molding real creatures

Questions about Making Your Own Lures

molding real creatures

Postby lucky stick » Wed Feb 08, 2012 1:00 pm

So a co-worker of mine said his pet goldfish of 20 years died, and wants to mold it. Now he doesn't want the mold to remember old FeeFee, but because old FeeFee looked incredibility sexy in the water. It's apparently about 9 inches long and 7 inches deep with an incredible tail. hopefully it will be some nice eye candy to muskies!

What would be the best method to mold the goldfish? Would you try and make a one piece or a two piece. How would you suggest preparing the goldfish before I mold it? Frozen, thawed? My coworker said that he shaped the goldfish a little and put it outside to freeze before he left for school this morning.

I ordered 10 lbs of High Strength 2 on Sunday so that will be the material I will use.

All input/experiences with molding real creatures is appreciated.

(My uncle also caught some tadpoles in a rare open spot in a small river by his house while he was out trapping yesterday. So I have more real creatures to make!)
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Re: molding real creatures

Postby dahlberg » Wed Feb 08, 2012 3:35 pm

THe way I usually do a fish is to suspend it in the box with thin stiff wire and pour around it. It will not be easy to capture the big sexy fins. You will have to remove all fin residue out of mold cavity, and stretch it apart when you pour it, letting it close after it's full, then pour the rest of the fish.
Be sure to wait plenty long for the material to set before scraping fins.
If the fins don't turn out there are ways to make them from another mold and attach them later.
My condolences to your friend in regards to his long lived goldfish.
My old goldie live forever in infamy within you tackle box.
good luck with the project!!
best,
L
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Re: molding real creatures

Postby lucky stick » Thu Feb 09, 2012 3:40 pm

My buddy brought his goldfish in to school today and we began working a game plan.

The first thing he is going to do is build the tail up with a clay to make it easier to capture all that sexiness.

Do you think it would be possible to make a one piece mold with HS 2? Right now I think that I could make a one piece and then use a knife to slice the mold to pull the soft plastic FeeFee out (kinda the same concept that you demonstrate in the dragon fly larva). I think that if I slice it like that I should be able to open it up enough to pour the tail, let it set, reinforce the sides with pieces of plywood and clamp it down.

I understand how to suspend the fish.

Lastly, I am assuming that we should defrost FeeFee before we start molding her as she will naturally defrost as the HS cures. Is that a correct assumption?

your "ode to the goldfish" cracked me up. Even my wife laughed when I read that to her.

Thanks for the help.

Hopefully by next week I can post a picture of FeeFee on the makelure site!
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Re: molding real creatures

Postby aka anglinarcher » Thu Feb 09, 2012 5:35 pm

Larry is the expert, but I would do it with FeeFee frozen. The fins should be shapped as FeeFee freezes into the position you want, then suspended with the fine wire.

FeeFee will thaw as the HS2 cures, but the shape will hold long enough. Oh ya, not so much fun cleaning up the mess. :twisted: :lol:
I think my bucket list has a hole in the bottom!
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Re: molding real creatures

Postby dahlberg » Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:52 pm

I'd keep fee fee chillin' as chilled as she can be.
The first time I tried to mold a real fish I didn't have a clue what I was doing and used RC3 urethane which gets really hot when it cures.
Guts, blood and various body fluids came oozing out and when I pulled the mold apart and had a perfectly cooked six inch sucker.
best,
L
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Re: molding real creatures

Postby lucky stick » Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:21 pm

This forum is so great. I love the help with my learning curve. The two things I'm taking are: keep FeeFee frozen and that we will make the mold at my friends house and I will give him the honor of demolding his friend of many years the next night while I'm comfortable at my house! Is that so wrong of me?!
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Re: molding real creatures

Postby aka anglinarcher » Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:24 pm

LOL. Nothing wrong
I think my bucket list has a hole in the bottom!
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Re: molding real creatures

Postby dahlberg » Tue Feb 14, 2012 4:12 am

They could likely use a few last moments alone.
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Re: molding real creatures

Postby lucky stick » Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:55 pm

Long delay in this project, but today I got some experience with plaster casting. We decided that if we did a plaster cast we could capture the body and scales ect and still be able to build the tail up the way we want before we make a mold with HS 2. The plaster material was pretty neat!
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Re: molding real creatures

Postby dahlberg » Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:41 am

Glad to hear fee fee is still in the game. With plaster you want to be really careful after you've pulled the master (fee fee) not to knock down the ridges. don't touch the scale part if you can help it. blow it off with gentle air pressure, then give fee fee a proper internment.
good luck!
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