How to Enlarge and Expand TWO Piece Silicon Molds for Making Designer Toys

It's experiment time! I'm going to try something I haven't done before, and something I haven't been able to find anything about - is it possible to expand a two piece mold, and not have a deformed resin cast???
Apologies for the delay in this video, our new toy store and five exhibitions in the last month or two have taken their toll, but I'll now be uploading regularly again ☺️ Enjoy!
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Hi everyone - I'm Facter (@facter on IG) and this is my latest tutorial on how I create my own designer toys for Irikanji Toys.
I've been doing graffiti and street art for 25 years, and have been making my own toys for about 5 years now in Melbourne, Australia. It's been an amazing journey so far. I still have so much to learn, but id like to share what I already know, and learn from everyone else - so please leave comments or suggestions, and constructive criticisms!
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Check out my website or buy toys - www.irikanji.com
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[@the_arcanum]

Thanks you for putting this experiment on the Internet, that was very interesting. I'm not sure I would have cast a full load of resin because I'd have feared the exothermic reaction would have made the mold sweat white spirit and damage the surface of the cast. I was expecting you to make a slush cast or given it's a two part mold brushed the inside of the mold with resin before closing it and gently rocking some resin inside. But it's great to know the technique exists and gives results if you want to alter the prototype and make a new master at a different scale. Loved the video ! Edit : ah yeah expected it totally destroys your silicone mold. But it's about the same when you do the reverse operation and mold with alginate and let the mold shrink when losing water (IIRC it loses 10-15% of its volume). It's a one shot cast for intermediary work on a master.

[@IrikanjiToys]

That's a good call out actually. I should have done a really quick slush mold with the first one, but I was really worried I wouldn't get more than one go at it, and I wanted a solid piece in case I needed to do extra cleanup and such. That first cast was horrible, so much reaction with the mold and the surface was exactly how you said it - second cast tho was great and really clean, for rid of all that surface liquid and turned into a really great master for a larger piece.

[@IrikanjiToys]

Oh I actually did a shrink mold as well, I think I didn't do a proper video for it, but I used the same technique instead I mixed the white spirit into the silicon, them left it for a week to evaporate out, worked really well!

[@the_arcanum]

@@IrikanjiToys Thanks for the follow up. Great info :)

[@Mapmigi]

This is a great series just finished watching all the videos in it. Had to subscribe, can’t wait to start making some toys of my own! Great work and great details of your process 👍🏼

[@SimonLeeds]

I think it just needs editing down a bit. Watched on double speed and skipped parts.

[@MoyaoftheMist]

This is a super helpful video, especially the info on how low you have to demold pieces. Also the info about the molds being more fragile. About how long specifically do you think you have before the molds shrink? (I missed it if you gave an specific number.) Also, what type of silicone are your molds made from?

[@MoyaoftheMist]

The 1:4 ratio on silicone:spirits info is also very helpful. Wonder if NOVOCS would be the same way… I’m staggered by how much it wrecked your molds, though. Seeing the damage was eye opening. 😬 Oh, wait, found the bit where you talk about how long you have! An hour or two, hm, not long enough to cast silicone in the silicone, probably, right? If the release agent even works with the spirits/NOVOCS. Did you end up doing any experiments like that? If not, do you have any recommendations for what to use for a new master copy? (I want to make matching squishy silicone baby dolls for my daughter and nieces, basically, but I sculpted the clay version of the doll too small and don’t want to start over…) I appreciate the long video, definitely. So much helpful info! Definitely going to subscribe.

[@IrikanjiToys]

hi sorry for late repoly - you would have to make another resin master and then do another mold for it for the upsized one! As the spirit evaporates then the mold will shrink, unfortunately,. if its a hot day,t his will go quciker, cold day, slower, but yes Ive found I have about an hour to cast another piece

[@mxferro]

No gloves?!?? No fan blowing the fumes away from you? And what brand of resin are you using that needs to cure THAT fast? You can't vibrate out bubbles and you ALWAYS want to have a single open back mold ready for gel state to get it into that as run off.

[@IrikanjiToys]

Thanks for the comment! There is always an extractor fan/fan running, or some form of ventilation happening. Obviously gloves are best for safety and I almost always wear them, but doing something quickly it won't kill you. Not sure what you mean about bubbles? It's a rapid set resin, quite common, very useful when you are making large batches of toys so that you can cast them quickly. Not sure what you mean by vibration and bubbles? If you design your mold well enough you don't need vibration or pressure to remove large bubbles ...and why a single open back mold? You can't do complex shapes with a single piece mold and most of the stuff I do is fairly complicated in shape, and having it two pieces you are able to do proper vents (re: above not needing vibration/pressure to remove air etc).