Now that the pieces are all set up, we are ready to attach them. Like I said before I'll be using Bondo as my binding material; Bondo is a great material because it is both strong and sandable. First mix your Bondo with its hardener, and then spread it onto your surfaces to be bonded. Force the Bondo into your drill holes with your tool, and once you have good coverage on both pieces insert your threaded pipe into your large drill hole. Then firmly press your pieces together making sure that they are aligned correctly (mouse over left picture). If you ever find that you are having problems with aligning your pieces then the next time that you do a sculpture in separate pieces think about sculpting keys on your joining surfaces (I'll do another tutorial soon to show you how helpful this can be).While joining your pieces together allow the excess material to squeeze out of your seam, and set that way (we'll file this down in the next step). Hold your two pieces together until the Bondo hardens.
This step is very much like cleaning up your seam on your castings; however I'd advise that you sand and file it down as opposed to using a razor blade (right picture).. Once again you are removing the excess Bondo not your sculptures detail. I'm sure that this goes without saying- the goal here is that when you prime your casting for painting, there will be no visible evidence of any kind of seam lines anywhere. I usually use a large file to take down most of the Bondo, then once I'm close up against the casting I switch to a smaller file so that I can better sink up all the fine detail. If after you file down your Bondo there is still evidence of a crack between your two pieces, then go in with a second layer of Bondo and a small pallet knife and fill them in, and file them down again.
Here is the finished casting of my little cave troll (left). I think that at the very least, this tutorial shows you why most model kits are not sold assembled, and why they are not cheap if they are. Assembling castings can be a lot of work and time consuming. There is nothing hard about this process but it does require a little patience and careful attention to detail if you want your finished casting to be of high quality. Once you have finished assembling your casting, it is ready to be primed and painted.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this tutorial I have started a thread in the Sculpture Forum (Click Here)
Sculpting Tutorial
Silicone Mold Making Tutorial
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Cleaning Up Your Seam:
Finished Assembled Casting: