Saturday 28 November 2020

Ssh ! don't tell my Mrs !


So I had to cast up some more figures and my gas bottle ran out ! 'blast!' and because of  'lock down' I can't get a replacement bottle - evidently Calor gas for casting up toy soldiers is not essential under Government rules (I would beg to differ !) , so I thought I would use this electric hotplate . It proved less than successful - it has a cut off to stop it getting too hot - just as the metal starts melting , it was taking ages to get anything done and it was b****y freezing out in the shed so I hit on another idea ! .


Luckily my wife was out at work so I brought my casting stuff indoors and used the cooker - which worked very well indeed , the old saucepan is half full of sand to catch any spillages and I was MEGA careful ! . I remember seeing a photo of Donald Featherstone casting using a gas stove in his kitchen so if he could do it I had history on my side ! .


The fruits of my labour , I cleaned up very carefully - in fact my wife commented how tidy the kitchen looked , so all I have to do now is glue all these bits together ready for undercoating .

PS being a truthful sort of chap I ended confessing to her what I had been up to ( the dog and the younger cat had been watching me - the dog can be bribed into silence with treats but the cat is a bit of a sneak and trouble maker ! ) she said "so that's why the kitchen was clean !" 







 

18 comments:

  1. Life's a lot easier if you buy a melting pot. I can cast all I want in the basement, and the Mrs. just leaves me alone.

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  2. There is something so pleasing about fresh castings just out of the mold(s). I've never done so myself, but it is always the biggest thrill perusing others' careful work.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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  3. It’s handy that your smelting pans are induction hob compatible. ๐Ÿ˜

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    1. Not sure if they are !!! , but at least they don't tip over !

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    2. Looks like an induction hob. If it is the pans must be induction compatible or it wouldn’t heat up.

      Never thought I would know this stuff, but we had the kitchen refurbed recently ๐Ÿ˜†

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    3. Well I'm a wiser man now - they definatly heated up quickly 1 .

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  4. I used to use the cooker and was asked politely to find an alternative. I did use a electric hotplate for a while, but now I have a melting pot - much better and I can be a castaway in the garage...

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    1. The cooker is a stand in , hopefully when things open up next week I can get a refill , but I'm looking into a melting pot .

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  5. Ha you are a very brave man, I salute you!

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    1. Was VERY careful - needs must ! and only a one off I hope .

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  6. Smart move getting ahead of the curve. For small batches! I have a friend who sings high praises for his electric ladle (I think PA may sell them).

    I am tempted, but the huge melting pot I bought 15 yrs ago (when I had visions of selling my own line of figures) still works well. It takes a long time to heat up or cool down but retired me has more spare time than spare cash.

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    1. I normally find the old camping gas stove does the trick but I may look into a melting pot in the new year .

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  7. Your Castings look excellent 54mm - will be nice to get them assembled and all painted up - looking forward to your future posts Tony.

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    1. Yes it was a good casting session , the gods smiled on me : )

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  8. I found the hotplate just didn't get hot enough so I generally use the kitchen. Our cooker looks a bit more beaten up than yours though.

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    1. Yes it cuts out at vital moments - very annoying - a safety thing I suppose .

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