Model Of The Month: Daishi's Frost Dragon by DanBKing

DanBKing

Dan the Man
152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, ...........

Ok, I have calmed down a bit now.......

I just took a deep breath and counted to ten.
Well, actually, I am way past 10 now!!!!! :rolleyes:

Anyway, I have had a good look at the state of affairs.
I think things will be ok, and a rebuild wont be necessary.

The damage was mainly caused by me, and not the expanding foam.:eek:ops:

Most of the damage is superficial really. A few joints have split or come apart, but these can be repaired and strengthened with ca glue.
A few parts are torn, but luckily the parts are still accessible and can be replaced with new parts.
A couple of joints in the wing membranes have split and lifted. This was caused by the stress of bending the things into shape. Also, the spray glue I used, to bond the front and backs of each membrane, was a cheap variety and the bond has started to fail in places. These can be re-glued, so they are not too much of a problem either.

As mentioned earlier, the damage was not caused by the expanding foam bursting the model. I did not end up with quite a large scale disaster as shown in Revell-Fan's link in his earlier posting. (The poor man :cry:)
I made sure that I did not use too much. I first filled the neck cavity around the cork on the end of the main armature. Then the upper arms, and then the main body cavity. When the foam is still soft, I noticed (too late) that the moisture in the uncured foam soaks into the paper of the model and softens it. So, when I was adjusting the internal armature and making sure everything was in the correct shape, the softened paper tore in places. Luckily, I can replace these pieces.
You can see in this picture what I mean.... The circled area shows the worst tear... You can also see the cured foam inside the body cavity.

IMG-20130514-02057.jpg

I also noticed that my dragon looks like he has been in a bar brawl and needs to visit the dentist. I knocked a few teeth out in my clumsiness.
I cant find the damn things anywhere, so I will have to remake the missing teeth again... wall1

IMG-20130514-02059.jpg

Anyway, overlooking the problems outlined above, I am happy with how the armature and foam have worked out!!! The upper body is now solid as a rock and the armature is working superbly and holding everything up.
You can now hold the whole assembly by the main armature wire like a lollipop. :mrgreen:

I shoved the bottom of the armature in a plant pot, and attempted to hide the dragon from my cats in the leaves of the plant, on top of my display case.:cool:
This dragon model is HUGE!

IMG-20130513-02046.jpg

So, over the next few days, I will be doing repair work, and hopefully soon, I will have completed the upper half of the model and be ready to move on to the legs and tail.

:wave:
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggggggh!!!!!!!!!

Dan

The title was the first thing I had to say to you. The second is: at least, it doesn't look so bad, and if you say that it can be fixed, well, I'll take your word for it and (try to) keep myself calm.:thumb:
Good to know that everything can get back to normal, but...

How much do you think a dentist will charge to treat a dragon? sign1
 

Revell-Fan

Co-Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
I'm glad that you can fix the model. I have a question: Does the foam affect the paper (if handled carefully), e. g. is it damp or dry, does the paper go wavy?
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
I'm glad that you can fix the model. I have a question: Does the foam affect the paper (if handled carefully), e. g. is it damp or dry, does the paper go wavy?

It seems to soften the paper from the moisture in the foam.
But once the foam has cured, the 'wet' paper then turns rock hard!!!
I have not noticed any waviness in the paper. I think that as the foam expands it creates pressure on the inside of the model and this tends to push out any indentations to the limit of the papers strength (If the pressure is too much, it will burst.)

I have found that you can control the pressure of the expanding foam.
In all the fills I have done so far, I have made sure that there is a place for any excess foam to escape, thereby minimising the pressure. If you temporarily block the escape hole, the pressure inside increases. So, you can utilize the pressure to smooth out the paper surface, and open the escape hole again when the desired pressure is reached.
But, you only have about 10 minutes to play like this before the foam starts to cure and harden.

Once the foam is set, the foam is very firm, but also pliable. So, if a section of the model is bulging from too much foam, it is possible to CAREFULLY push the surface back to the desired shape and the foam will remain in the shape that you have pushed it.........

Does any of that make sense ???? :rolleyes:sign1
 

micahrogers

Moderator "Where am I, and how did I get here?"
Staff member
Moderator
I had wondered about using expanding foam and now I know that I will not try it on paper models. I am so glad that you can repair your dragon, it would have been heartbreaking to loose it at this point. Good luck Dan.
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Thanks Micah.

Expanding foam is not that bad........ It has its uses.

It is all about how much you use. In this case LESS is definitely MORE!

The main problem with the stuff is keeping it under control when expanding...... (Sounds familiar in other avenues of life too. sign1 )

But yeah, I would strongly recommend that anybody that intends to use the stuff with paper models, do so with UTMOST CAUTION!!!

But that is what life is all about: Live and Learn.

:wave:
 

johanvanacker

Active Member
In hindsight, do you think it is still necessary to use the wire frame when using the expanding foam to strengthen the model ?
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
In hindsight, do you think it is still necessary to use the wire frame when using the expanding foam to strengthen the model ?

In a word, Johan: No!

When cured the foam is rigid enough to be self-supporting. I am now debating whether to use the armature in the legs, or just use the foam..... :confused:
We'll see.......
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Dan

I would like to make a suggestion, if it hasn't happened yet: post a "how-to" thread explaining more on the expanding foam. It sure looks very interesting, and I would like to know more about its uses, advantages and limitations.
Just a suggestion!
I have only seen expanding foam once (about eight years ago), and it was really expensive! I believe the prices hve gone down, but before I "walk that path", I wanna know more...
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Okidoki guys. I will put something together soon.:thumb:

I have to say though; that apart from the building industry, where I used it extensively, I have not had much experience using it elsewhere, except for the current project.

What I think I will do, is setup a few tests and experiments, in a controlled environment. I will post my findings, comments and suggestions from there..... What you do with the findings, is all up to you guys.....:rolleyes:
 

Revell-Fan

Co-Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Please do not forget to point out the NO-NOS, too (I guess you have some suitable pics for illustration :eek:ops: ). :wave:
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Of course!

Okidoki guys. I will put something together soon.:thumb:

I have to say though; that apart from the building industry, where I used it extensively, I have not had much experience using it elsewhere, except for the current project.

What I think I will do, is setup a few tests and experiments, in a controlled environment. I will post my findings, comments and suggestions from there..... What you do with the findings, is all up to you guys.....:rolleyes:

I hereby give DanBKing a responsibility disclaimer on whatever I do with expansive foam! :thumb: :twisted:

Rogério Silva

P.S. Don't worry about it, man, I just want to learn some more... For my own evil purposes! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... MMMMWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH...sign1
 

Revell-Fan

Co-Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
:eek::eek::eek:

Oh my God, the frog-eyed elephant vacuum cleaner monster!!!


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!


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DanBKing

Dan the Man
:eek::eek::eek:

Oh my God, the frog-eyed elephant vacuum cleaner monster!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

sign1sign1sign1


And FOR MY 500th POST HERE :)wave7:), JUST TO PROVE WHAT FUN THIS HOBBY IS, I HAVE TO SAY:

AAAAAHHHHHHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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