Tips And Tricks For Making Miniatures

Miniature sculptures have the same issues and problems as larger works: bubbles and parting lines can be just as tricky when working on a small scale.
Thanks to Gergö for sending in these models. Character design by Dick Poelen.
Special thanks to these companies for their support of the channel:
The waxes I use on the channel are provided by www.freemanwax.com
I buy my rubber and resin from www.silpak.com
If you love miniatures check out this blog by Hayk. This video is featured along with lots of other good info:
www.hayksaakian.com/how-to-ma...
Here is a list of suppliers for the materials I use in my videos:
www.dropbox.com/s/kz6mhmf7v5v...
Do you have a project to suggest for the channel?
Here’s a .pdf with everything you need to know:
www.dropbox.com/s/pjb0l6fr7zj...

[@MrQuickLine]

Hi! Small edit to the credits: while Dick Poelen did the 3D modeling of these characters, they're unofficial replicas of the minis from the board game Root. Character design should be attributed to Kyle Ferrin, the original artist of the characters.

[@RobertTolone]

Thanks for the clarification. Here is a link to a Kyle Ferrin’s website: lightgreyartlab.com/kyle-ferrin

[@BEdmonson85]

The more relevant question is... where can we buy these minis!!!? =D I'd love to print some for myself.

[@RobertTolone]

@@BEdmonson85 Google Dick Poelen. He has the up on myminifactory.com

[@k3lvinbr]

the bubble on the ear of that second mouse kinda gives it some nice personality, he has more battle scars than the other ones.

[@truegret7778]

A large part of my career was in automated manufacturing, and one of the first mantras was "it might be the best product in the world, but is not worth a dime if it isn't manufacturable". I continue to learn from your videos - much appreciated!

[@funclaysculptures3758]

Robert, your channel has almost single handedly made it possible for me to move from selling my sculptures as one-off's to molding and casting them to sell multiples at festivals. Thanks so much for what you do. Just learned a new trick from you today. I never thought of fixing the little bubbles with the actual resin. GENIUS!

[@RobertTolone]

Glad you find my videos helpful!

[@Nagytika]

Over time the mold will come apart...I have a quite good technice for 2 parters...you just need the cheap polymer clay which never becames solid, and lego...a lots of lego (apart from the basic modelling sculpting tools you probably have. Flat out plaster, make your modell sink into it. work out that there is no undercuts, make a few bumps, but make them like pushing from one side (but try all not to have the same orientation), desing the place where you want to pour in the resin and build small half pipes out of clay from the figurines until the edge(what will be the top), and make it wide so you can have a nice cone for casting. Build a lego frame around the whole thing(while still be on top of the clay, so you need to push the lego frame into the clay, build it up so high that you will be over the figurine if you pour silicone. Make sure use a little clay to seal all the opening between the bricks, make sure that the casting pipes are reaching the lego frame. (For bonus point spray the whole thing with silicone spray. Pour the silicone and wait for hardening. Remove the clay, but do not open the frane....now put the clay back inot the pipes, because you need them and build them up so they will froma full pipe. Build the frame up so that you can pour silcione here as well. spray silcioen spray on tjhe figurines, try to dry up the excess with a earbud. Then try to spread talcum all over the silicon mold surface without touching the figurines. Cast silicone After it hardenes you can remove the frame and getting out the plaster and using that as a strating point the two half should come apart without using a sclapel, and you will end up with two parts which can only fit together in one certain way... Also you need some(a pair) flat wood/or hard material and good clamps/strong rubber bands, whatever. Assemble, and pour the resin (YES there is no way to perfectly fit the two sides, so there will be leak, keep it in mind)

[@tronarts7945]

I wish you were my Grandpa

[@Miscast]

Fantastic!!! Thanks for covering miniatures

[@OldManRogers]

There's just something wonderful about watching a master artisan at work

[@RobertTolone]

More to come, miniatures are a big world!

[@elpretender1357]

@@RobertTolone Excelent, we will wait patiently for more on the topic. Keep up the great work

[@Philographicks]

Robert’s amazing to learn from, isn’t he Trent? Your stuff is awesome too.

