Sergeant_Crunch Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Has anyone ever used the kits at the hobby stores to grow crystals? I've been thinking about using them to make some terrain features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skya Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Havent done those since I was a kid, but I remember them being pretty fragile when dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabascojunkie Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 We did it once with our kids. Be warned they are tiny, if you look on the box of those it says "100x magnification" or some such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant_Crunch Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hmm, sounds like I might be better off getting some polygonal polystyrene rod and cutting it up. Could make a mold that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kutz Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 There are many that get quite large - however most as mentioned above are quite brittle. The faster the crystal grows, generally the more brittle it will be (for the most part). If you want to use them as clear crystals...as is without doing anything to them, I would recommend looking into getting some quartz shards or similar cheap crystals. For a base, you can coat them with a resin in order to reinforce them or make molds of them and cast in something more durable. After that paint them up just like anything else. If you wanted you could cast in a clear/transparent resin for a non-painted durable crystal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sundseth Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 You might want to try rock candy. All the crystal growth is done for you, the price is usually reasonable, and if you get some crystals that just don't work for your minis, they won't go to waste. ps. Now I'm hungry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kutz Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 BTW - I like to use salt crystals in order to create coral and other types of organic growths. http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/crystals.htm That site outlines the DIY approach fairly well and is similar to the setup that I use. It also covers most the more popular crystals which you will find in the kits - only cheaper (you probably have everything you need to do it already for some of them). He also shows the result of one of the commercial kits near the bottom of the page. With the salt crystals, in order to fix them in place I use a fine misting bottle filled with a non-water based resin (many urethane finishes will work well). Water based resins will melt the salt crystals on contact - which is not good. Mist the surface lightly (I spray it over the crystals not at the crystals) until you can touch a spot without the crystal falling apart. Once that happens the crystals have been penetrated heavily enough in order to receive a direct spray coat. Spray it down to achieve a good solid continuous coat across the entire crystal surface, and than let dry fully and completely. After it is dry, you can cut the crystals up as needed. For added stability, you can soak the crystal in water (dissolving the salt out of the cavity inside) and then fill with resin to make it solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastl Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Or you could just buy Mold 85 from Hirst Arts and make as many of the darn things as you want. Lots of other coolness on there as well. I haven't had much luck finding cheap crystal points or anything else similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyreos Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 I'm with Kutz on this one. Honestly you can pick up some geodes or somesuch at your local nature/smithsonian store for pretty cheap. Also, have you tried cutting little crystals out of polystyrene bits? It's cheap insulation, and cuts nicely, though it is kinda brittle, all you really need to do is coat it thickly in elmers or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kutz Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Kind of depends on exactly what you would consider to be cheap I guess. When I am in the market for actual crystals - I hit up the local witch-doctor...errr...homeopathic alternative medicine shop. The furry lady behind the counter sells healing quartz crystals for about 50 cents each that are about 1/2 - 1" long (bag of around ten for $5). They are labeled as A/B Grade - though I am not sure what that exactly means (not big into the details for these - mainly just look for what works). They have even bigger bags than the ones I buy - which would probably translate into more savings. If you are interested in alternatives (molds and other stuff...) - hexagonal bar stock has long been a quick and easy go to for me. Plastruct sells it in a half dozen different diameters. Cut it up, quickly bevel the tips, glue it down. Painting is a bit of a pain though - it is hard to paint something to look like a real crystal quickly. Beading sections of craft stores have imitation crystal points (glass or plastic) in various sizes, with and without the holes drilled in it. You can mix it up and include some of the smaller glass bits around the base. Personally though, if it is something that I want to look good and unique - I use a custom mold made from various bits and a clear resin (with or without a dye added). The Hirst Arts mold you linked to is handy for a lot of things - but I have always felt the crystal mold is a bit flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant_Crunch Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Maybe I should be more specific in what I'm looking for and intend to do with them. I want crystaline structures that are an inch to three inches tall when stood on end. The idea is to mount them to CDs to use as a "crystal forest" type setting. Thought it would look freakin' cool with some CAVs stomping around between them. Nice thing is they'd be scale neutral so could use them with my 28mm and 6mm models equally well. I had thought about stryofoam and it is an option, but figured if I could get the real thing and get it to look good that would be the preferred option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kutz Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 For that, I would definitely go with hexagonal bar stock. $10 or so will give you enough to do a half dozen or so CDs worth of crystal forests. Go with three or four different sizes of bar and cut it in random lengths. The thickest that you can get from Plastruct is 1/8" from flat to flat - however from industrial plastic suppliers you can get it all the way up to 2" flat to flat (larger from some places). For the time and effort involved in doing the insulation route - bar would be the way to go IMO. If you wanted to use foam...head to a local metal shop (new, salvage...) and see if they have any hexagonal tubing. If not, you can bend your own out of sheet metal. Use that as a die/cookie cutter and punch them out quickly. Using a Dremel to sharpen the edges will go a long way to make it go faster and get cleaner cuts out of the foam. Anywho - while my brain is still flowing...You can also grab acrylic sheet and hack it up. Gives you the crystal clear without the cost of extruded acrylic bars. A band saw will allow you to cut acrylic and still have the nice clear edges - Goodfellow used to have a very well equipped wood hobby shop when I was there last (10 years ago...so that might have changed). Cut the acrylic into strips and then use a scraper to add the other two faces (it will scrape down quickly). You could just leave it square as well - not all crystals are hexagonal...although that is the prototypical shape. You can get the acrylic in different colors too to allow for some change in foliage too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alchemist Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 As another option, Black Cat Bases offers crystal formations in clear resin. Edit: Evil Mushroom Games and Armorcast also have crystal formations in resin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant_Crunch Posted March 7, 2008 Author Share Posted March 7, 2008 Hmm, looks like bar stock it is. For the volume I want, purchasing premade would be cost prohibitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchantra Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 When I am in the market for actual crystals - I hit up the local witch-doctor...errr...homeopathic alternative medicine shop. The furry lady behind the counter sells healing quartz crystals for about 50 cents each that are about 1/2 - 1" long (bag of around ten for $5). They are labeled as A/B Grade - though I am not sure what that exactly means (not big into the details for these - mainly just look for what works). They have even bigger bags than the ones I buy - which would probably translate into more savings. Grading of natural crystals is based on the number of inclusions and fractures in the crystals. The best crystals will be eye-clean of any inclusions, near colorless with no fractures. Crystals of this nature will be A to A+ grade. The cost of crystals will vary depending on the Grade and the source. Crystals mined in one country might be far cheaper than in another country even though they are of an equal grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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