Long shot... has anyone ever cast a snake?

I know this is long shot, or maybe not.

But I am planning on casting the hatchling that I lost from my first clutch. But first I need to make the mold (obviously).

When I froze her I placed her in the position that I wanted to cast her in, coiled with her head sticking out of the coils.

I have talked to a few artists and one response I got was this...

"think casting a coiled baby snake will be infinately easier than an adult. related to the casting, do you know any dentists? i ask because they should be able to refer a dental supply house so i can aquire a bulk amount of geltrate or alginate which is used to get incredibly fine detailed single use molds for casting in plaster. the other option will be to get it from omer des serres and pay an arm and a leg for it (haha i think there could be some kind of snake joke in there if one was creative or inventive)."

Does anyone have experience with the medium?

I am hoping I can cast her frozen, rather than having to unthaw her... ? Once I unthaw her it will be a one time shot, and I am not that confident in my capacities.

And with unthawing there is a chance of bloating, etc. So I would prefer to work with her frozen.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Bruce

May I ask, what frozen hatchling is this?

I really like the idea though, a bp mold like that is always unique. :]

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

May I ask, what frozen hatchling is this?

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I lost a pastel female from my first clutch this year. She hatched with her umbilicus around her abdomen.

I froze her in position, as I had lost my first BP Ash late last year. After I had him frozen I found out (from another artist) that I would not be able to work with the body once unfrozen, and therefore was not able to rearrange it to cast it.

I had this planned in advance on the off-chance I was to lose a snake.

Bruce

The dental alginate is a wonderful medium. It might be the best thing since as you cast the frozen snake, it will become damp, which would ruin plaster or similar materials.
Sounds like a neat project, keep us updated.

I immediately thought of alginate as soon as I started reading your post. That stuff is amazing to work with and I have used it many times. You get great detail and it is so simple to work with. You can make up your mixture and it is a fairly forgiving mixture-- ratios do not have to be perfect. You can cast your snake and the mold is super moveable and flexible. Downside is, the mold will work only a few times before it deteriorates. You can cast something like silicone into it and make a mold from your first cast if you want.

I bought a box and it seems to me it was about 80 bucks and I still haven't used it all. I have NO IDEA where I bought it. I will go look at the box and try to track it down for you. (I do have to run my son to school and go to the barn, but will be back later to do a little alginate research for ya.)

You should have no problem casting ehr frozen. You don't need to coat her with anything to get her out of the mold.... but I'll thiink about this process while I drive around today and see if I can come up with any great ideas for ensuring success the first time around...

Excellent information thanks.

Any ideas on how long it takes to set?

I may be able to get two molds off before she thaws out too much?

I like that it is flexible though that will be a god send.

I was trying to figure out how to get the bottom and top.

I thought I would put the medium a few inches deep in a container, set her in, push her down about an inch. Lay a layer of wax paper (or something) between the layers, then pour the rest of the mixture over.

That way I can get a complete body cast, but still be able to get the layers apart without having to cut in and risk damaging it, or damaging the subject.

Thanks,
Bruce

This is a very cool idea. Please let us know how it turns out :)

It sets very quickly-- I'm thinking less than three minutes. You don't need the waxed paper either. The mold is so flexible that you can cut a simple line to the cast object and just pull it apart. You should practice on something else first but it is super user friendly.

It is so flexible that you can cast something like your own hand, hold still for the few minutes it takes to set and wriggle your hand out without damaging the mold. So as long as you are reasonably cautious, you will be able to carefully cut with like a butter knife to the snake and cut the mold into two parts after casting.

What do you plan to pour into the mold?

Ideally, and I know I will have to experiement a bit on this one, but I would like to use epoxy.

Basically end up with a clear epoxy cast of the snake.

But i will try plaster as well, and will research a few other mediums.

Bruce

I am not sure epoxy would work in alginate. You may have to make a plaster cast and then make a mold from that. I cannot remember which materials are useable with an alginate mold. I know you can use soap, chocolate, plaster, and one of the plastics but I am having a hard time finding my notes on what worked and what did not.

Link for buying:
http://www.google.com/products?ie=UT...num=1&ct=title

This sounds like an interesting project. Good luck with it and let us know how it turns out!

mmmm.... chocolate snakes...

I think the friends that would want them are small, but it might be fun... :)

Definitely keep everyone posted, and this has been super helpful. I am running all the info past my partner and we're going to make a few different molds and try with various mediums.

From the sounds of the medium, I think I know how to do it so that I do not lose any of the detail. I will put her on a stand... set that in a container, then pour the alginate over her. That way when I remove the stand, which will be about 2/3rd the size of her base, then I can pop the mold off and still have one piece that will contain the entire body.

I had thought I would have to figure out a way to have two halves, but if I can do it in one piece then that much better.

Now I am getting excited.

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Originally Posted by Loft Lizard

mmmm.... chocolate snakes...

I think the friends that would want them are small, but it might be fun... :)

Definitely keep everyone posted, and this has been super helpful. I am running all the info past my partner and we're going to make a few different molds and try with various mediums.

From the sounds of the medium, I think I know how to do it so that I do not lose any of the detail. I will put her on a stand... set that in a container, then pour the alginate over her. That way when I remove the stand, which will be about 2/3rd the size of her base, then I can pop the mold off and still have one piece that will contain the entire body.

I had thought I would have to figure out a way to have two halves, but if I can do it in one piece then that much better.

Now I am getting excited.

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I want to buy both a chocolate and plastic casting from this when your done. :gj:

SOLD!!! To the woman with the blue rats! :)

Bruce

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Originally Posted by Loft Lizard

SOLD!!! To the woman with the blue rats! :)

Bruce

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SWEET!! I win! :tongue2: :worship:

Dirty jobs tonight at 10p on Discovery had a special on making shark casts with dead sharks and fiber glass... thought of you!!!

Any more info on this? I have one that died also, and I am thinking of casting it. I would love to know how this goes..

nothing at the moment, still info gathering. I have a friend that used to do castings. He is planning on swinging by in a few weeks when I get my products.

He'll explain how they work etc. and walk me through it. I am a hands on learner.

That and his daughter wants to pick up a rat and hold some baby snakes... she's 5. :)

I'll try and document it as well as I can and will post the pics and the details of how I did it.

I am making sure I have a good grip on it first, as it sounds like the mold will heat up when casting, the snake will have to be thawed out, and because of those two... I will propably only get one go at it, and I really don't want to mess it up.

Bruce

Hi,

Will you use supporting wires internally to pose the snake if it has to be thawed out?

Do you need to coat it with anything to stop the mold sticking?


dr del

I had thought about having to support it... what I thought I may do is use a soft clay (or some other malleable material) so that I can basically push the snake into the support and hope it holds it there, as I will pour the molding material on top of it.

I had originally hoped to cast her frozen, as she is already arranged (I had thought about this prior), and is in a great pose. Nice little coil with her head resting and poking up from in the coils. :)

And the cohesion of the mold should be sufficient that I will not have to treat the snake with anything.

Bruce