[@RobertTolone]

Hi Trent, I just subbed your channel. Great stuff!

[@nathanielrobles3284]

Really like that this video covered it all up from making molds to casting and seeing the results. Thanks as always!

[@kscott2655]

Thank you for this detailed video. I knew about undercuts and venting, but seeing the way you've described recognizing those problem areas and the ways to solve them is very nice.

[@blender_photography]

So much wisdom in a single video. Thanks for sharing.

[@HalidonDioramas]

Awesome video, so helpful! I create miniatures but had never given any thought to design with casting in mind, have been using two piece moulds with poor results, cannot wait to do some redesign and try the method you just showed us. Thank yo Robert, you have an awesome teaching style, it is very much appreciated 👍

[@OMGITSMIKE]

I never subscribed to a channel faster, amazing fountain of entertainment and knowledge for a veteran in the hobby biz.

[@TheRBTech]

Thank you, Mr. Tolone. Your videos and lessons are as amazing as your molds.

[@RobertTolone]

Thanks Eric!

[@b2ill911]

I’m only just beginning making molds. (Have not done one yet) I feel comfortable getting going thanks to your channel. I love your attention to detail and the way you explain. My lady and I really enjoy watching you work. Thank you!

[@earthangelfairies2907]

Amazing! I have been trying to figure out how to cast my 1” wooden carved fairies and how I can carve them for ease of casting. Now I get it. Brilliant chunkies too. I’m gonna try it again. Thanks so much!

[@meloniegreen1480]

Living Legend. I appreciate you sharing your wisdom with so much patience and room for us to learn. Thank you💐

[@galvosaur]

I'm so incredibly happy I found this channel, you've answered a lot of mold questions I've been scratching my head at for the past year, thank you for making this content Robert!!

[@RobertTolone]

Glad you found my channel. Thanks for watching!

[@gustavogarcia1948]

I have seen a few people reference your channel when talking about molds, and now I know exactly why. You are a true expert in your craft, a master. I have just subscribed and have become one of your new apprentices on this channel. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Saludos y bendiciones desde Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico!

[@rdr6253]

You Sir are master of the craft. Amazing job as always

[@RocketPunchHero1]

Robert, I hope you know just how much we appreciate you.

[@svartann]

another masterpiece! Thank You!!!

[@rowanstephenson3192]

Great stuff and really helpful thank you Robert 👍

[@rorylaubscher3208]

You’re an absolute artist. Thanks for being such a good teacher.

[@RobertTolone]

I appreciate it Rory. Thanks!

[@BlazeBytez72]

Awesome work. Lovely molds 👌

[@grimmissis]

absolutely brilliant explanations of what you’re doing and WHY

[@RobertTolone]

Glad you found it useful, thanks!

[@pherja]

One of the charms of old toys, trinkets, eraser figures, etc. are that they had to be sculpted to work in a mold, usually an injection mold. So they don’t look quite right… and that’s the charm. So I definitely love doing small, highly detailed figures, which I 3D print as is. But I also like doing the old style… where the mold dictates the shape to a degree. It gives a very sentimental feeling to the toy. ❤

[@OldManRogers]

"Look at these parting lines" *literally invisible* XD

[@georgebebawi7314]

Great video as usual .. thank you

[@FrostyFreeze541]

Thank You!!! Great videos!

[@thegrafxguy1]

very nicely done. you are a master at your craft!

[@knessing7681]

very insightful and educational. thanks.

[@scavengerjoe1012]

Consistently awesome since I first seen you over a year ago!

[@FlatThumb]

Wow those are some great miniatures. I know nothing about this process but was fun to watch.

[@lynniewood]

Oooh this was so helpful! Thank you!

[@AvocationNation]

Love the channel, thank you!

