This piece, a sandbag emplacement, has tons of small detail on it - the sand is very sharp and pointy and is prone to break off. I have had really good luck with this plaster when using it on smoother pieces - like Hirst Arst blocks - but for something that is sharp it just doesn't hold up as well as it could.
Having used resin in the past on a few projects I decided it was time for another shot at using this tricky substance. My last attempt at using it was disasterous. I had a few old half full bottles that I was attempting to use to cast this very piece, and it was such an awful mess that I swore off using resin for a while. When I decided to try my hand at it again I picked up a bottle of two part epoxy resin down at Hobby Lobby and set to work.
I had a MUCH easier go of it this time. The resin that I bought was fresh - it hand't been sitting there for who knows how long. It also had little spouts on top of the bottle that made pouring a much neater affair.
The difference in using fresh resin was like night and day with this project vs. the last. It was easy, there was less of a mess, and it was enjoyable. I made 11 pieces of terrain in about an hour and a half - most of that time was letting the resin dry while I was off doing something else.
The pieces turned out great with only a small amount of 'bubbling' on the bottom edge of a few of the bags. Once they are painted up you won't even notice they are there. I also might just scrape that section with an hobby knife - either way it is a very minor issue.
There are a few shots below with one of my Imperial Fists for scale purposes.
Since I made so many of these pieces I think am going to give one of the pieces away. All you have to do is be a follower of the blog and leave a message on this thread. Next Friday I will announce the winner - so be sure I can get a hold of you.