This Is NOT The Mould You're Looking For...

One thing you need when you're making things to sell or give to other people, is confidence in your tools and materials. I haven't had too many issues with fake or sub-standard items fortunately, though I know plenty of people who have. Recently though, I landed on something that I thought I would use to illustrate some of the shadier things available out there!

I was looking for a Han Solo mould, for resin crafting. I'd seen them at collector fairs, etc, and they were always sold out of the smaller size (though if anyone wants to pay me to make a cake-pan-sized Han Solo in carbonate for an iPad cover or something...I'm there). So I found one on eBay instead. Looked the same (ironically, the listing proudly proclaimed "Please inspect pictures carefully"), and a quick search on Amazon revealed the exact same image but with more expensive postage, so eBay won out.

Screen grab from the listing
(seller ID covered, to be fair he had very little negative feedback and this could have been a one-off iffy listing).

What arrived was NOT the item in the image I had so carefully inspected at the seller's request, which was blatantly a stock image poached from the internet. I will not use the word "fake" because frankly I don't know where I stand legally doing that. But see for yourself below and make your own decision.

The mould was so thin in places that light shone through it. The "carbonite" area of the mould was practically smooth, compared to the highly textured example in the photograph. The face looked like a smooth, almost featureless "Scream" mask. The hands were just ridiculous.

Immediately I emailed the seller to complain and request a refund. I pointed out that I had, in fact, studied the image very carefully (unlike whoever made the mould), and had been sent a different, much lower-quality, item. I also pointed out the lack of definition on the clothes and carbonite, the lack of facial features, the oddly-shaped "shoe spaces" that look nothing like the image, the Muppet hands and the fact that certain areas let light through. I was thorough.

Spot the difference between the Amazon listing image and the one used on the listing I purchased.
Besides the eBay listing having their ID Photoshopped across the bottom of the image...

In fairness I did get a reply within a couple of hours, and of course my returns request was accepted. But not before it was pointed out to me (and I quote) "Just checked my picture with my mould and i honestly don't see any difference whatsoever." As if I was just being overly pedantic by calling them out on their shoddy item. If you click the stock images above to get the full-size version, just compare it to the lower items in the pairs below, and feel good that you are better at spotting differences than that guy.

So, I thought I would do a quick comparison. To the one I bought (bottom), and the real one I replaced the initial purchase with (top) which came from Great Gear Store via eBay (the above image with the ice cube also features in their listing photograph as well, so I am going to presume that it is the same item as also featured on Amazon, and supposedly the item in the original listing). All of the detail photographs are of the inside of the moulds. The lighting makes some of the top pics look "inside out", but it's just me trying to get the hang of my new lights!

Packaging

You can't tell from that picture, but the top packaging also has a hanging strip to display in store. The bottom one does not.

Face

No contest really, is it? But supposedly, the bottom one is no less detailed than the top one. 

10/10 for a blind guy managing to use eBay though...That would explain not noticing that the bottom Han Solo has NO EYES.

 Hands
A friend and I decided that the closest description we could find to the hands from the original mould was "Muppet Fingers". Now, I know Disney own both Star Wars and The Muppets, but really, this is not a cross-over I wanted.

Are you a maaaaaaaan...Or are you a Muppet? Going on those bottom hands, Muppet! So undefined.

You can also see how abysmal/absent the texture is on the clothing.

Shoes

Replacement (L) vs Original (R). you can see how crisp the edges are on the replacement.

Carbonite Texture

Again, supposedly this was exactly the same as the one pictured...

"Edging"

It looks like the bottom picture is blurry. I've come to the conclusion that is because the whole mould appears to have been made in soft focus. You can see that the top has double lines, whereas the bottom just has a rough single edge. Also in the top image, Han looks like Voldemort. I assure you he DOES have a nose. It's just the angle.

Small Moulds

Yup. No difference at all... </sarcasm>

Quality

Obviously I wouldn't use the mould that I wanted to return, but the quality difference is visible. Especially when held up to the light...

I'm willing to bet it wouldn't take too many uses/cleanings before that super-thin facial area split.

I cannot recommend the awesome The Great Gear Store highly enough, the item arrived the next day so my error didn't cost me anything time-wise, it was well packaged, and obviously as you can see is the real genuine article. I've since looked at their website, which is bound to cost me a fortune in the future as I seem to need pretty much everything they sell. Great gear, great service. 

