I know I haven't been posting a lot lately. This is due to a combination of burnout from internet news and doing other stuff offline anyway. And here is one such project.
This experiment involved three different hobby products to replicate a game piece for my niece. She lost an acorn or two from a simple squirrel-themed acorn collecting game, and I finally got around to this messy process.
Step one: mix some two-part green stuff putty. It stays slightly flexible once cured. I used it to make a mold of half the acorn.
Step two: I poured Oyumaru over this for the other half of the mold. Oyumaru is a thermoplastic that reminds me a bit of hot glue. It becomes very pliable, almost liquid, when boiled in water. It then hardens as it cools to room temperature into a flexible, clear plastic. In theory, it can be reused indefinitely, but this mess may have ruined this lump.
Step three: mix Milliput two-part putty. Unlike green stuff, this cures solid. It is also a lot messier to work with. Cover your work surface with old newspaper and wear gloves!
The results were imperfect. Milliput adheres to almost anything and it was a pain in the neck to break it out of the mold. The first acorn also took a few chunks of green stuff with it, while also leaving behind some pieces of itself. Fortunately, the hardened product can be carved and sanded smooth, and imperfections can be filled in and sculpted with new Milliput. I also used a toothpick and fresh Milliput to sculpt in some acorn cap texture that stayed in the mold on the first attempt.
I just need to slap on some cheap craft paint and these are ready to go! Once my sister is willing to lift her own quarantine protocols, that is. No real hurry there, I'm afraid.
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My kids love that game. Their favorite part is when they get to steal the acorns. It's my favorite of the games-of-chance-that-you-can't-control-the-result. I can barely bring myself to play Candy Land any more, which is their other favorite game, so I like to steer them towards this one when they ask.
Are they old enough for Monopoly Jr? Is that even still published?
Are you the niece's favourite pibling? XD If your sister doesn't want to lift her quarantine restrictions can you drop it in their mailbox? I guess it depends on whether you want the child to have her acorn pieces sooner or if it can wait til you can all catch up in person again XD
"Pibling." Interesting term. New to me. No, I think I'll save them for next time I visit so we can play the game together.
Apparently what happens if you smash "parent" and "sibling" together (uncles and aunties being parent's siblings). I still haven't worked out if I like it but it's a collective word and I am that lazy.
(the one that's been coined for nieces and nephews is "niblings" which is kinda cute and kinda are you actually being serious right now)