Hirst Arts Molds: Some Thoughts

I've spent about a week casting and building with my new Egyptian themed Hirst Arts molds and have come to some conclusions about them for terrain making.  Overall I'm really pleased but have determined these are not always the perfect way to go.  No real negatives so I'll break my thoughts into positives and "considerations".

Bear in mind that my casting material of choice was dental stone - which casts up rock hard but is heavy.  I think the pyramid weighs close to 5 pounds.

So lets go with the positives:

Positives:
(1) There is a wealth of choice of molds and the supporting materials on the website are top notch.  Anything you might like to cast is likely there and the how-to instructions are really very well done.

(2) The details come out very nicely - if you follow the instructions on mold prep and pouring.  The most important part is to pound your fist around the mold as the plaster is poured in, as this releases any air bubbles.  I did this for every cast and had very few miscasts (less than 5%).  If you want to have detailed carvings or forms in your scenery these molds are probably the best way to go about it.


Considerations:
(1) The molds are small and you'll need to make a lot of casts to finish a project.  The 9 level pyramid pictured above required 14 casts of the pyramid mold.  Each cast takes about 30 minutes start to finish so it will take a good bit of time to build up your "inventory".  Casting is messy so you need to prepare a work area and make sure to clean up as you go along.  I did dave all the over pours and used used them to make "gravel".

(2) You need to plan out what you want to build.  Most of my terrain projects start with a sheet of Extruded Polystyrene Foam (EPF or "pink/blue foam) and I kind of wing it.  The molds construing you to the shapes they form so require a bit more planning than just "winging it"

I really like the Hirst molds but will only use them for "center-piece" terrain constructions.  It just takes too much of the hobby time I have to use them for every project.  That said, they are well worth the investment and any serious terrain maker should have some in his/her tool kit.

28mm Egyptian Terrain: Initial Assembly

 After a week of on and off casting I had enough blocks to start building some ruins.  I need 4 different terrain pieces for the Historican games as each will have a hidden entrance to the catacombs.  First up is a small Pyramid.

 The 9 level Pyramid required me to cast the Pyramid mold 14 times.  The structure is then built layer by layer.  Pictures are levels 8,7 and 6 (level 9 is the point!).  The Hirst website has fantastic instructions on how to build structures.  It also suggests using Aileens Tacky glue to affix the blocks, which I did.

 It took about 45 minutes to assemble all the layers / segments.  It's really important to us a square to keep all the corners at right angles.  With the bottom level glued up I let the glue cure for about 3 hours.  Its still tacky be then but holds together enough to allow one to build the levels up

 Once the bottom level glued up I added each successive level.  The model is getting heavy do I decided to build it in three parts.  As you can see from the photo I used extra blocks to support each level to keep everything square.  given the shape of the blocks the bulk of the weight overhangs the bottom level and the block will tilt inward with support until the glue fully cures.  Make sure you supports don't touch the bottom level or you may glue them to the model.

 Level 1 - 3 are done and glued up.  I realized that I could also use excess blocks as spacers to ensure everything stays nice and square.

 I let the pyramid dry over night and then flipped over the base and added some supports in each level corner and added a small "hallway to the entrance.

 Another shot of the front and then a side shot.  I like how this piece came out and am debating if I should add some details to the interior.  The answer is "yes" of course.  I also made some casts from other models to build a small temple complex and the beginnings of a tower.

All in all I've made 27 casts and have enough for three solid terrain feature objectives for the games.  I'll probably need to make a few more casts for the fourth one.

28mm Egyptian Terrain: Casting, casting, casting....

Casting to date (after two days).  I've managed to cast the Pyramid mold six times and the other molds one of two times.

It takes 24 hours for the dental stone to fully cure (the lighter shaded ones are fully cured).

The casts have been remarkable good with the exception of a few pieces from last night that have some air bubbles.  It's all due to user error as I was rushed.

Casting is very simple but best done in an assembly line frame of mind - its a lot easier to do a lot of these over a long sessions than one or two a night.

I do wish the molds were a little bigger as I've got to cast the pyramid one a total of 14 times (6 down, 8 to go!)

28mm Egyptian Terrain: Hirst Arts Molds

 I finally cleared enough space off the gaming table to break out my recently acquired Egyptian themed Hirst Arts Molds.  Pictured is my first attempt at pouring the pyramid mold.  The website has some really easy to use instructions and videos.

I'm using buff colored dental stone for the casting material which is easy to work with and is very durable once dry.  I bought a 25lb box on Amazon for $35.00 bucks and its was delivered to the house for free the next day.  Amazon Prime is an amazing thing.

The out put from the first cast was successful.  I just need to do this 17x more times to build the pyramid!  Over the course of yesterday afternoon I made 3 more successful casts from the Pyramid mold and test out a few of the others.

The molds themselves are not cheap at $34.00 each but I've both been read and told they are very durable and you really open up a range of creative opportunities for terrain.

It takes a little less than 30 minutes to prep the mold, pour the plaster and then have it set so it's best do work with several molds at once.

It's funny in a world of 3D printers sometimes the old fashioned ways still are the best.