[@CoreniaBug]

Very helpful!! :) Thank you for taking the time to share!! :)

[@jazminourens4830]

Sir, you’re video introduced me to whole new ideas. Thank you

[@jaquelinepaul7384]

Thank you. I love this video. You're easy to listen to. You must have been a teacher at some point... I sure learned a lot in this short little video.😊😊

[@YanniCooper]

Coming here thanks to SteadyCraftin and looking forwards to watcing more of your videos, this was great!

[@juliogrimaldo7]

Wooo! I learn a lot, Thank you!!

[@lincolnmv4043]

Yeeeeessss! Thank you! Loved the episode

[@Sin4Profit]

This dude plays Root

[@mikeoliver6742]

And is VERY serious about it.

[@johnkelley9877]

I cast my own model tanks I scratch build so I learned a lot from this tutorial. I still have bubbles but now I know how to fix and repair them. Thanks for sharing this.

[@RobertTolone]

Glad it helped John!

[@lumitic774]

printed these this week! nice timing

[@dero4378]

aww these guys are adorable!

[@DerivativeWorker]

Steady hand of a master crafter

[@MWSculpts]

Super cool thank you for sharing

[@mrbluesteen]

Amazing detail

[@animes25]

so, in short, you just need a 3d software to fix all the problems from an already done sculpt, or do it the old way with wax, you are a genius

[@SG25]

Thank you for the great videos! Do you have a video where you explain how, when and where to add vents?

[@lokiwartooth1138]

I love watching your channel

[@Primal2229]

Toy prototype sculptor... and subscribed. I was already interested because I do weapon casting for figures as a hobby. So this video and channel was right up my alley, but having done toy prototyping for a living? I am ready to learn.

[@machineman6498]

Thank you for making this

[@tonyclavelli1228]

I only find myself casting about once a year, and every time I do, I come to your channel to watch you problem solve and connect sprues. I've never found anyone else who does such good, replicable processes! thank you so much for this and all the others

[@RobertTolone]

Glad you find the videos useful Tony!

[@treblam1]

Great Job! Another Winner!

[@RobertTolone]

Thanks Albert!

[@gme258]

I've found surgical retractors to be useful when cutting large molds. I regularly use some cheap stainless weitlaner type self retaining retractors.

[@albertorodrigomolinasortiz471]

Always impressive, sir. Finally found a place in my city that sells resins, and I'm dying to try casting some stuff.

[@RobertTolone]

Definitely give it a go!

[@aaronhelmsman]

Some great characters. Remind me of the Redwall books by Brian Jacques

[@MercedesMia23]

I really appreciate your videos! What silicone do you recommend for candle molds?

[@pseudodavid3273]

I never thought I would say this, "shove in the chunkys" is a GREAT idea that had not even occurred to me before your video!

[@RobertTolone]

Works like a champ, just don’t mix rubber types! Many rubbers don’t play nice with each other.

[@petez4608]

Amazing channel. Just stumbled on it.

[@RobertTolone]

Welcome! Glad you like the videos.

[@BIGJIM1934]

Cutting a small vent into the mold will solve that issue quick as a bunny. I've cut vents into a mold after the fact on several occasions. Nice work as always 😊

[@RobertTolone]

Yes, cutting a vent works but I hate doing it! Every time I make a casting the cut vent reminds me I failed to vent the mold properly in the first place!

[@roger.agburn]

I would love a video where you design a miniature from scratch to go through the process of how to design for casting. Anyway, I love this one, too. ^^

[@nekrataali]

Tom Mason and the Mini Sculpting Super Show here on KZbin has tutorials on making minis from scratch. He's a professional sculptor that's worked with a lot of different companies over the years, including WizKids and Reaper. He has to take casting into consideration on almost all his projects because he knows they're going to be mass produced.

[@bozzaga]

Awesome Video, what kind of Cast Material would you recommend for big figures up to 25cm tall?

[@danthemakerman]

I'm here because of the Crafsman aka Steady Craftin's video. You have a great channel with a tremendous amount of info! Thanks for sharing.

[@machineman6498]

Same

[@PhunnyConflicts]

i got lucky and came to your channel. very cool stuff

[@ikkiiiieee]

I'm so glad you finally found someone for this! Looking forward to more. Minis like this which are multipart might be next on the list?

