darkSpyro

I can guarantee this is the ONLY one in the world.

Sadly, he had a little accident and broke in 3, I have stuck him back together but he will never be quite the same

What do you reckon I can get on ebay for the only ICEruptor in the world?

HOW DID YOU GET THAT O MUH GOOSH!!! LOL JUST KIDDING BUT THIS CAPS THING IS KINDOFFUN.

On topic thought how did you actually get him?

Lol... Custom! So easy to do

@LloydDXZX, How exactly do you think this is EASY to do, I can promise you it's not.

Unless you know a secret I don't! Please share!

Make a mold from an Eruptor figure, then pour some Translucent Liquid Sculpey into it, bake it and viola' ICEruptor! That would be my guess.

This is actually ICE.

As in real, frozen water, very cold, ice.
But yes, I had to make a mold of my Eruptor and fill it with water, freeze it and remove without (not without, damn) breaking it.

I have translucent resin on the way now I have proved the mold.

I intend to embed a working RFID chip and LED in the figure so it can be used on the portal

If you can make this actually work, I imagine you could get top dollar as custom figures go. We're talking $30-50, with crazy buyers paying up to $100 in fluke circumstances. You will need to be very descriptive that this is just a custom figure and not a genuine variant, though. And it would have to be secure, permanent, and relatively unbreakable. Up to you if that's worth it.

Well, I wouldn't call $50 "top dollar" considering how much it's costing to make.
The special 2part liquid silicone isn't cheap, neither is the resin.

Plus, I have to buy a Lightcore Eruptor to remove the chip!

It will be a solid, permanent, working figure though.

I was also looking at cold casting a "bronze" one.

Oh wow, that's amazing, you should use a kiln and melt glass then pour it in the mold and make a "Glass" Eruptor.

Sadly my mold won't take the heat from Molten glass. I would have to make a wax Eruptor then make another mold using the wax one and use the lost-wax casting method.

A lot of work... Still, glass? That would be hella'cool.

Make a step by step for us. Please. How do you get a mold? Wouldn't it melt?

Yeah... I knew it was ice... but who will buy ICE???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost-wax_casting

@LloydDXZX, that was a test run. Resin is next.

Resin will be the final permanent form.

Quote: Pyrofer

This is actually ICE.

As in real, frozen water, very cold, ice.
But yes, I had to make a mold of my Eruptor and fill it with water, freeze it and remove without (not without, damn) breaking it.

I have translucent resin on the way now I have proved the mold.

I intend to embed a working RFID chip and LED in the figure so it can be used on the portal

I had no idea it was actually Ice! Very awesome indeed. I doubt you would get much for an actual ice sculpture on ebay (hahaha) but I see where you are going with this. Great work!

Quote: Pyrofer

@LloydDXZX, that was a test run. Resin is next.

Resin will be the final permanent form.

OK!!! Put a pic. when it's done!

Quote: Pyrofer

Sadly my mold won't take the heat from Molten glass. I would have to make a wax Eruptor then make another mold using the wax one and use the lost-wax casting method.

A lot of work... Still, glass? That would be hella'cool.

Would you mind showing us a few images of your mold? I've had a few ideas concerning this and want to get an idea how you did it. What concerns me are the limbs (and how to get it out of the mold) and where you split it and have the channel for the material.

Quote: Pyrofer

Well, I wouldn't call $50 "top dollar" considering how much it's costing to make.
The special 2part liquid silicone isn't cheap, neither is the resin.

Plus, I have to buy a Lightcore Eruptor to remove the chip!

It will be a solid, permanent, working figure though.

I was also looking at cold casting a "bronze" one.

The problem here is, $50 really is top-dollar for a custom figure. Very rarely do they ever go for more than that. Buyers aren't going to know how much it cost to make, so you're going to have to hold out for the "crazy" $100+ bidders who do exist, but don't exactly lap up every custom job they see immediately. Sadly, it really is a question of cost versus possible profit, and custom Skylanders really only go for so much before you start to see diminishing returns.

I stood the figure inside a card box. Poured the mold material slowly into the box until completely covered.
After letting it set I removed the card leaving a block of Silicone with Eruptor inside, The bottom of the base was just visible at on one side, the silicone had leaked a little under the figure, but that was fine.

I took a sharp knife and cut around the edge trying to go along the edge of the arms.
Once I had cut mostly around I pulled the mold apart and severed the lump between the legs. Once you get going it's pretty obvious where to cut! Leave as much at the "bottom" (no holes) part as you can un-split.

To cast, I simply put the mold back in the cardboard to hold it together upside down, so the big hole for the base is now at the top.
I poured the water into this hole SLOWLY. I jiggled it a bit as I poured to let air bubbles out.

Then I simply left it to set.

Sadly it leaked a bit so I had to top it up, when it came time to get it out pulling the mold apart broke the figure in a couple places, this shouldn't happen with plastic.

But just a question... Will you put the Chip inside or it'll not cost a lot of money...

No point making a custom Skylander if it doesn't work on the portal!

Of course I will put a chip inside it.
I want to put the Light in it too so it all glows. Better than the original Lightcore

Quote: Pyrofer

No point making a custom Skylander if it doesn't work on the portal!

Of course I will put a chip inside it.
I want to put the Light in it too so it all glows. Better than the original Lightcore

You'll get a lot of money if you do this!

Hold on if the base is white would it work?

Quote: thewreckingball

Hold on if the base is white would it work?

Yes it gonna work! It's now the color it's the chip that's inside the Skylanders base! but if the base is white and not orange... I would not buy it!

I will remember that and look into colouring the base Orange just for you.
Got your $100 ready?

Quote: LloydDXZX

Quote: thewreckingball

Hold on if the base is white would it work?

