Water effects results (1st Attempt)

So two bases were done, one set at level and one raised. These were done with a 2-part epoxy and may have been not have been measured exactly (still trying to get a measuring cup, so was done with spoons and best guessing).

Lighting in photography makes a difference

The level base (the second base in the shot) has only one problem and that if you paint the bottom of it in a dark colour, you really can't see into it and that anything that you placed in it is also difficult to see unless you view it from a particular angle. The resin didn't dry flat but rather raised and considering the raised version had a slight dip, I think I may have done something to it during the bubble removal phase to shape it, but what that was I still don't know.

The raised one had a different set of problems to go with it. Firstly, trying to produce a circular container to surround the base and then trying to ensure it wouldn't leak. Unfortunately, some of it did and trying to remove it from the base is rather difficult. The substance is sort of rubbery (though whether this is because I mixed it wrong I don't know) and so removing it was a bit of a hassle. This is only more complicated by the removal of the casing and seeing it dip in the center and that the outside edges need to be removed to even it out. I'm trying to find ways to do that cause as it stands, removing just with a knife is not only difficult (rubber effect from earlier), but that it also damages the product. I have heard that you may need to sand it down in various layers, going from coarse to fine and follow it up by a polishing with a polishing paste. Will look into that.

Another big problem is the bubbles. See with the leveled one I just ran an flame from a lighter over it to drag the bubbles to the surface and used a pin to remove those that didn't pop. However, the casing was made of a thin plastic, so when I ran the flame over that it started to melt the casing and nearly damaged it's holding. As such, I was unable to remove the bubbles from this one and as you can see, that's a problem and the melting would be the first issue as I plan for wood to be used and that would burn too. I've seen a few new ways to remove it, but I'll have to do some more test bases before I start working on  actual ones and I'll do that once I've gotten a better casing set up, some sand paper (or perhaps some finer filing tools) and measuring cups.


Update: After some thinking, I've come up with a few ideas. The first is that raised does look better and to do it well I would need a short casing so the epoxy reached the top and thus remove the dipping problem. I've been informed that using things like paddle pop sticks and fold instead of stir in the mixing process helps reduce bubbles. I also have some wooded skewers and I want to see if lighting one, blow it out and then use the heated stick, moving it over quickly and seeing if the heat from it will bring the bubbles up or even try using an iron's steam option from a distance (though that last one may be clutching at straws as an option). Will test these out on a second batch, cause I really want to get to work on these models and the bases need to be done first for me to continue.