(Astro) New experiment in making gloves
James Steven York
astronaut gloves using Plasti-dip (the stuff used to create rubber
grips on tool handles). Since my first attempt at casting removable
gloves right on the hands didn't work, and would have resulted in
gloves that were too tight for realism anyway, I decided to try an
approach that is kind of like "sand casting" in metal, in that the
mold is destroyed each time you make a part. Here's the idea: I
sculpted a rough glove out of kids, non-hardening, model clay. I
didn't sculpt individual fingers, that section of the glove is just a
flattened "flipper," but I did use a wooden tool to make groves where
the fingers would be, to outline the fingertips and a couple seams,
and to put some fold detail in the palm. I then screwed a cup hook
into the end of the wrist to act as a handle and hanging fixture.
Then it was out to the shop for the plasti-dip. My first coat didn't
cover well. That could be because of the oil in the clay, but it
could also be because I just dipped it and pulled it out too fast. I
hung it to dry for about half and hour, eliminated a "drip" that was
forming at the end of the hand, and gave it another dip. After
letting that dry a bit, I eliminated yet another dip, and used a dowel
to squash in the "web" forming between the thumb and the rest of the
hand. My plan is to let the stuff dry overnight, squeeze the clay
out, then carefully turn the glove inside out to expose the detail
lines from the mold. We'll see how it works. Probably it will take
some tinkering before I get anything worthwhile out of it.
Assuming I can get a useable glove, the next step would be to create
detailed hard molds, not for the rubber, but to create clay blanks
that can then be dipped and destroyed. Might have other joe
applications as well, for making pouches, gas masks, things like that.
J. Steven York - www.sff.net/people/j-steven-york - Writer
Generation X Novels: Crossroads, Genogoths
Bolo, The Old Guard (Jan. 2001, Baen Books)
ALX2000
j-stev...@sff.net (James Steven York) wrote:
> I'm in the middle of trying a new, experimental way of making rubber
> astronaut gloves using Plasti-dip (the stuff used to create rubber
> grips on tool handles).
>
> Might have other joe
> applications as well, for making pouches, gas masks, things like that.
> J. Steven York - www.sff.net/people/j-steven-york - Writer
> Generation X Novels: Crossroads, Genogoths
> Bolo, The Old Guard (Jan. 2001, Baen Books)
>
Cool! I keep eyeing that stuff with the same idea every trip to Home
Depot. Except I was planning to permanently coat spare 21st or Cots
hands. Keep us posted on your progress!
I've also been working on using aluminum foil for astro gloves. I'll let
you know how it turns out and post pics if anyone is interested.
--
| Alex G
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Ronald Purviance
>you know how it turns out and post pics if anyone is interested.
>
>--
>| Alex G
>| Visit the Gamma Indii Jo System:
You know those silver foil window shades for you car windsheild? I used the
foil from one of those to make gloves for my vintage Spacesuit before I
obtained the real thing. They have a cloth mesh on the back that you can sew.
Ronald
A toy isn't happy unless it is played with.
And all my toys are happy toys:)
James Steven York
results, while not entirely successful, were interesting. I ran hot
water in the bathroom sink to soften the clay for removal. This
turned out to be a LOT more work than I thought. Maybe I was just too
impatient, and should have let it soak until the clay was liquified.
First problem was, I had a blowout in the web of the thumb where I'd
fooled with it. The lesson here is "don't mess with it" Moreover, the
clay near the plasti-dip had taken on a texture (appropriate, since it
was yellow clay) like hard-boiled egg yoke. I finally realized that
some of it wasn't going to come out, and I started dipping and
carefully turning the glove inside out. This was actually easier then
I expected, as long as I kept dipping it to keep the clay soft. Some
of the remaining clay crumbled out, but a lot of it was "cooked" to
the inside of the rubber. More hot water, and a lot of rubbing with
my fingers, took most of it off. On the positive side, all of the
little panel lines I scribed into the clay blank transferred
beautifully. On the negative side, my crude glove sculpt otherwise
made those Hasbro space mittens look pretty good, especially with a
ragged hole in the web of the thumb. But I was able to pull the glove
onto the hand of an Ultracorps figure without too much trouble. I
made the mold with the fingers flat, but the fingers of the hand are
curled. This caused the palm area to seriously bunch up. A better
result might be obtained molding with the fingers at least slightly
curled.
As an attempt to make an ugly rubber oven mitt, this was only SLIGHTLY
unsuccessful. <g> But the technique has promise, and might well be
useful for making other flat rubber items like flack vests, gas masks,
etc. It might also work better with balloon rubber, or the sex-shop
latex that other people have mentioned. Plasti-dip has very little
stretch to it, and seems prone to tearing, especially at the edges.
Using a different brand or type of clay (silly putty, possibly?) might
work. It's also possible that, given the large size of the fingers in
a space glove, forming this stuff over a scratch-made hard mold
(possibly made from sculpy) might still work. I'd also given some
thought to trying an ice mold, though I have a feeling that the cold
would inhibit curing of the Plasti-dip, and the nasty fumes that come
off this stuff couldn't be good for the food in your freezer, and
might even represent a fire or explosion hazard in such a confined
space. Wax is another possibility. Just dump the finished part in
boiling water to get the wax out. Other rubber products might be
different. (I'm assuming the body latex is much less toxic, at least,
I HOPE so!). So, there's some promise here yet.
ScottE
PowerTeam Astro suits are made from, available at fabric stores. My
wife's a crafty seamstress, and my son had a silver robot outfit for
Halloween several years ago. I'm loathe to cut up the outfit, but it
sure looks like great raw material for foil gear.
In article <20001215152401...@ng-cf1.aol.com>,
--
ScottE - T*O*M*B Raider at Large - http://www.geocities.com/holosuite
James Steven York
>Cool! I keep eyeing that stuff with the same idea every trip to Home
>Depot. Except I was planning to permanently coat spare 21st or Cots
>hands.
I'll probably go ahead and do this with the Ultracorps figures I'm
using for my Major Matt Mason conversions.
Richard Lewis
the palm like the astro gloves from hasbro are? Would leave the back
covered and....skip that. Detailing would be too hard.
Ill go back to simply making a cuff to put around a CC wrist and just
painting the entire hand. I can glue styrene detailing directly to
the hand and then paint it and achieve the look I want. None of my
guys needs removable gloves.
Best of luck on your work, James!
ral
Harry
and build up some material up, then use a 2-piece hard mold and some
more Plastidip to put in any details you want. This way, there's PLENTY
of room in the gloves, and you still get the detail with out all the
hassle. the only question is, will plastidip cure in thicker sections,
like in a mold? If it can, It could very well be used for Gas Masks,
Helmets, Astro Gloves, even Heads. You may also want to put a layer of
petroleum jelly on the HOF Meat hooks to prevent the Plasti Dip from
Curing to them.
Harry