13' standing sculpt - how to bake/boil?

[Genezilla]

Hi all,

I've decided to finish off my super sculpey statue but I have a dilemma, I dont know how Im going to boil or bake it, as it is quite large.

My piece is 13' tall (standing up straight) but it wont fit in the biggest pot I've got or my oven. I dont want to cut the statue in half because I dont want to compromise the strength of the armature.

Any suggestions would be tremendous.

Gene

[goutetsu]

I have absolutely no experience here but...Possibly some kind of metal trash can that can hold water, or aluminum garbage can? I can picture it tossed on a stove with dual burners going...Looks dangerous.

I take no responsibility for these harebrained suggestions.

[dccowen]

Boiling: Target - granite ware stock pot 15.5 qt, 14.6 litre. Cost $15.

My 1/6 scale staning statue. Approx 14" high fits perfectly.

I'm not one of the pros, it's my first sculpt, but it has worked perfectly.

[Punishment1218]

You can also try using a heat gun to harden the outer shell of the sculpture and small things like hands, feet, and other parts. I've found that when you boil a piece, those small things can shake apart and come off due to the boiling of the water.Boiling makes a more even hardness over the whole statue rather than baking. Definitley get a large stock pot, but I always prebake mine first with a heat gun. Hope this helps.

[dccowen]

Originally Posted by Punishment1218

You can also try using a heat gun to harden the outer shell of the sculpture and small things like hands, feet, and other parts. I've found that when you boil a piece, those small things can shake apart and come off due to the boiling of the water.Boiling makes a more even hardness over the whole statue rather than baking. Definitley get a large stock pot, but I always prebake mine first with a heat gun. Hope this helps.

The pre baking with a heat gun idea sounds really useful. Do you recommend a specific model? What brand do you use?

[RM designs]

I presume you mean 13 inches (not feet!) - you could just cover a flat tray or a grill in your oven, in foil and carefully lay it on that and bake it. Just use extra foil for support on fragile areas.

[Genezilla]

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I will try the heat gun technique followed by flat tray in the oven, or boiling in the large stock pot I just purchased.

Im determined to finish my work now! Thank you all.

[Boondog]

If you have a heat gun, you can easily build a make-shift table overn with some armature wire to form the box, some heavy duty tinfoil and some ductape. Make a port at the base for the heat gun and poke a few small pencil hole thorugh the top for ventilation, set at low temp/low speed, and it's pretty much set and forget for about 30-24 minutes, as long as your rig is built sturdy.