07.23.08
Movement Trays
The trays are custom cast out of resin by SmoothOn. I made the master using two layers of plasticard. I cut 10 3/4 inch holes in the top layer (which proved to be the hardest part of all of this) and then glued the sheets together. I took some Liquitex Texture Gel and put it on the top between the holes and then made up some filler bases with the texture gel on them so I could fill spots when there were casualties or smaller units. I chose the 10 figure base as it fit in nicely with the Charge organization – two 10 man bases allows me to have a company on two trays. In retrospect, I probably should have made them 12 figure bases so I could mount the NCO on a different side than the officer.
I placed squares of sheet metal used for duct work in the bottom of the holes and, as I mount my figures with magnets in the bases, they stay on nicely. Overall I am pleased with how they turned out.
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The molds were made with a small amount of MoldMax 30. It is not a simple compound to work with as you have to know the weight of the goop and the liquid hardener by gram as the ratio is 10:1. I have a jeweler’s scale I weigh the stuff with. The resin is a 1:1 but again needs to be weighed in terms of grams. I add a glass microsphere filler to the resin to save on the amount of resin I have to use. The filler is about $15 for a five gallon bucket which lasts a looooonnggg time. One cast takes about 20-25 grams of each part of the resin and a tablespoon or two of the filler so comes in at $0.25 USD for the tray and filler pieces. The resin takes about 20-30 minutes to set up.
