Molding and Casting has begun!

I've been up to a lot. I can hardly keep up with myself. I started this molding work two weeks later than I had anticipated. There were imperfections with the master sculpt (and still are) but I've been working on this project so long I have to move on; take it as a learning experience more than anything else. It is my first BJD project anyway. 

I think I must have pestered the expert at the sculpture store with my constant bombs of questions. I've done a lot (A LOT) of reading and research on casting and molding materials and decided with silicone molds and resin casts. Silicone is flexible (but expensive) and resin is very strong and if treated properly I think has the potential to be beautiful (comparing to porcelain).

Anyway, here's my first mold and test cast. Silicone is EXPENSIVE! I'm not sure if I wasted silicone in this kind of mold? I might do research on brush on molds. Cheaper and as effective?

I love the way the resin feels and how responsive it is to the drill and sandpaper. Though my next step is to experiment with using magic sculpt to fill in bubbled gaps or how to prevent them all together? I made the mistake of stuffing the silicone mold with magic sculpt epoxy right away hoping to make a quick cast. Bad idea. Boy, did it get sticky on the surface and was hard to scrape off.

Working on hands in Dunkin' Donuts with a rasp and X-acto knife.