Fiberglas, a casting material often used to make copies of props and other professional items, is also well suited to making copies of sculptural items. You can create Fiberglas versions of any type of sculpture, including dinosaurs and other figurines.
Instructions
1. Sculpt a dinosaur from clay or Sculpey, then coat it with Krylon Crystal Clear or another clear sealer if you are not baking the clay. Coat the sculpture with a mold-release agent, then let it dry completely. Find the middle line of the sculpture, from one side of the base to the other, and build a thin wall of modeling clay along that line, all the way over the top of the sculpture. Make the wall of clay as high as you would like your mold to be.
2. Mix a batch of plaster out of gypsum and water in a large bucket. Paint an impression coat of plaster onto one side of your dinosaur sculpture, all the way up to the modeling-clay wall. Let the impression coat dry completely, then paint another coat of plaster onto that side of the sculpture. Layer a few strips of burlap on top of the wet plaster, then paint plaster on top of the burlap. Layer burlap and plaster repeatedly until you have reached the desired mold thickness. Repeat this step on the opposite side of the dinosaur sculpture. Let the plaster cure completely before moving on.
3. Remove each half of the plaster mold from the dinosaur sculpture, pulling away the modeling clay. Clean the plaster mold free of all clay, then add a layer of paint to the inside. When the paint dries, apply polyvinyl alcohol over the paint as a mold-release agent.
4. Create a mixture of laminated resin and its catalyst, following the instructions on the packaging. Inside the mold halves, apply an impression coat of resin and let it set. Over the impression coat, lay strips of Fiberglas cloth and paint another coat of resin onto the cloth. Let that layer set, and then continue applying layers of Fiberglas cloth and resin until you are satisfied with the thickness of the cast. Let the entire casting cure for a few hours, until it is dry but still somewhat flexible. Pull the fiberglass out of the mold halves to prevent sticking, then replace the pieces back into the mold. Let the Fiberglas cure in the mold.
5. Remove the Fiberglas from the mold halves and trim the edges until they line up evenly, then tape the Fiberglas dinosaur together with a few pieces of masking tape. Along the seam line, lay a few strips of Fiberglas cloth and paint resin over them, removing the pieces of masking tape as you go and covering the seam as neatly as possible. Let the seam cure, then file and sand the seam down. Paint your Fiberglas dinosaur as you wish.
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