Outpost 206

Last month I purchased a one-pound bag of ImPressive Putty mix by Composimold, which was about half the price of the pre-mixed ImPressive Putty and a pretty solid deal. My initial experiments with this material were somewhat disappointing, as it was implied that it could replace the need for non-sulfurus modelling clay that’s used in two-part/clay-up molds. This would, in theory, save me the time and effort of not only removing the modelling clay after pouring the first half of the two-part mold but the actual pouring of the second part of the mold. Sadly, due to the fact that even at its most malleable, ImPressive Putty cannot be made to be completely flush against the sides of the object like the regular non-sulfur modelling clay typically used in clay-up molds. This leaves considerable gaps around the object and not only makes filling the hybrid Impressive Putty/Composimold two-part mold to completion a crapshoot at best, it also leaves a ridiculous amount of flashing once the resin

I mentioned before that I’ve been experimenting a lot with mold making and resin casting (both epoxy resins and fast-curing urethane resins like Smooth-Cast). I started out by dabbling with silicone rubber for my mold making but decided that it was a lot more cost effective (and less nerve-racking) to switch over to Composimold, a thermoplastic molding compound that can be melted in the microwave and reused to make different molds. I recently came across a youtube video that showed how to make your own homemade molding compound from a mixture of unflavored gelatin, glycerin, and water that can also be melted in the microwave and reused. And while I’ve been having a lot of fun making molds with Composimold and I have about four pounds of the stuff, the video piqued my interest enough to want to try the recipe out for myself (even though I don’t really need to) just to see how it compares. But if you want to try it out for yourself (and don’t want to watch the video), here’s how you

So I’ve changed the name of my personal hobby blog from the Sacrarium of Secrets to the much improved (in my opinion) Outpost 206 . Mostly because Outpost 206 is easier for people I know to remember, sounds cooler, and is more evocative of the kind of vibes I want this place to have. And yes, I did go back through my 48 previous entries and fixed all the links after posting my action figure customization article yesterday. I was never really a fan of the Sacrarium of Secrets name and I doubt anyone else was either. But my mindset at the time was that I needed to come up with a name for a blog and since it was a lazy, hazy summer day, the creative side of my brain probably wasn’t firing on all cylinders and that was the best I could come up with in that particular moment in time. I’ve long since made peace with the fact that, while I have tons of ideas, not all of them are good ones. So why did I go with Outpost 206 ? Well, 206 was the number of my first apartment (a tiny studio in

 This project started with a 40 cent bag of plastic junk I found at a thrift store late last year. And in that bag of junk I found this crappy McDonald’s toy, which is apparently Sharkboy from the 2005 critical and commercial failure The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl . In addition to being one of Robert Rodriguez’s many kid-friendly creative misfires throughout the years, I only know of the film because it led to Miramax being sued by a pro wrestler who also used the name Shark Boy (who settled out of court). At any rate, I took this godawful movie’s hideous fast food tie-in toy I turned it into a custom figure of an OD mutant from the excellent video game Sunset Overdrive (originally released for the Xbox One in 2014 but later re-released for the PC in 2018, which is where I experienced it after picking it up for about $5 in a Steam sale). Call it serendipity, but there was something about this figure’s massive head, weird proportions, and hunched posture that told me that th

It’s certainly been a while since my last update and like I mentioned at the end of last month, work commitments and overtime had really taken a toll on my available hobby time. But things are slowly but surely getting back to normal (at least until the next major “emergency”). I have a new action figure customization write-up that should hopefully drop within the next day or two and here’s a look at what’s currently on my desk: I’ve been doing quite a lot with mold making and resin casting (both clear epoxy resins as well as white urethane resins from Smooth-On), experimenting with different reusable molding compounds like Composimold and Composimold’s ImPressive Putty. I’ve also still been messing around with silicone molds here and there since I do still have some silicone left, but not that often since I started getting into Composimold. As a result of all my dabbling in resin casting, I have a growing pile of figurine that I’ve duplicated and plan to customize further (sculp