These past few days I have been experimenting with Woodland Scenics' Latex Rubber. I am creating a bridge abutment for my N scale model train layout because I could not find any online that caught my eye. I made a few mistakes, but on the third try I think I really got it down.
My first try involved me pouring a lot of latex rubber over a design I made out of bass wood. Woodland Scenics' Latex rubber is not made to be used as such. I thought it could work like other molding compounds that you simply pour over. So after carefully reading the instructions again and watching a few videos on mold making, I set out to try again.
Following the instructions, I applied a thin layer over my wood structure. I used a hair dryer to help speed up the drying process after each layer. You can opt not to use a hair dryer or heat gun, but it drastically increases the amount of time for the project. After 6 layers of latex rubber, I began applying thin sheets of gauze between layers to strengthen the mold. I applied only two more after starting the gauze. This was nowhere near enough to create a strong mold. Upon removing the wood, the mold did not hold its shape and was very flimsy. I had not covered any cracks that were in the wood with a thin layer of plaster. This allowed the mold to seep into cracks where I did not want it. So I decided to start over.
The third time was the CHARM. I created a new structure of wood for the mold. Using a 1/4in. piece of bass wood, I carefully cut out a small notch as the seat for the bridge. The seat was 2mm deep, 1 15/16in. wide, and 6mm tall. I glued this on a sheet of wax paper to prevent the latex from sticking to anything I did not want it to. It was glued with a spray adhesive to limit any gaps between the wood and wax paper. The rest of the cracks I covered with a tiny amount of plaster. After removing the excess, I began creating my mold. In between each layer, I added a thin sheet of gauze to wet latex before drying. In total I did about 8 layers of latex rubber and 8 sheets of gauze. The finished product was amazing, and I am ready to begin making the casts of my concrete bridge abutments!
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