Metal Casting Zone

Hello all - I am new here...
I need help from someone who understands the various casting options.
I have done pewter spin cast miniature buildings in the past with success.
Enough success that I now have a client who wants me to make some
"not so miniature" buildings - plated in silver... 25-200.
At 24", I am guessing spin-casting is not going to happen.
So this job will be outsourced to someone with bigger capabilities.
Any metal that can be silver plated will do....
I can get the master created, I just don't know what the most likely direction for success would be...investment casting, gravity casting....etc....
Surface detail is more important that overall casting precision...
It is a visual piece. I am completely open to your ideas...
It could be cast in pieces & then assembled...etc

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Ed HowardModels.com/replicas

A pic

Your best bet is going to be investment casting, done correctly it will pick up details you didn't even know are there. You can also do them with a fairly thin wall section this way. Just think about a small statue being cast, they are normally done in investment casting. Find a local sculpture studio and see if they do bronze casting. I don't think the 24" is as big an issue as you think, but the price is probably going to scare you.

Great project, keep us informed.

Thanks for the tip.
Is what I don't understand is the process...
OddDuck, you speak of "fairly thin wall"....
I can not afford to get 1 for 1 wax SLAs made of 25 or 200....
Are you thinking to cast thin wall wax subs?

Also in this post TARP trillion $ bailout world,
what do you consider a "scary" price?
I was hoping for in the $300-$500 per casting...
Ed Howard

By fairly thin I mean 1/8" or a little thicker. Thick enough to be rugged but thin enough to save weight and metal. I wish I was better at finding links online but there is a video on youtube that shows the process. In a nutshell, make your master model. Then coat the outside with silicon or plaster to make a master mold. De-mold your original and put the master mold back together. Pour in molten wax and let sit for a minute or so until a thin "shell" of wax has hardened on the inside. Pour out the rest of the wax. Let it completely harden and de-mold from the master mold. Repeat 200 times. This part you should easily be able to do by yourself with fairly good results. Take the waxes that you have just made to the sculpture studio and let them invest them and cast them for you. As far as the cost, I don't know what the going rate for something like this is, but I can guess it isn't cheap. Are you GETTING $300 to $500 per casting or was this your estimate for your cost of having them cast? I bet if you found a reputable studio you could work out a package deal with them, especially considering the economy.

Sounds like a great method - but in the past,
I have not had much luck in getting the wax into the small detail areas.
(the bands under my thumb in the pic). These details always end up with
many air bubbles. with this wax shell method, I can't use a pressure pot
to minimize the bubbles/air pockets...

Hi 1mindeep
That pic of the spin casting looks a great job..
Does this casting of a building have to be done in metal. If it is 24 inches tall why not in a resin. Resins can be tinted if need be with silver colour, or cast in resin and silver frost spray. Maybe ?????? 24 inches will be a heavy casting.

Thanks for the compliment.
I'm afraid it's pics like that that landed me in my current situation.
Yes it needs to be metal. Then plated in silver.

I am hoping to get the casting portion done for
about $500 in the lower quantities 25-50units
or the $300 if quantity approaches 200units

So that figure does not include any master, finishing, plating, packaging etc...


OldDuck asked Are you GETTING $300 to $500 per casting
or was this your estimate for your cost of having them cast?