plaster?  Wouldn't it be better to use something pliable like a silicone.  I can't see how pulling a hard model ourt of a hard mold is going to wor where there are any overhangs.

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  • 1 month later...
1 hour ago, Bradley Flynn said:

@jpc it's all about multi-piece design as @LabRatKing has suggested.

 

Waiting on materials for this project. 

Have you ever played with the re-usable casting polymers? They are great for one offs, and very cost effective.

 

I buy the bulk "used" Compsimold. (google it! used just means it isn't food safe anymore) But this stuff is awesome. All one needs is a thriftstore crock pot to melt it.

 

I use it special effects make up style for anything bigger than a coffee can- coat the object you are making a mold of to a depth of about 25mm. Let it cool. Cover it with foil, then slop on the plaster of paris. Once set, the mold is good for quite a while (on small stuff I get 10-20 uses before I have to melt it down and do a new cast.

 

For smaller stuff you can skip the foil and plaster.

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