Building a 30CM Lady Justice Silicone Mold: A Two-Stage Workshop Workflow

bksilicone — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 06:38:03 +0000

Large sculptural molds require two systems to work together: a flexible inner mold that records surface detail and a rigid outer shell that holds the intended geometry during casting. G6003 documents that combination for a Lady Justice bust with a finished size of approximately 30 × 20.3 × 19.7 cm.

Establish the seal before increasing liquid pressure

The bottom edge is sealed with double-sided tape, and the rigid shell sections are held with binder clips. This makes the base and shell alignment inspectable before the mold is filled.

Use a small first pour as a checkpoint

The recorded workshop run starts with a small batch of silicone. The lower initial level reduces pressure at the bottom edge while the seal is checked. About 40 minutes later in this specific run, the remaining silicone is added to complete the inner mold.

Separate the detail layer from the structural layer

The video returns about 4 hours later, when the silicone is fully cured for this run. The shell is opened, the flexible inner mold is removed, and the opening is trimmed. The silicone carries the Lady Justice detail; the rigid shell keeps the mold stable when it is reassembled.

Verify the whole mold with a plaster test

The final test fills the supported mold with plaster, then opens the shell and flexible layer in sequence. The result confirms the complete release workflow without claiming a universal silicone schedule or a special plaster formula.

Project resources

The 40-minute and 4-hour intervals describe this recorded G6003 workshop run; they are not universal settings for other silicone systems.

From a 3D-Printed Master to a 30CM Silicone Mold: A Manufacturing Workflow

bksilicone — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:32:03 +0000

3D printing is often treated as the final manufacturing step, but in our workshop it is frequently only the beginning. For G6002, we used a 3D-printed Athena sculpture as a master pattern for a 30CM silicone mold, then validated that mold with a real plaster casting.

The project followed this sequence:

3D-Printed Master → Mold Housing → Staged Silicone Pouring → Demolding → Plaster Casting Validation

Starting With the 3D-Printed Master

The project began with an approximately 30CM 3D-printed Athena sculpture. The print served as the production master: its visible form and surface details were the features the silicone needed to reproduce. Before pouring, we positioned the master and prepared a rigid mold housing around it.

No printer model, resin brand, layer height, or print time is claimed here because those details were not established in the G6002 project record.

Preparing the Mold Housing

The master was positioned inside a rigid mold housing. We secured the housing and used double-sided tape as part of the bottom sealing process.

Sealing matters more as the liquid volume increases: hydrostatic pressure near the bottom can expose weak joints or gaps. Careful sealing helps reduce leakage risk, but it is not an absolute guarantee.

Why We Used a Small First Pour

We started with a smaller first silicone pour to reduce pressure near the bottom and help lower the risk of leakage during the initial stage. The limited starting volume also gave us time to observe the lower seal before adding the remaining material.

About 40 Minutes Later

About 40 minutes later, the first stage had stabilized enough for the second pour. This was the actual interval used for G6002, not a universal timing rule for every mold, room temperature, or silicone formulation.

Completing the Second Silicone Pour

The second pour continued until the silicone reached the full height required around the Athena master. We monitored the bottom and joined edges while the material level increased.

Silicone Curing

For this specific G6002 project, the silicone used was labeled with a curing time of 4±1 hours. This project-specific value should not be treated as a universal curing time for every silicone material or application.

Demolding and Finishing

After curing, we removed the rigid housing and gradually separated the flexible silicone mold from the 3D-printed master. The real G6002 workshop footage also includes trimming and edge finishing before casting.

Plaster Casting Validation

We poured plaster into the completed silicone mold as a practical reproduction test. The goal was to check the overall Athena geometry, inspect visible surface detail, and validate the mold's ability to reproduce the master.

No plaster brand, mixing ratio, or plaster curing specification is stated because those details were not established in the G6002 project record.

Final Result

The G6002 project demonstrates how additive manufacturing can be used as the master-pattern stage of a repeatable mold-making workflow rather than only as the final manufacturing process.

3D-Printed Master → Silicone Mold → Finished Plaster Athena

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