ALAN FRISWELL WRITES..

Hi Jon.

Reading your blog regarding casting the dog skulls, you can go to any art shop in Texas and purchase a can of silicon rubber. The instructions to mix it will be on the box. Then build a box from cardboard that the skull will fit into--with about an inch or so of space all the way around-- and stand the skull on a small piece of modelling clay--plasticine--so that it stands above the bottom of the box by about an inch. Pour the rubber so that it completely covers the skull and fills to the top of the box. When it is set the box should be completely filled with a solid block of sillicon in which the skull is encased.

Gently take the block out of the cardbord box, and take a scalpel--also available from the art shop--or a sharp craft knife, and cut the block of rubber in half, then pull the rubber back, so that you can pull the skull free. Don't worry about stretching the rubber; it will simply pull itself back into shape. You can also buy casting plastics from art shops, which also will have mixing instructions. Put the two halves of the rubber mould back into the cardboard box and turn it upside-down. Take the bottom of the box away and you should have a hole in the rubber where the plasticine stand was. Pour the casting mix into the mould, and 'slush' the box around so that the resin fills all the cavities, then pour in the rest so that it fills to the top. When it sets you can pull the mould apart and you should have a perfect cast of the skull.

If it was happening over here, of course, I could do it for you. If you need any other information, please let me know. Incidentally, why didn't you ask me about this directly in the first place?

Cheers,
Al :)

The answer to your last question, Alan, is that I am an idiot. I should have thought of you straight off. Thanks to everyone else who wrote in.