A dropped torch

[wdmartin]

I've decided that a mini I'm working on needs a torch that some terrified adventurer dropped on the floor.  Having failed to find a suitable pre-made one, I've embarked on an attempt to sculpt one.

 

Here's my first attempt:

 

 

I basically just stuck a blob of green stuff on a bit of sprue from a 3D print and tugged little bits out of it with a pair of tweezers.  It's not especially successful.

 

I went straight to the flames, and that was a mistake.  They're the last part, and they're insubstantial -- their fuel should be at least partly visible, and they should spread in only one direction (based on the air currents).

 

Here's my second attempt:

 

 

I made a thin sausage of green stuff and put it on a waxed paper plate that I smeared with petroleum jelly first, then flattened it by running my fingers along it. After letting it cure for about half an hour, I sliced the edges off with a scalpel, and then peeled up a ribbon.  That, in turn, got wrapped around a bit of brass rod.  And then I snipped off the end of the brass rod.  This is the cloth or whatever that they wrapped around the end of the stick and dunked in tar or pitch or oil. It's curing at the moment.

 

My plan is to mix up a tiny bit of green stuff -- or maybe milliput, I have that too -- and make a teeny, itty bitty sausage of the stuff to press onto the top and try tweezing it again.  I've got better tweezers now -- the first attempt was done with the little pull-out tweezers from my swiss army knife.

 

Any tips or suggestions would be welcome.

 

 

[Leader of the Rats]

I've never sculpted fire but I imagine you'd only do a flame or three at a time until you have as much fire as you wanted. I'd attach a small bulb of fresh sticky gs and let it cure a bit then use a sharp pick to twist and extend the lick of flame. Then shape it carefully in some smooth fire shape. If you only do a couple flame licks at a time you can use the cured flames to support other flames and it should be easier to shape larger fire. That's how I imagine they did the fire elemental and wall of fire, maybe Julie Guthrie is around and can share her secret?

[TaleSpinner]

You need a wire to support the largest wisp.  Drill into the center of the torch GS and insert a small dia copper wire, gluing it down (super glue is fine if not for casting).  Shape the wire to the form of the flame and then add a mix of milliput and GS along the wire, just to coat it in about a mm thick sheath (you only need to go about halfway up the wire).  Let it cure.  That will stiffen the wire and glue it firmly down to the GS.  Then use that to support your main flame and tease out the smaller tongues.

 

This is how I did the smoke/flame on this guy:

 

 

 

And the flames in this fireplace (this had 2 wires, one for each of the taller flames):

 

 

 

Here are a couple of good reference images for you (I always look for references before deciding how to approach something):

 

 

 

 

[wdmartin]

Thanks! Good advice. The torch handle I pictured above is 3/64ths inch (1.19 mm).  I had some .81 mm stuff, but it seemed a bit big, so I rooted around till I found a staple and used that.

 

 

As suggested, that's a mix (about 50/50) of green stuff and milliput. It's curing now.  I plan to trim the staple later -- it was sufficiently unstable that I was worried about the whole thing coming apart if I tried trimming it before the goop hardens.

[TaleSpinner]

Perfect!

[wdmartin]

A bit more progress.  I trimmed the support wire:

 

 

Then I pushed a tiny bead of green stuff down to its base and twisted it up and around the wire.

 

 

Actually, err, I pulled the wire out by mistake first and had to root through my discarded excess green stuff to find it again once I realized it was gone.  Whoops.  But it's back in there now, and once the green stuff for that flame has cured it won't be going anywhere. I figure I can add some smaller flames creeping along the top and joining up with the big one tomorrow -- or next week, perhaps, I have a busy schedule of gaming this weekend.

[wdmartin]

It took me a bit, but I got back to this and sculpted a couple more flames onto it.

 

 

 

I think it'll do.  It's probably not the most elegant sculpt ever, but it will serve.  Getting paint onto it will help. At the moment it's curing.

 

Thanks for the help!

[TaleSpinner]

That will paint up nice.