[@RobertTolone]

People find me; spread the word I’m looking to cast miniatures for games like Warhammer, etc.

[@ikkiiiieee]

@@RobertTolone shared it on the 'eavier metal fb group (main group for creativity in the hobby)

[@RobertTolone]

@@ikkiiiieee Thanks for sharing!

[@tedytarrify]

New to the channel. Great content. Question; was the big tank a de-airing chamber? A vacuum chamber?

[@winashark]

Hello. Congratulations for your work. What kind of resin do you use ? Thank you

[@ChempZee]

Nice job

[@GamingMediocrity]

Thank you so much for these videos. I'm getting close to completing my first set of castable models. Bubbles got me nervous.

[@RobertTolone]

Bubbles make me crazy!

[@VertexPolyFort]

The KZbin algorithm has blessed me with this amazing video

[@RobertTolone]

Thanks for watching!

[@LucasRafaelDesenhista]

very good, very clear . thank you and congratuations!

[@randystuartjr.4217]

Very informative video! I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I'm currently trying to mold a 4 legged dog that has a base, in a 2 part mold. I can remove the first half, but the other half wraps around the legs of the miniature and I have a hard time releasing it without destroying the mold. I have a picture but I'm not able to post it..could you shed some light on what I'm doing wrong?

[@gerbendenheeten6905]

After making a cast, what stuff would you use in the mold (I believe the term is release agent?) before making a second one? Or isn't that necessary with these small characters?

[@OchoMiniatures]

Love your content! But question when you add resin to fix a bubble do you cure it under pressure or is it a small enough amount you don’t worry about it foaming (assuming your resin is not so fresh)

[@RobertTolone]

If your resin is foaming then you would definitely want to put it under pressure to cure the bubble repair.

[@ShonicBurn]

You sir deserve a billion Subscribers.

[@RobertTolone]

A billion would be nice of course, but I might have to settle for a couple hundred million.

[@severalwhitespaces]

Another great video. Thanks Robert. I'm curious, under what circumstance would you advise separating a figure like that from it's base and casting in two pieces? Or maybe hinging a piece to avoid holes / simplify a mold?

[@RobertTolone]

I would do that any time it makes the casting process simpler. It’s often helpful to take a character apart and cast it in pieces.

[@sonipitts]

@@RobertTolone Have you done/will you do a video on how to do that with sculpts like this? Especially the hinging option? I've not seen that before.

[@RobertTolone]

@@sonipitts Not sure what you mean by hinging a piece.

[@sonipitts]

@@RobertTolone Whatever Allen was talking about in his original content. I don't know what he was referring to, that's why I'm curious. :-)

[@t.d.j.dejong6285]

Great! Is that a regular soldering iron? How hot is this pen?

[@christianarnold2216]

Hi, awesome tutorials! I plan to cast my own sculpted miniatures in this scale first time. Could you share which shore density you are using for the rubber mold? Not sure if it was mentioned in the video. Have a nice day!

[@RobertTolone]

It is Shore A 25

[@DETHMOKIL]

CHUNKIES! brilliant! the small things you learn.

[@N5omn1ac]

"invisible....thats what we want to see" lol.. Awesome video!

[@mAcroFaze]

Thanks for this! Here I am casting another mold of a sculpture that's been giving too many issues, like you said at the start, it was sculpted... But not necessarily sculpted for resin-casting :P As a quick side note: Are you mixing resin without gloves or a respirator mask? :O

[@anamonterroso3498]

Love your work! Do you custom make molds to sale? I have two simple shapes.

[@DavidClunie]

Functional dice (polyhedral set of 7) next please! Would like to see how you would vent those.

[@RobertTolone]

Super tricky because of the embossed numbers. There’s just nowhere to place the inlet sprue. And if you put a vent at the logical top of the die you will have a tedious cleanup on each casting. In theory you could use injection just so the sprue and vent would be really thin. Or use the two-part smoosh mold technique.

[@ec0n0my1]

Thanks for the tutorials!! Do you paint miniatures as well? I would love to see that!

