>>44208935
Well, you can always sculpt the model you want with clay or something like that and then make a mold out of that.
I´m not entirely sure of the process, you can try googling it or something. Good luck.

>>44208935
>I'm curious about making little plastic space ships. Or pewter, maybe.

You draw the design, turn that drawing into a scale plan you can use and then sculpt it from any combination of wood, metal, plastic, epoxy clay, paper or digital data you are comfortable with.

That prototype is then used as a master for a mould, into which pewter or resin is poured.

Build a design on a CAD program and send/take that design to a 3D print on demand service.

>>44208935
Traditionally, models are sculpted, usually with Green Stuff over a metal armature. Nowadays, it's common to sculpt models entirely in a 3D sculpting program like Zbrush, since it's a lot easier but IMO it often ends up looking too sterile and annoying to paint. A lot of folks don't mind, though.

>>44209694
>wood
>papee

Has anyone ever used these to sculpt masters for miniatures, though?

>>44209748
*paper
I slipped.

Although I've heard that the Cthulhu Horrorclix model was made partly out of real crab shell and stuff, to get the aquatic look right.

There's also the story of when the young Perry twins used tinfoil as the core for a model, which caused an explosion when the mold was created.

>>44209788
I read that the arm was lost to a cannon during a reenactment event.

>>44209886
That's Michael Perry, yes. He then immediately learned to sculpts with his left hand while still in sickbed, and his stump has allowed him to play battlefield casualty in movies, such as Return of the King. Pretty hardcore.

>>44209886
He didn't lose his arm in the tinfoil-related explosion, that happened way back when they were still starting out back in the 70s or something.

>>44209748
Maybe not for miniatures as such. But for vehicles and bigger crap you can certainly go from 3d model to paper model to finished cast article.

>>44208935
You shape the thing you want out of wax. Then you cover it with clay. Then you fire that shit. Then you carefully, note CAREFULLY, saw the thing in half. There you go. You now have a technique for making molds.

>>44210615
Is it even possible to make a mold of q paper object, though? I thought they used plasticard for those masters.

>>44210685
In the bronze age, yes. Modern miniatures aren't sculpted in wax, and the molds aren't clay.

>>44210726
Dude asked how to make a model. It was he who failed to mention what time period the process had to come from.

>>44210745
To be fair, the principle is still sort of the same, just with other materials.

>>44210685
If you saw a mould in half then both sides would be smooth making it hard to align the mould, so mould slippage becomes a problem.

Also the sawing will remove material, so casts will be thinner and more prone to flash.

But I guess it would work on some level, you'd sorta get out what you put in.

>>44210726

Is it even possible to make a mold of q paper object, though? I thought they used plasticard for those masters.

I wouldn't strongly recommend it, but sure it's possible. You'll need to fill the inside of the paper craft model with something to keep it from being crushed when you pour a fuckton of RTV rubber around it, of course. Might be enough to just paint the inside of the model with fiberglass resin, which should stiffen it up. If you want the mold to separate cleanly from the surface of the paper model, you should give it a coat of paint first.

>>44210726
>Is it even possible to make a mold of q paper object

Not Vulcanised rubber. But Silicone, Latex, Investment Plaster, Green Sand Moulds, yes.

You just have to strengthen it first.

>Print out templates
>assemble into parts that will form the parts for casting moulds
>paint varnish onto paper model to waterproof it and spray it with sealer.
>dump some resin into model, swish it around until it coats the inside. You may have to repeat this a few times.
>Leave harden - you now have a plastic model
>optional: fill it with plaster/cement/foam/reinforced concrete/whatever

Then just suitably gribble the outside with sculpting or additional bits to detail it and make your moulds.

>>44210726
Lost wax casting is still in use. You can easily have a CNC mill cut the master for you when using that process.

>>44211102
Sure, but it's not used for making wargame miniatures.

>>44211131
It can be. Some people still use Brass masters for making Vulcanised rubber moulds for Spin Casting.

Like if you need to copy something that isn't already in a material resistant to this process' heat and pressure.

Masters will be Lost Wax cast under Centrifugal force or a Vacuum.

There are other ways of doing the same thing though.