Introduction

Articles on casting your own miniatures at home have appeared in MWAN before.

• Joel Haas, "Home Casting," MWAN #37
• Joel Haas, "Random Thoughts on Home Casting," MWAN #39
• Joe Barrette, "Backyard Wars - The Concept," MWAN #53
• Mike Gidling, "Toy Soldier Skirmish," MWAN #67
• David A. Smith, "Ramblings From the Kitchen Table," MWAN #74

I'll be reiterating some of the points made in previous articles, and hopefully adding a few helpful suggestions as well.

When I was growing up in the 1960s I had a lot of plastic soldiers, but somehow there never seemed to be enough of them. I was intrigued by the pictures of homecasting sets in the Sears catalog, and eventually a set appeared for some now-forgotten Christmas or birthday. Unfortunately, there were apparently some tricks to the casting business which my dad and I didn't know, because once we ran out of the starter metal provided with the set, we couldn't get a complete figure to cast. So the mold was stored away, and the dream of an endless supply of soldiers was displaced by my introduction to Airfix plastic figures. Many years later, my dad came across the mold in a dusty corner of the basement, and sent it along to me. I was already casting again by then, and tried it out. To my delight, it turned out to be fairly easy to use, and I was immediately able to cast good figures. What was the secret? About 40% tin in the alloy . . .

Why Cast an Army?

One of the most appealing features of homecasting is the low cost per figure. A commercial rubber mold should be good for hundreds of castings, and runs around $12 to $15. A metal mold should last indefinitely, and costs about the same, so the per figure amortized cost of the molds over their life is very low. On a good day, the average time needed for a casting is only a couple of minutes, so the initial investment in time is also pretty minimal. The bulk of the cost is the cost of the metal. With tin running around $7 per pound (and lead around $0.60/lb), 40% tin alloy is worth about $3.20/lb. Typical 25mm foot figures run about 40 to the pound, and 54's about 6 - 8 to the pound.

With the variety of figures and poses available today, there is not much need to do conversions. Since fewer poses are available in homecast molds, it is often desirable to do conversions. Luckily, this is easy and cheap. Even if you only need a head or an arm from a figure, there is no waste since the rest can go back into the melting pot in the next session. Incomplete castings can also be used for parts, or converted into casualty figures.

Many of the molds available are for larger scale figures (40mm and 54mm). I have to admit that I have a lot of "retro" tastes, and I have long held an ambition inspired by Little Wars and Joseph Morsehauser's How to Play War Games in Miniature to play games with a table full of 54mm figures. Due to the prohibitive cost of commercial 54mm lead figures, the only way I can approach this goal is through homecasting.

The additional sense of satisfaction derived from casting your own armies would be hard to measure. Many of us already derive a great deal of satisfaction from painting armies and preparing terrain and so forth. However, I do get a bit of an extra kick when putting on a convention game using the homecast figures. Large figures always have a pretty high "head swivel" factor, and you get a lot of comments and questions from non-casters when you tell them that you made it all yourself.

Now, on to the drawbacks. For a variety of reasons (mostly technical), the amount of detail on homecast figures is lower than on commercial figures. This can be overcome to some extent by painting style. I tend to paint large figures with more of a "toy soldier" style than a "museum diorama" style, and don't use as much washing and drybrushing as I would on an average bunch of 25's. In addition, some details such as buttons and button lace can be painted on. After getting used to this, I tend to think this is an advantage -- cast details that are not painted look shabby to me, but painted details left out are not distracting.

Flash is more of a problem with homecast figures than it is with most commercial figures. It is difficult to clamp a mold tightly enough to prevent flash without causing other problems, and it becomes more difficult as the molds heat up in repeated use. If there is a cure for this I haven't discovered it yet. Rubber molds are generally better than metal molds. Ultimately, you just have to budget more time for cleanup of the figures.

Safety can be an issue in casting. A well ventilated workspace is a must, and I would strongly recommend gloves and eye protection including side shields. I wear goggles over my regular glasses. This is needed due to my habit of rapping the full molds on the work surface to dislodge any bubbles while the metal is still molten. Usually this works well, but occasionally you generate a flying metal droplet. These don't have enough heat capacity to burn you, but I wouldn't want to catch one in the eye. Gloves are desirable since the outsides of the molds get pretty hot. I make a point of handling fresh figures only with pliers.

All in all, I feel that the benefits of casting outweigh the problems, and I hope that you will consider this part of the hobby if you haven't already.

What Do I Need?