Yes it gonna work! It's now the color it's the chip that's inside the Skylanders base! but if the base is white and not orange... I would not buy it!

I thought that painting the base would damage the rfid (radio.frequency.identification) chip once it is close to the base.

Quote: Pyrofer

I will remember that and look into colouring the base Orange just for you.
Got your $100 ready?

Lol... I'll not buy it... but what I wanted to tell you is that if a custom collectioner want your Skylanders and don't have the orange base, he'll don't give a lot...

Paint will have no effect on the RFID chip!
Assuming you don't have some crazy metal based paint.

Surely the whole point of a custom figure is that it is custom? The colour of the base is hardly an issue.

It certainly isn't for me!

Gosh darnit! You scared me! I thought that was real for a second.

For real ice? No one would buy it unless someone has an ultra cold freezer that won't screw withe the RFID chip and wires.

nice ice.........can you eat it?

I can in theory pop it in a drink. I wouldn't want to try eating it! That would hurt my teeth.

In theory I have to melt it to get the volume of liquid required for my resin pour, but I don't want to

i wonder were you keep that?.......

Quote: Pyrofer

I can in theory pop it in a drink. I wouldn't want to try eating it! That would hurt my teeth.

In theory I have to melt it to get the volume of liquid required for my resin pour, but I don't want to

You don't have to melt it. Just pour water in the mold again and measure that.

So, I made my first resin cast.
It sucks. I didn't mix the resin properly, and because I took too long mixing it (badly) it was too thick to flow into all the holes when I poured it.
Hence his top teeth are a bit broken.
Still, first try! I embedded a random RFID chip inside just to see if it would survive, it did.

Looks great!

If you could, put lights in his hands.

This is really cool. I suspect you will quickly find their is no profit to be made here as I suspect the cost of buying figures with encoded chips and the cost of supplies to make them will eclipse what most will pay for customs. If you can get costs down you might be able to sell a couple of working customs on ebay to support your own skylander addiction, but I can see it turning into a situation where it costs more to make these than you can feasibly sell them for.

Do you plan to mold any other landers or are you focusing on the perfect eruptor?

Well, his right hand came out great... If you mix it properly, will he be more translucent/glass-like? Would make for an awesome Lightcore... It's too bad they won't show up as Special or Lightcore unless you hack apart figures which you shouldn't, LOL!

And I think a glass one would look great but would end up being too fragile. And I think forming glass is a significantly different process, I suspect more than the mold having to be different.

Personally I've made molds too, but for making chocolates. Came across the process as someone used it to make a chocolate Han Frozen In Carbonite from Star Wars from a plastic toy.

I just pictured making such an ice Eruptor and scalping him to hollow out his head as like a shot glass or mug or something, LOL!

Hot Head, even better, his head seems designed to be hollowed out.

Quote: Pyrofer

I can in theory pop it in a drink.

Shouldn't you be using Pop Fizz for this then?

With anything you do, there is a learning curve. Costs incurred during this are the cost of learning.

This figure, has cost me more than I want to admit in both time and Money.
I doubt I could ever sell it for a profit, but that wasn't the point in making it.

I am concentrating on Eruptor because quite simply, he is the easiest!

I put a random RFID chip in this one to test that it survived the process and it did. When I can get a good even translucent resin I will look at embedding a real Lightcore chip etc inside so it all glows.

Can I make a profit based on raw material costs for a figure? Probably, once I have perfected the process.
Can I make a profit based on what I have invested in total? I doubt it!

Very unique!

i indeed like it!

I was looking for other materials, I would like to make a Glow in the Dark figure.
I have GITD paint, but it doesn't look great because of brush strokes.

If I could find a GITD resin to pour

Or, I need to mix GITD powder with a totally clear resin. I will see what I can do.

Quote: Pyrofer

I was looking for other materials, I would like to make a Glow in the Dark figure.
I have GITD paint, but it doesn't look great because of brush strokes.

If I could find a GITD resin to pour

Or, I need to mix GITD powder with a totally clear resin. I will see what I can do.

the GTID fright rider and sonic boom are also only made of some sort of GITD plastic, might that help you?

Sadly, I don't have the ability to use (or buy) the plastics they use.

The commercial process they have access to is far beyond me. I will see what I can do.

i wish you had.............

Quote: NINJAsk11

Quote: Pyrofer

I was looking for other materials, I would like to make a Glow in the Dark figure.
I have GITD paint, but it doesn't look great because of brush strokes.

If I could find a GITD resin to pour

Or, I need to mix GITD powder with a totally clear resin. I will see what I can do.

the GTID fright rider and sonic boom are also only made of some sort of GITD plastic, might that help you?

Are we sure that they're GITD plastic and not just painted? I know at least with my Sonic Boom and Cynder they look like they're just coated heavily with GITD paint. If that's the case, or he'll even if it isn't, that'd be way more cost effective.

-Grishnaar

Quote: Grishnaar

Quote: NINJAsk11

Quote: Pyrofer

I was looking for other materials, I would like to make a Glow in the Dark figure.
I have GITD paint, but it doesn't look great because of brush strokes.

If I could find a GITD resin to pour

Or, I need to mix GITD powder with a totally clear resin. I will see what I can do.

the GTID fright rider and sonic boom are also only made of some sort of GITD plastic, might that help you?

Are we sure that they're GITD plastic and not just painted? I know at least with my Sonic Boom and Cynder they look like they're just coated heavily with GITD paint. If that's the case, or he'll even if it isn't, that'd be way more cost effective.

-Grishnaar

I believe the first GITD variants were painted, but not the Giants GITD figures.

cynder is painted but fright and sonic not i belive