How to Make Lead Soldiers
The proper name for lead soldiers is "metal" toy soldiers since lead has been banned for making toy soldiers for children since 1966. Most hobbyists today use a nontoxic tin-based, low-melting-point metal allow for making their "tin" soldiers. Metal soldiers are more expensive and more fragile than cheaper plastic ones, but here is nothing quite as much fun as making your very own "Army Men" and deploying them in ranked battalions on your dining room table.
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Things You'll Need
- Klean Clay
- Ladle
- Heat source
- Powdered silicone rubber mold making material
- Appropriate sized box to hold the mold
- Original figure
- Mold release solution
- Exacto knife
- Molding metal
- Rubber bands
- Fine sandpaper
Instructions
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Making the Mold
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1
Obtain or carve an original soldier from which you will create the mold. You can use toy soldiers you can purchase on-line or in local hobby stores or make original figures from clay or carve them from wood. Draw a "parting" line on the original with a marker to show where the mold will separate.
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2
Make a box larger than your original and fill it halfway with a layer of Klean Clay molding compound or similar product.
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3
Clean your figure with alcohol and dry it. Press the figure into the clay to the parting line. If the clay is too stiff, soften it in the microwave.
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4
Dig lines around the edge of the clay to help you line up the molds.
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5
Mix and pour silicone rubber mold material over the original and clay and fill to the top of the box. Cure 24 hours.
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6
Remove the rubber mold and the original from the box without breaking the seal between them. Carefully remove the clay from the box and clean the box.
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7
Coat the rubber mold fully with a thick coat of mold release so the second silicone mold will not adhere to the first. Don't coat the original with mold release. Place the original mold in the box with the original up.
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8
Mix and pour silicone rubber mold material over the first mold and original. Fill the box and allow to cure for 24 hours.
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9
Separate the two halves of the mold and carefully remove the original
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10
Cut a pour hole with a sharp Exacto-style knife. Make a narrow trench cut into the rubber from the outside to the mold space in an inconspicuous location on the figure. Create very small vent holes to allow air to escape during the molding process, if the mold has problems with creating air pockets during formation.
Casting the Tin Soldier
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11
Press the two halves of the mold together, insert in the molding box and secure with rubber bands. Cut away a hole over the pour hole.
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12
Place a small piece of casting metal in the casting ladle. Heat the metal as indicated. Lead melts at 500 degrees and requires a propane torch. Tin/lead/cadmium/bismuth alloy works well with rubber molds, melting at 160 degrees -- attainable with a candle flame. Tin/bismuth alloy is lead and cadmium free, but requires a small butane torch to reach melting at 280 degrees. Lead-free crown pewter is 92 percent tin and melts at 575 degrees requiring a propane torch.
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13
Pour the melted metal into the pour hole till it reaches the fill opening. Pour slowly to prevent the formation of air bubbles inside the mold.
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14
Remove the mold from the box and separate the mold halves once the metal has cooled. Gently remove the figure.
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15
Trim any flashing or bits of metal from the pour holes and smooth the cuts with sandpaper. To complete them paint the figures with an oil-based paint.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure you melt enough metal to complete the figure in a single pour to avoid seams and bubbles. Vent the mold only if the mold tends to form bubbles so you don't have extra protrusions from vent holds. Allow plenty of curing time for the molds if they are to stand up to the heat of casting.
Do not let children younger than 14 handle lead products. Wear eye protection while heating and pouring hot metal Wear gloves while handling chemicals and molten metal
References
- Photo Credit Tom King