You should have:

• a well ventilated workspace
• gloves
• eye protection
• pliers
• a heat source
• a ladle
• at least one mold
• mold release agent
• clamps for the mold
• metal

Some of these are common workshop items. The ladle should be one intended for use with molten metal, with a pouring spout, and not something borrowed from the kitchen. It needs to be able to sit securely on the heat source, which can be a dedicated electric heater, a camping stove, or possibly even the kitchen stove. I have to admit that I used to cast in the kitchen, but would only recommend this if you are both very neat and using a lead free casting alloy. Clamps will vary depending on the type of mold being used. I have special clamps purchased along with some of the metal molds, large spring clamps from the hardware store, and large binder clips from the office supply store. Screw type clamps are generally too much trouble, only work with metal molds, and slow down production when you are trying to make a lot of figures. Mold release is usually lampblack from a candle for metal molds and talcum powder for rubber molds.

Metal can be obtained from mold suppliers, but is usually more expensive than it would be if you can find a local source. For special lead free alloys it may be your only choice, but for lead/tin you may be able to turn up a local supplier by checking the Yellow Pages under "Metal," "Recycling," or "Plumbing Supplies." Most of the molds I own work well with an alloy of 40% tin and 60% lead. I used to buy bar solder of this composition in approximately one pound ingots, but we recently salvaged an enormous amount of scrap lead (weights from a high speed centrifuge), and have been alloying it with pure tin bars from the same dealer from whom we had bought the 40/60 bars. I have a ten pound capacity electric melting pot, so this is fairly easy. When starting you probably ought to stick to the 40/60 bars.

Why Won't This Work?

The two most common sources of problems are air bubbles trapped in the mold, and metal solidifying before the mold is filled.

Air bubble problems can sometimes be cured by tapping the mold gently while pouring the metal. If that doesn't work, ensure that there is enough mold release agent. The mold release acts as a network of microscopic airways around the surface of the figure. If that is not the problem, you may have to cut additional vents into the mold, generally from an extremity (arm, musket tip, etc.) to the top of the mold. They should not be cut through any area that should be filled with metal. Vents may be carved into rubber molds with a hobby knife, and may be cut into metal molds with a triangular file or a Dremel tool.

Problems caused by the metal solidifying before the mold is filled are generally solved by increasing the temperature of the metal. Also, as the molds heat up from repeated casting, cooling of the metal inside is inhibited. If the metal is already as hot as the mold will withstand, and warming the mold doesn't help, the other possibility is to change the alloy. An alloy with a lower melting point will take longer to solidify than one with a higher melting point, if heated to the same temperature. The lowest melting point of a lead/ tin alloy is 361o F, which is reached at 63% tin / 37% lead. Because of the higher cost of tin it is usually desirable to use as little as you can, but the option does exist if needed.

Where Can I Get Supplies?

Castings, Orcas Island, P.O. Box 298, Eastsound, WA 98245-0298
Phone: (360) 376-3266

Dutkins Collectables, 1019 West Route 70, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
Phone: (609) 428-9559
Website: http://www.dutkins.com/

The Dunken Co., 509 Main Street, P.O. Box 95, Calvert, TX 77837
Phone: (409) 364-2020

Jacoberger, 96, Rue du Buet, Z.I. Les Fourmis, 74130 Bonneville, France
Website: http://www.jacoberger.com/

What is Available for a Wargamer?

• Fantasy
• Romans and Barbarians
• Later Napoleonics
• American Civil War
• British Colonials (Zulu War)

• 18th Century (Prince August)
• 18th - 19th Century (Nuernburger Meisterzinn)
• Renaissance

• Trojan War
• Later medieval
• American Revolution
• Napoleonics
• American Civil War
• British Colonials
• Foreign Legion
• World War II

In 40mm, there are two manufacturers. Prince August has a series of semiround figures, mostly in tricornes and turnback coats suitable for anything from the War of the Austrian Succession through the American Revolution. There are a few molds which are intended to represent specific units of the Seven Years War. There are some missing hat types which would be nice to have for the Revolution (dragoons in crested helmets, light infantry in caps, and British Grenadiers in bearskins in particular). Nuernberger Meisterzinn has a small range of semiround Seven Years War figures a little larger than the Prince August figures, but generally compatible. In addition, they sell a series of ten molds which make multiple part figures mostly in turnback coats, which have separate heads in a variety of headgear. These can be used, with a little bit of artistic license, for anything from the War of the Austrian Succession up to the Napoleonic Wars. I'm currently casting them for two different projects -- one on the French and Indian War, and the other on the French Revolutionary wars concentrating on a skirmish game set in 1793 as the first phase. For the French and Indian War, I also have a few Prince August molds for somewhat generic American Indians and frontiersman in buckskins and fur cap, but I believe that these molds are out of production.

Miscellaneous