Copyright 2007 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
I had tried my hand at casting lead army men in molds. That was fun. It is nice to make something from raw materials. The soldiers were cast, then trimmed, and then painted. I had a metal mold that made three World War II G.I.s, another that made three Afrika Korps Germans, and a silicon one that made a knight. Sadly, life roared in and that curtailed hobbies for a while
Well, 25 years later and all I had was the knight mold. A friend who needed money offered to sell me his molds, most of which were new. These made traditional British Guardsmen and Scots. I also managed to acquire some Civil War molds and extra knights. Since then, I have occasionally gotten a mold or two from Ebay. My current selection includes the aforementioned molds along with Revolutionary War troops, a few Napoleonics, army men and 40mm scale German Landsknechten.
My current material is lead-tin alloy and printer’s lead / linotype metal.
Metal casting is an ancient art. Molten metal is poured into a mold. The mold is a piece with a hollow cavity. The cavity has the "negative" features of an item. Molten metal assumes the shape of the cavity when ti fills the mold. Once cooled, it retains the shape of the cavity.
After casting ,the metal pieces must be allowed to cool. Then they must be trimmed and filed to remove any excess metal. Pieces are cleaned. I brush them with an abrasive brush to create little grooves over the surface. These can only be seen with a very strong magnifier. They are so small that you cannot feel them with your fingers. Priming paint adheres better to the grooves than to a perfectly smooth surface.
The last phase of work is painting and finishing. I do not have my old skill, though it is returning bit by bit.
As you can see, the finished products are quite attractive. The hobbyist gives them a bit of liveliness. Here you can see the various things I have made, from army men in camouflage to knights and Civil War Yankees and Goobers. Some need to be assembled, like kits. And some can get an added touch, such as adding plumes to knights.
From an esoteric standpoint, casting is an exercise in the Elements. Fire is what melts metal. The molten fluid, when hot enough, will flow like Water. The molten alloy will also assume the shape of its container, again like Water. It hardens in the mold, a perfect example of the work of Earth. Once out of the mold, Air completes the cooling process.
The end result is a matter of metal quality, the metal caster and the mold. Metal with many impurities may pit or crumble. Good metal holds its shape. An experienced metal caster can get a good pour 90% of the time. Yet no matter how good the metal or caster, it is the mold that determines just how good the casting might be. The mold holds the form of the figure. If the mold contains a cavity for a crude figure, even the best metal and metal caster will produce a crude piece. If the mold contains a delicate and detailed piece, then good metal and a good worker will get a fine piece.
The only way to add detail to a figure from a crude mold is to add it later. That means a lot of work filing, cutting and sculpting on the crude piece. It can take a long time. Meanwhile, a figure from a detailed mold happens in but a minute.
They say that we are molded by our home and environment. A good home tends to create a person with good traits, and a bad environment means a crude person. No matter what the molding, a person can change. If the person is molded well from the start, there is little refinement needed later. If molded crudely, however, change will require more effort. Parents and teachers need to create a healthy, encouraging environment to ensure a good start in adult life. Anything less means the challenge of improving oneself later, and that takes more time and work.
Amusing, is it not, that we get such a good lesson from tin soldiers?
One side effect of making something good is that the maker cannot help but add a burst of happy energy. This is multiplied for those with magickal training. It is not done intentionally, but happens as a natural result of creative work. You can tell whether crafts were mass-produced overseas or individually made by someone who cares. The item will feel right if it was made by a real craftsperson.
A friend recently said that I was "hotloading" my miniatures. There are two reasons he may have gotten that impression. One is that I love making them. The other is that the finished figures are stored in the same room where I like to invoke the Gods. Tin/lead alloy can hold a charge well.
I am trying to regain my old painting skill. It is weird because I now need glasses. It is harder because I also need a magnifier, but the results look promising.
Here is some of my finished work - just follow the link below.
http://www.thortrains.net/armymen/newpic04/hcastdex.htm
********************
If you would like to a have one of my toy soldiers, here’s where you can get them:
http://www.thortrains.com/UncleThors/specials07.htm
Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page for soldiers!