[@RobertTolone]

I paint all my sculptures but my channel is focused on molding and casting. Maybe one day I’ll expand my horizons.

[@terryaultman2339]

Hi Robert, you do amazing work! Can you tell me what kind of rubber you use? I tried to mold a piece that had been 3D printed and the platinum rubber wouldn't harden at the 3D printed part

[@RobertTolone]

Yeah, you want to use a tin based rubber forecast in 3-D prints. I use Econosil-25 from www.silpak.com

[@HuntLikeDavid.]

Very cool. I'm getting into a board game Axis and Allies with massive customization unit scale is 1/72. Question how would I go about making a mold for large Scale production of units.. say make 20 to 50 at once without destroying the mold for reuse. Thank you

[@Grimoire6666]

Hey Robert was jut wondering - what are the little blue tubes you use for vents? I’m trying to track them down or something similar in New Zealand, amazing once again thank you for all the work you do

[@RobertTolone]

They called wax wires, or sprue wax, and are commonly used by jewelry makers. Check out jewelry casting supply companies in your region.

[@Grimoire6666]

@@RobertTolone thank you Robert appreciate the help

[@digipaw1731]

these are so cute! does the artist happen to have the files for the models up so people can download them to make thier own?

[@joakescarnival8303]

I would love to be able to get miniatures like this

[@BillMakingStuff]

I WILL do this one day... Great video.

[@RobertTolone]

Love your channel! If you want to do a collaboration I’ll make some parts for you. That would be a lot of fun.

[@BillMakingStuff]

@@RobertTolone that sounds great, let's talk more about it

[@danielebling]

Love the videos I would love to see how you would make molds to recast warhammer model parts

[@RobertTolone]

Any specific part you have in mind?

[@flkpnzr8303]

Hey great video, but I would love to know, how you cut the bids mold. I can´t get my head aroud the bow. Greetings

[@chaucer44]

tHANKS FOR THESE VIDEOS! Where can I buy those wax heating tools, wax rods and sticky wax?

[@RobertTolone]

The waxer is a Foredom Wax Carving Pen. The waxes are from www.freemanwax.com

[@barb.christine9962]

Robert you really are the best! 👍 Question (I live in Vienna, Austria - Europe) and what kind of material do you use exactly? There are so many types of silicones, and I need it for for miniatures scaled 1:6. Thanks, Robert and regards. 👍🎄🎄(Sorry for my English)

[@RobertTolone]

I mostly use tin-based silicone because it’s cheaper. I don’t know resin suppliers in Europe but there must be some who could provide the correct rubber for your projects.

[@eric3dee]

Love seeing this. Question. If you were in fact doing a run of 100/ea. How many molds would you create?

[@RobertTolone]

10 of each character. That is more for casting speed than it is about mold wear. I would expect to get 15 or 20 good copies out of each mold.

[@bubblewrapfred]

Can I ask why the molds don’t last longer? Do they loose detail or is it because the splits grow until the mould is no longer a single price?

[@martinimianosky]

thank you for this video!! i’m still in the process of buying materials… is there a specific type of resin for this? and do you add dye to your resin? if so, why? thank you so much in advance

[@RobertTolone]

I use urethane resin. In this case Econosil-25 silicone rubber and Quickcast urethane rubber from www.silpak.com, a division of Polytek, Corp.

[@bastienmoliere8325]

Hello thank you for your video :) Little question for me. I don't have a pressure pot. At the junction between my piece and the air vent / the funnel, I reveal lots of air bubbles in my resin when I sandpaper the air vent and the funnel (just under the suface. Am I doing something wrong? Maybe my flow si too slow of too high and I should modify the diameters? I have a perfect 90° edge between my piece and the vent. Maybe a curved fillet on the edges of junction could help ? Thank you in advance

[@RobertTolone]

It sounds as though your bubbles are rising up to that spot and the resin is gelling before they can escape. Either that or your resin might be foaming.

[@Theexplorographer]

I've just found my new Bob Ross!