Product Review 17 - Hirst Arts Molds

In this Product Review video I walk you through Hirst Arts Molds, the gold standard in casting. They are an amazing product and I really can't recommend them enough.
Twitter: @warhammerweekly
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Hirst Arts: www.hirstarts.com/

[@ProfDeth]

Getting ready to buy these and cast/build Terrain/Dungeons for friends and myself. I am going to start with a floor tile mold (Gothic, #205), walls (rubble block mold #263), and some dungeon accessories (Cavern floor accessory #282, and #85 respectively). Resin is so much more expensive, so I am going to go with Dental "stone". Thank you for your videos. I may post some videos about my hobby painting (I am not at your level), and my dungeon terrain when they are finished. Again, thank you for your videos.

[@VinceVenturella]

Awesome, #85 is a particular favorite of mine for basing for gaming miniatures. If you are mass producing, the dental stone is the way to go (also doesn't have much trouble with air bubbles if you are careful). Happy to help and look forward to seeing your results! :)

[@nordheimgaming5336]

Those are amazing, Bought it for Mordheim awhile ago. The treasure Mold is pure gold, and it's fun aswell!

[@nordheimgaming5336]

Looking forward to see a hobby cheating on the resin casting, I've Only used Plaster.

[@VinceVenturella]

It really is awesome, it's great for basing material - which is of course my primary goal, crazier and crazier with bases :)

[@erikturner8005]

I find Hydrostone to be the best material for quality versus cost for HA molds...much better than PoP, and not hard on the mold like resin is (resin tends to kill molds after 30-50 casts versus forever with plasters). You can get Hydrostone from a local pottery store. The crush strength is 14,000 psi versus 18,000 psi for most dental plaster, or just 6,000 psi for regular Plaster of Paris. It's about $30 US for 50 pounds of it. Hydrostone is basically Plaster of Paris with a little cement mixed in. You mix it at about 3:1 plaster to water ratio. Hydrostone is relatively durable for gaming use, particularly if you seal your pieces with matte clear hard wood floor finish. I own almost all the HA molds, and make my own molds too. It's awesome!

[@VinceVenturella]

Yes, if you are casting in really large amounts, that is the way to go, I have some Hydrocal, which is close I believe, and I use that if I am just trying to turn out a bunch of bricks, but resin is my preferred for smaller batches, though you are right, it's more costly.

[@erikturner8005]

Hydrocal is about midway between Plaster of Paris and Hydrostone for strength and durability, about 10,000 psi iirc. It's better than PoP, but still pretty soft for things that will see a lot of tabletop use and can rub together. It also is easier to break it, and your fingernail can easily damage the surface whereas you have to try pretty hard to scratch hydrostone. Yeah.. resin is about $100/gallon plus mold release, versus $30/50lb sack for Hydrostone. I have plenty of Warhammer minis with bits of cast hydrostone on the bases and they are fine durability wise, with paint on them. I put bits of broken pottery from the inn and tavern accessory molds on some of my skaven bases poking out of the dirt. It's nice to cast in resin if you don't mind the shorter mold life and cost though.

[@erikturner8005]

There's a lot of conflicting information about the crush strength of various casting materials online, and there is variation in products in different parts of the world and also with how exactly you mix the material. Check the exact specifications of the materials you are using (there should be a data sheet) if you want to be sure.

[@amBasteir]

Perfect timing! I've been planning on getting scatter terrain and would really like to make my own. Thanks for the vid!! (as always)

[@VinceVenturella]

Yes, they would be awesome for that, no doubt.

[@renegade5188]

Yeah Hirst is amazing. I have quite a few myself. They make an amazing space hulk set that just takes the game to a new level.

[@VinceVenturella]

I haven't messed with any of the sci-fi yet, but they seem awesome.

[@bethanygraham427]

Ah, the temples I have put together...the cathedral still under my desk. Hirst Arts are so much fun!

[@VinceVenturella]

I love them for sure, a real godsend for people addicted to insane basing like myself ;)

[@ricvaz6583]

great video, i have a few molds myself for more than 6 years and there are awesome

[@VinceVenturella]

They are worth every penny for all the use can get out of them, it's amazing stuff.

[@ElDavePhoto]

The resin really does degrade the molds quickly. With plaster (I prefer hydrocal) you can run these molds practically forever!

[@VinceVenturella]

It's true, resin will hurt the molds in the long run, but I tend to run less and use them more for basing and scenery, instead of full buildings. I keep hydrocal on hand as well for large runs, it's just I am addicted to the sped of resin. That being said, they will last forever with plaster.

[@Dakkadez]

Definitely something I'm interested in. I'm thinking of using dental plaster though, just because it's readily available not to mention cheap. What do you use for a mold release? Do you know if Plaster requires anything?

[@VinceVenturella]

Well, for resin casting, you just need a bit of baby powder, so that's easy. I know that they have full dental plaster instructions on the website as well. Yes, a good mold release is nice for plaster casting so you don't crack anything. They have some good recommendations on the website, but most anything will wok.

[@erikturner8005]

Baby powder acts as a surfactant and helps the resin flow into the detail so you get good casts without too many bubbles, but you actually need to use a spray mold release to really protect the mold. Pretty sure Bruce uses platinum cure silicone in his molds, so it's tough stuff, but with typical tin cure silicone you can actually destroy a mold in just 5 or 10 casts with no mold release protecting you ( I know this from experience making molds). The mold release isn't to make demolding easier... it's to protect the mold. As for plaster, you don't need mold release at all. People usually spray some Blue Jet Dry/water mix on with a spray bottle to act as a surfactant and help prevent surface bubbles ion the casts though. Also, I prefer to use the plate casting method as opposed to scraping... it's much less error prone and there is no forgetting to scrape.

[@erikturner8005]

Also... water and resin don't mix. If you're going to use the same mold for both resin and plaster casting, the mold needs to be completely dry, or you'll accelerate the damage to the mold even faster.

[@dajjelightblade]

Holy crap. I need this lol. Great share Vince.

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you sir, much appreiciated.

[@jamesflanagan7374]

Where’s the link to Marok project?

[@crazyhorse-us3ng]

What resin do you use for casting?

[@VinceVenturella]

Magic Cast 300. 305 has a longer time to set if you don't want to be rushing.

[@VictorQues]

Good product review, but now I cannot imagine what your bases can look like.

[@VinceVenturella]

Oh, we are going to 11 for sure ;)

[@makdaddi3921]

I have used Hirst Arts a lot. If casting with plaster use a quality casting Plaster. Add some dishwasher "rinse aid" so the plaster flows better into all the nooks and crannies and helps bubbles float out when vibrating. I use a probe to prod bubbles out of all difficult corners and detail. Scraping the excess off the top of the casting before it sets makes it easier than scraping/filing after setting. The best plaster primer I have found is black gesso (so you can see where you went). Down side is that Plaster castings projects get very heavy very quickly...and whatever you do don't drop them.

[@VinceVenturella]

I keep Hydrocal for casting with plaster if I need to do a larger run. For most small tasks for what I need with basing or simple scenery, the resin is addictive, though it's a lot harder on the mold. Good tips all around.