SlyOwl Posted June 13, 2008 Posted June 13, 2008 (edited) Hey all! OK, so I'm not a customizer, but I wanted a go at producing my own parts. I heated around 50ml milk to just below boiling with a squirt of PVA glue. I then added a teaspoon or so of vinegar. Green lumps appeared and I seived these out. So I had a slightly greenish looking thing... Casein! It's a type of primitive plastic. I then squeezed out the excess liquid with my hand and gave it a brief zap in the microwave (not too long - I accidently melted a few parts a while back ) to dry it more. Then I dried it with kitchen towel. By this stage it felt a little like wet breadcrumbs - it didn't hold together. So I used a little more PVA and mixed it up again, to get a more mouldable substance. But I couldn't be bothered to find any clay to make a crude mould, so I just stuck a solid-stud minifig head into the middle and let it dry for about a week. I cut off the edge parts (which were very brittle) with a knife, and bingo! I have solved the shako crisis! A lot of shaving with a craft knife and a little filing and I've got a basic shape...it does look a bit 'perched', but that was because I didn't stick the head very far in before I let it dry, so I didn't have enough plastic around the sides to get a smooth edge with full side parts. This partly explains why the sticky-in-things look a bit odd. A lick of gold enamel paint later, and waddyaknow? There are a few imperfections on the surface because of air gaps in the casein - I'll trty putting it in a syringe next time to squash these out. Any ideas how to make it dry faster? Make it stronger? Edited June 13, 2008 by SlyOwl Quote
lego.ryan Posted June 13, 2008 Posted June 13, 2008 Haha, that shako picture literally made me lol. It actually doesn't look too bad, the original tan color seems to resemble the official one pretty closely. I'd really like to see more of these from you to see how they turn out. Keep up the good work! -Ryan Quote
Opproperaar Posted June 13, 2008 Posted June 13, 2008 (edited) I cut off the edge parts (which were very brittle) with a knife, and bingo! I have solved the shako crisis! LOL! I can imagine Bonaparte's army with these! I sadly have no suggestions, absolutely no experience in that area. Still I wanted to ask, does the custom hair piece come off easily? I'm very impressed if that's your first try. I'd end up melting and/or mixing my fingers instead of or with the plastic. Edited June 13, 2008 by Hairy Ruben Quote
Admiral Blockbeard Posted June 14, 2008 Posted June 14, 2008 wow, nice work! just how hard is your plastic now? it looks solid enough, but hoe easily does it brake etc... i think im off to wiki plastic making, see what i can find out... great work once again, and finally a new shako! regards Cpt. PB Quote
SlyOwl Posted June 14, 2008 Author Posted June 14, 2008 I've just done 2 shako moulds...who knows? Fingers crossed! Still I wanted to ask, does the custom hair piece come off easily? I'm very impressed if that's your first try. I'd end up melting and/or mixing my fingers instead of or with the plastic. It's a little less tight than official parts, but can still withstand vigorous shaking, although not knocks. As for melting and mixing, it isn't actually a thermosetting plastic, more a precipitous one, so the only way it could get stuck to me would be if I left it on my skin for a week just how hard is your plastic now? it looks solid enough, but hoe easily does it brake etc... It gets quite brittle when left to dry without moulding, but the hairpiece is strong (not quite as strong as ABS) and not too brittle. I'll have to see how it turns out in the long run though... Quote
Eurobricks Emperor Bonaparte Posted June 14, 2008 Eurobricks Emperor Posted June 14, 2008 Your a creative cook Reading about your experiment made me smile several times. This reminds me of myself trying to bleach Lego with all kind of dangerous substances. Keep on experimenting Quote
Tanotrooper Posted June 14, 2008 Posted June 14, 2008 interesting, as this works with items that I can finally obtain... Do you have any example of a PVA glue? Is it like normal Pattex (normal household glue) or rapid glue or something? Or the crappy white glue? Anyway, it looks smooth and worth a shot. TT Quote
SlyOwl Posted June 14, 2008 Author Posted June 14, 2008 Do you have any example of a PVA glue? Is it like normal Pattex (normal household glue) or rapid glue or something? Or the crappy white glue? Just normal liquid white glue (not Pritt stick): -Comes in bottles e.t.c... Although today I didn't actually use any in making it, and it worked fine; I only used it the first time as an experiment. And now my Lego is edible! Quote
UniqueBuilder Posted June 14, 2008 Posted June 14, 2008 I've done this several times before (being a chemistry nerd ), but without the PVA glue though. Out from experience I've seen that the plastic is very hard, but also very brittle. It also starts cracking after being dry some time.. (weeks, months) I don't know how the glue would help this though. Good luck experimenting! Quote
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