Tristan

How does the photo application process work?

I'm looking forward to seeing which minnow you're talking about, I can't place it in my memory... Excalibur made several baits that were copies (licensed, I believe) of other well-known baits, such as the Super Spook, Spook Jr, etc. Was the excalibur a copy of bomber's long A minnow? Thanks, Tristan

Calhoun - finished product is nice, durable, low odor (plastic smell) as well as being quite cost effective, especially in 5 gallon and larger quantities. I've used both M-F and Lurecraft in the past. I'm happy with Calhoun.

gvetter - Like you, I'm used to motoroil being different than I got with LureCraft's version, more a changable deep green/chartruse/brownish tint... This weekend, I got a reasonable facimile by using equal amounts of LC Flourescent Chartruce and LC Motoroil. 1/2 Cup Plastisol 10 drops Chartruse (must be mixed with plastisol before heating) 10 drops Motoroil If you cut the colorant to 7-8 drops each, the color comes out more on the watermelon side. Add a little fine red flake to this produces a very nice color. Next, I think I'll try adding a transparent brown.

Are those hand pours?

Today, I stirred the bucked for about 10 minutes and then poured some out into misc. containers which would be easier to work with. Aparrently, I hadn't done a good enough job of the stirring yesterday; today the baits I molded are about twice as hard. I think I will add softner to the whole batch to get it about halfway between yesterday's and today's pours. Thanks for the info, folks! Tristan

Thanks for the replies. I'm afraid if I added any softner to this I wouldn't be able to get it out of the mold! Have to see how they are tomorrow.

Yow! 3-D! Looks good!

I just recieved my order of Calhoun from Del-mart. The baits I've poured are undoubtably the softest I have ever done. In fact, they seem sticky to the touch. Is this typical for Calhoun hand-pour plastic? Tristan

Markell, I would recommend using a small pouring pan, about 1 Cup size, to which you no more than 1/2 cup material that has been pre-heated in your microwave. You can keep the pouring pan hot on a hotplate or the stove between plastic heatings. Try that and let me know how it turns out! Tristan

Alby - That sounds great. I was thinking of doing the same thing; but I have a question for you: can you mold the sculpy material in resin? It would seem to be too hard after curing to be able to get it easily out of the mold. I'm going to keep a lookout for a good one to model after; sort of the southern california style is what I'm looking for. Good luck! Tristan

Motoroil is a goldie oldie, that's a fact. At one time (years ago in Florida) that was the first color I put on the hook and likely the color I had on at the end of the day. A great variant is Motoroil/brown laminate, with the brown having a slight touch of green in the background. Another of my old-time favorites is brown back/orangeish brown belly & tail (laminate) we used to call that orange craw, and I caught a bunch of fish on my 7.5" curltails in that color. When my plastic comes in, I've got lots of catching up to do! Bluegill, eh? I'll have to check the site if anyone has posted that recipe...

Man, that looks like a good idea! If I ever invest in a Lee pot, that'll be the first accessory to get...

I've used LC Flor. Pink before, and was able to come up with a translucent version by simply using very little. Black grape/Flor. Pink laminate was a pretty good color in the old days... As for the glomping, I had some success by putting a stainless ball bearing in the bottle and shaking the heck out of it, then transferring about 1/2 oz to a 1oz bottle, and adding softner to top; shaking the heck out of it before use. But of course, you have to add the color to the plastic before heating or it will will be nothing but lumps. - Tristan

I'm interested in doing some medium to large swimbaits; does anyone have a source for good swimbait molds in the 4 - 10" range? Thanks, Tristan

What color or colors have you found to be the best or most effective in your area? I've been fishing in the Potomac the past year, and in this area Junebug and Green Pumpkin/pepper (or variants of green pumpkin) are among the most popular. I read in a previous thread that Del is mostly sticking with Bubblegum. Is that still your favorite, Del? Here's your chance to share some good info...

FNF, no sweat on the Q's - I'm using Crayola model magic to create the masters, which seems to work pretty well except for very small or thin parts (you have to be real careful with those...). Then, I'm painting the model with gloss enamel, two coats, to get a real even and glossy finish. I used "100% Silicon Caulk" with H2o as a reaction agent, then filling a form with the silicon, pressing the master into the goop, er, molding agent, and smoothing with a piece of plastic on top using a wide putty knife... Was that clear as mud? I think on this second batch of molds the problem was I forgot to paint the surface of the master with a water/dish soap solution, as the first batch popped out of the mold easy as pie. And, I didn't mix well enough this time, which made the mold cure quicker in some parts than others... Live and learn. I'm still working with plaster molds, as I was hoping to use that material for production (10 cavity) molds. But, I haven't found a good coating yet. Tried 'Appliance Epoxy' but when I tried to cure it in the oven, it wrinkled. Have yet to try clear engine enamel, which should work OK... My plan is basically: a. Make master prototype b. Make one-cavity silicon mold c. Make prototypes & test - do the fish like 'em? d. Assuming success with the fish, make plaster (or resin) multi-cavity mold ( I just hate working with only one or two cavities at a time, too sloooow) e. Spend a couple days making enough baits to last the entire year... :-) Fish, fish, fish... - Tristan

Fish-n-fool, Thanks for pointing the way to the recipe's. I like the shape. Looks like a very abstract version of a long minnow; and as it happens I've been working on something similar lately. A little more like a stick, perhaps... Just tried to pry my models out of a silicon mold (as per instructions here on Tackleunderground) and unfortunatly they didn't turn out and the models are toast as well. So, back to the drawing board! Regards, Tristan

I'm not too proud to ask! What's the recipes? Thanks, Tristan

I think that Ziener's has a MF mold that looks similar - http://zeiners.safeshopper.com/386/35.htm?281 Let me know if that's similar to what you are looking for. Tristan

Hi, everyone! I'm looking to recreate a color from the past - it was called chameleon. Like a motoroil color, it changed depending on whether the light was shining on the bait or through the bait. The best way I can describe it, was it had a cinnamon color with purple highlights when the light was on it, and a transparent purpleish color when held up to the light... Any help would be greatly appreciated! Tristan

The_Hide - I have not done it, but I believe you can if you pour 1/2 of the mold and let cure, inserting locating pins or slats into the first half; after curing, coat everything with release agent and then pour second half... cut pour spout and have at it! A question for you; what do you use to coat your plaster moulds? What's it's useful life? Thanks, Tristan

I'd be interested in some relatively small amounts of the standards; black, silver, gold, red, green, purple... black in medium or large size, most everything else in small. Let me know when you get ready to roll! - Tristan

Sam, I'm getting back into molding after a long hiatus - and I'm interested why Delmart's is better plastic. I'm familiar with LC's regular and soft plastic; how does Delmart's compare to them? How does it rate on softness, resistance to scorching, and plastic smell? Is it crytal clear after heated? THANKS, Thanks, for taking the time to answer the questions. - Tristan

Chris, Thanks for the link. I recognize them now, they're the ones who got me started in pouring about 30 years ago; I bought their stuff at Grants, a dept. store which is no longer in business... I still have about 4-5 of their moulds stored at my father's house... A real blast from the past!