More Ducks – this time Warrior Ducks or “Gurads”

The last casting project I had in June involved a Ral Partha figure from a collection known as “Non-Human Adventurers” (Ral Partha 18-014).  This was part of a Runequest collection. See this link from Lost Minis Wiki: http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/index.php?title=Image:RP-18-014z.jpg

Buck Surdu sent me this as a challenge.  It was a Warrior Duck armed with a sword.  This figure was the smallest I had yet to try to mold and cast.  Buck, back when we were at West Point, misspelled “Guards” as “Gurads” in one of his Tunnels and Trolls games he ran.  I seem to remember you had to make a saving roll when you saw them or you laughed uncontrollably while they mercilessly gutted you.  For nostalgia’s sake alone, I looked forward to making a couple of “Gurad” units

My previous experiences told me that the base was too thin and friable for a mold for gravity casting.  Therefore, I used one of my bases that I made from Aves® Apoxie Sculpt to help fill the mold out.  Even so, it was small enough that it moved slightly between the making of the first mold half and the second.  The only down side was that I had to do a little surgery with an Exacto knife on the mold, and that led to the sword having a split at its tip.  Even so, this is easily filled with paint or clay, so its not a big deal.

I cast 24 from a mix of 67% tin and 33% lead, at 565° F.  Some of the figures did not initially come out, but after adjustments, the gravity mold worked fine.  I sent Buck half, while retaining the other half for myself.  They are pretty cool and hope to get them on the tabletop soon.

Author: Mark A. Morin

This site is where I will discuss stuff that I find interesting and that includes family, friends, golf, gaming, and Boston sports! View all posts by Mark A. Morin