Thanks Great Gear Store! :)

Resin Jewellery

"A craft post?" I hear you cry, "On what was supposed to be a craft blog?! Well this is unusual..."

Yes, I may have deviated slightly with the whole craft blog thing. Allow me to atone for my bloggy sins with the following.

Due to my recent obsession with MsTrinity143's Youtube channel, I decided to have a go at making some resin jewellery. Given my love of stickers, glitter, and pointless glass/plastic objects, this seemed a craft match made in heaven.

I couldn't get the resin used in any of the videos I saw on Youtube, so I decided to go for the Pebeo Crystal Resin kit (300ml), because it was available in my local Hobbycraft. Then I realised that it was £19.99 in Hobbycraft, and I could get it delivered to my door for £15 from eBay...So...Support your local high street guys, or shops will die and all retail will be online...I'll let you make your own choice over where you spent your £15. ;)

Anyway...this is the kit I got:

 

There is also a 750ml version, but at £34.99 I can't afford it. :S

 

 

To start with, I followed some of the Youtube videos, and bought some chocolate moulds. Chocolate moulds are supposed to be good because they are really shiny...The resin sets with the texture of the mould, so a rough mould means the piece needs varnishing/more resin painting on to make it shiny/clear. I got this mould:

 

I also got a shell one too. The moulds are the transparent, vacuum-formed plastic type. The stickers and glitter I used are just generic ones.

 

 

There are all manner of warnings about the fumes, etc, when using the resin, so I worked on the electric hob (fully cooled, of course), with the extractor fan on. That worked pretty well for getting rid of the smell! One thing I didn't do was grease/coat the moulds. In hindsight, this was a mistake, as I now have two very bent moulds from wrestling the pieces out of it! :( But, I have some beautiful pieces. I also made my own mould using mould putty (the castle and Pudge pieces).

 

 

 



Pudge and Cinderella Castle are actually print-outs that I laminated myself. That darker shadow on Pudge's tail is what happens when you don't seal the plastic tight enough and resin gets on the paper inside. :( I still love him though!! :)

 

For the next batch, I hit up Lakeland for some new moulds. Their moulds are great because they aren't in packaging, so you can see if the insides of the moulds are shiny or not. As a rule, their silicone small moulds are shiny and the larger ones aren't. Sadly none of the new Dr. Who moulds are shiny. If anyone wants to buy me the Lakeland carousel and fairy cottage mould sets, I will love you forever. I sooooooooo want to make a little resin gingerbread cottage and put fairy lights inside it.

 

I also raided the Paperchase and Accesorize sales for some stickers.

 

Resin Round 2:

 

 

As you can see, the new moulds make lovely shiny pieces! :) Also, the backs are much neater/flatter with less of a lip than using the plastic Wilton moulds. I think we have a winner on the mould front! A few things went wrong, stickers moved, there's the odd air bubble, but on the whole I'm very happy with what I've got so far!

 

The Pebeo resin is AWESOME, if you were wanting a little bit of a review. A lot of the resins online you mix 1:1 hardener and resin, this you mix 1:2. I have to say, the hardener bottle is an awful pourer. I will definitely be short on hardener for the last batch because so much of it ran down the side of the bottle the first time I tried to pour it. :S Not good considering how expensive it is and how precisely you have to measure it. It does have a strong smell. Personally that didn't bother me. I worked with the extractor fan on, and suffered no ill effects. For the first pouring of the first batch, I worked under HAZMAT conditions, wearing the gloves that came with the kit. Yeah...that lasted for all of 10mins. If you have sensitive skin (well, I have sensitive skin, but anyway), take appropriate precautions. It is dangerous for skin until it sets. It is also a total b!tch to get off skin. Expect to go full Lady Macbeth Mode for 10-15mins if you get any on your hands. That stuff is STICKY. It takes longer to set than the 1:1 stuff, a full 24hrs for completely dry. It took 3-4 days for each design, working in layers.

 

Layer 1: sticker/cabachon

Layer 2: smaller stickers/large glitter
Layer 3: glitter background

Layer 4: clear empty layer

 

It's kind of like doing decoupage, building up the layers, but with resin instead of foam pads. I love it!

 

I have another batch of resin, Mylar glitter (always wanted some for nail art too!) and 500+ stickers winging their way to me as we speak, so I'm sure the next resin update won't be too far in the future!

 

 You might have also noticed that I am now on Instagram...You can follow me here. :)