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Colored silicone dome dart heads your mother would be proud of.

or, how we personalized darts.

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#1 Draconis

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Posted 31 January 2013 - 08:16 PM

My current project is to supply darts and blasters for a bunch of old ladies. My mother and her sisters, actually. Mom requested pink foam so I figured, I should have pink heads too, right? This is how I am making them, and they are turning out very well. You can use the same method with any other color as well.

Begin by extruding some silicone caulk in to a small zip-top bag.
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We'll be using this as colorant. Originally, I was thinking that I would need lots of paint to do this and was just going to buy a big $9 tube of oil based artist's paint. Then I wised up and bought this $5 palette assortment from Michael's crafts store. I am really glad I did, because this is all we'll need. Very small amounts. About the size of a pea, each.

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Now we close the top of the bag, removing as much air as possible, and begin mixing. And mixing more. And more. This bit takes a while. Eventually, it will come out to a more or less uniform color. Seems to match pretty well.

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Next, squeeze all of the material town in to one corner, and then snip off a few millimeters of said corner with scissors. Instant piping bag! I also use this method with: Frosting, epoxy resin, peanut butter (for use with bananas on the drive to work), pate choux (wheat flour paste for making eclairs and cream puffs, among other French pastries), etc. Simply squeeze the bag and extrude some of the silicone mixture in to the bottom of each cup in the mold. Then scrape down with a flat tool. I like to use a flap torn off of a cereal box. Do a better job than I did, though.

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And finally... Wait about 48 hours (depending upon temperature, humidity, type of silicone, and amount of paint used) to demold.

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There does not seem to be any hardening due to the paint, which make me happy. I must strongly recommend using oil based paints, because they should be the most miscible with RTV silicone, least likely to harden, and heaviest in pigment. So far I have only used clear silicone (that one was already open, yo) but I will be adding info for white once I finish up this tube.
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[15:51] <+Noodle> titties
[15:51] <+Rhadamanthys> titties
[15:51] <+jakejagan> titties
[15:51] <+Lucian> boobs
[15:51] <+Gears> titties
[15:51] <@Draconis> Titties.
[15:52] <+Noodle> why is this so hard?

#2 Samurai kidd

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Posted 31 January 2013 - 09:23 PM

What type brand of silicone caulk did you use for these?
Are you worried about durability? It looks like the head is going to be bonded straight to the foam.

Edited by Samurai_kidd, 31 January 2013 - 09:25 PM.

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#3 mr trouble

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Posted 31 January 2013 - 11:10 PM

What method are you going to use to secure the dart heads to your foam? Super glue is the only method I've heard of that works, but it doesn't work so well for me.
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#4 therealnerfjunkies

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Posted 31 January 2013 - 11:27 PM

What method are you going to use to secure the dart heads to your foam? Super glue is the only method I've heard of that works, but it doesn't work so well for me.


Have you ever seen the "freehand silicone dome darts" thread? If not, then you drill a hole inside the dart. The hole must be centered. Then, you squirt silicone inside the hole, leave it slightly overfilled, and then you apply the tip on. Glue won't adhere silicone to anything. Silicone is the only "glue" for silicone.
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#5 ShaNayNay

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Posted 01 February 2013 - 12:06 AM

Well done, what is your source of pink foam? I've also seen users such as Kane use those trays. Do you guys make them yourselves with 3D printers, or is there a place to purchase them?

Edited by ShaNayNay, 01 February 2013 - 12:08 AM.

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#6 Samurai kidd

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Posted 01 February 2013 - 12:19 AM

Well done, what is your source of pink foam? I've also seen users such as Kane use those trays. Do you guys make them yourselves with 3D printers, or is there a place to purchase them?

Both of those things can be purchased from Kane.
He has a thread about MHA dartmithing kits.
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#7 Draconis

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Posted 01 February 2013 - 10:59 AM

What type brand of silicone caulk did you use for these?
Are you worried about durability? It looks like the head is going to be bonded straight to the foam.


I'm not worried about durability. The paint does not appear to have an effect on the silicone itself.And with good reason. There is a very small amount present. The brand really doesn't matter, as long as it is one of the many "100% Silicone" types. I was planning on trying it with the Silicone II and Silicone III types that General Electric makes, but given the 50% and 100% higher price tags for the same volume of material, figured that was a waste of effort and money. Just stick with the $5 tube.
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[15:51] <+Noodle> titties
[15:51] <+Rhadamanthys> titties
[15:51] <+jakejagan> titties
[15:51] <+Lucian> boobs
[15:51] <+Gears> titties
[15:51] <@Draconis> Titties.
[15:52] <+Noodle> why is this so hard?

#8 snickers

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Posted 01 February 2013 - 05:33 PM

Great idea but I have one thing to ask. Are your molds painted red now?
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#9 Draconis

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Posted 01 February 2013 - 09:25 PM

Great idea but I have one thing to ask. Are your molds painted red now?


No.


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[15:51] <+Noodle> titties
[15:51] <+Rhadamanthys> titties
[15:51] <+jakejagan> titties
[15:51] <+Lucian> boobs
[15:51] <+Gears> titties
[15:51] <@Draconis> Titties.
[15:52] <+Noodle> why is this so hard?

#10 Draconis

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Posted 21 February 2013 - 02:35 AM

Please Excuse the double post, but I have an update! Look! Translucent pink tips!

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Oh, how is that any different than before? What makes this cool?


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Yep, they glow in the dark. This first preliminary batch could probably use a touch more pigment... I didn't get very much for my $7, but it doesn't seem to require that much to get the job done. This package is once ounce.

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I used MAYBE 0.5g of pigment in this entire batch of tips, so even if we used an entire gram, we should be able to get 28 batches of 64 tips each out of the whole package. That would add only $0.004 per tip. I imagine that larger volumes would be less expensive too.
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[15:51] <+Noodle> titties
[15:51] <+Rhadamanthys> titties
[15:51] <+jakejagan> titties
[15:51] <+Lucian> boobs
[15:51] <+Gears> titties
[15:51] <@Draconis> Titties.
[15:52] <+Noodle> why is this so hard?


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