Metal Mario Amiibo

Hello everyone, if you are like me and want a Metal Mario Amiibo made out of real metal then I have good news for you. It is easier to do than you may think and in this Instructable I am going to show you how you can do it. (This is my first Instructable so please go easy on me)

Well, before you can start you need to gather some materials of course. Here is a list:

• Silicon rubber (I got mine from here: http://www.ebay.at/itm/171766354919?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649)
• Some kind of separating agent like the wax I used shown in the second picture (I got the wax from here: http://www.ebay.at/itm/261651167382?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649)
• Some pieces of plywood (The wood will be used to create the box for our mold)
• Clear lacquer
• Hot glue
• Some (old) brushes
• Some paper or plastic cups
• Some plastic spoons
• And of course your Mario Amiibo (You can use whatever figure you want but keep in mind that the difficulty of this project will rise with very detailed figures)

(I´m sorry for all the german links and contents but I wasn´t able to find them in english)

After you have collected all necessary materials we can finally begin.

First we will prepare our Mario Amiibo:

• To prevent harm to the colors of your Amiibo cover it in clear lacquer
• Let the clear lacquer dry
• Next use a brush to cover your Amiibo in the separating agent (wax)

Next we will build the wooden box for the mold:

• Use some plywood and hot glue to craft a wooden box just big enough for your Mario Amiibo to fit in
• Next cover the inside of the wooden box in a layer of clear lacquer (The silicon rubber will stick to the wood without it)
• Let the clear lacquer dry
• Next use a brush to cover the inside of the wooden box in the separating agent (wax) -> So you can get your mold easier out of the box

After the separating agent on your Amiibo and in your box have dried we can proceed wit the next step.

First pour some of the silicon rubber into one of the paper/plastic cups and prepare it like mentioned in the silicon rubbers instructions. (I think you should use at least about 2% hardener)

After you have prepared the silicon rubber do the following:

• Use an old brush to cover your Mario Amiibo in silicon rubber. Make sure to cover every spot of the figure. (Do not cover the bottom of the base)
• Pour the rest of the silicon rubber into the wooden box to craft the first layer
• Let the silicon rubber dry over night

Next put duct tape on the bottom of the figures base and use some hot glue to glue it to one side of the wooden box like shown in the picture. (Put the hot glue on the duct tape and quickly press the base against the wall) Mark the outside of the side where the Amiibo is glued onto with an "X" or something like that so you know where the bottom of the figures base is when the figure is fully covered in silicon rubber.

Next prepare some more of the silicon rubber. Then do the following:

• Place 4 AA batteries on the first layer of the silicon rubber and pour silicon rubber into the wooden box till one half of the Mario Amiibo is covered with it (When about half of the base is covered in rubber it should be enough)
• Let the silicon rubber dry over night
• Next pull out the AA batteries
• Next use a brush to cover the holes the AA batteries left in the separating agent (wax). Make sure to cover the walls of the holes entirely
• Then cover the second layer of the silicon rubber in separating agent (wax) too. Make sure not to cover the upper half of the Mario Amiibo in separating agent! It is important to not cover the upper half of the Mario Amiibo in separating agent (wax) so that the silicon layer covering it can combine with the third layer of the silicon layer you will prepare in the next step.

Now again prepare some of the silicon rubber for the third layer. Pour the silicon rubber into the box till all the holes the AA batteries left are filled and you no longer can see your Mario Amiibo. Let the silicon rubber dry over night again.

After the silicon rubber has dried do the following:

• Break the wooden box by pulling apart its walls. Make sure not to pull on the wall with the Mark "X" on it so you do not damage the mold by accidentally pulling on the Amiibo figure.
• After you broke the box you need to carefully remove the wall where your Amiibos base is mounted to. If you pull gently the duct tape should come of the base quite easily.
• Now for the tricky part: You need to separate the two halves of your mold. To achieve this you need to pull apart the second (the first layer and the second layer should have merged during the creation of the second layer since no separating agent was applied to prevent this) and third layer of the silicon rubber. Try to pull on all 4 sides of the mold just strong enough to rip apart the silicon rubber layer covering the Mario Amiibo.
• Next carefully remove the Mario Amiibo figure from the mold. And your mold is ready to use.

Now you can use your mold to cast metal figures made of lead or tin. (Metals with a higher melting point will destroy the silicon rubber.)

There are some great Instructables out there which explain how to handle molten lead/tin (Their explanations are better than what I could provide you with). Use them to make sure not to get hurt.

Sources:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Lead-Pewter-Casting-at-home/

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Recycle-Lead-to-Make-a-Weight/

Don´t forget to clean your Mario Amiibo :)

It will be covered with remains of the separating agent (wax) you simply need to wash off and your Amiibo figure will be (almost) as good as new.

Well that´s it. Remove the metal figure from the mold and you are done. Now you can admire your Metal Mario Amiibo :)

As you can see the metal figure is not perfect and a bit of the silicon rubber got off when I removed the figure but I think it still looks great nonetheless.

I hope you liked my first Instructable and I would like to hear your opinions of this project :)