Make recolored lego pieces

[Hidronax]

Hello, some time ago I happened to read this topic, in which it is said lego pieces can be melt using acetone, and I wondered "Would it be possible to use this molten plastic in molds to create recolored lego pieces?" There are many pieces that have never been made in this or that colour, one could make molds from the 'wrong colour' pieces and create what he's looking for

Still, I'm not sure acetone would evaporate properly since there's little to no exposure to air in the mold, and the inner part of the new piece might remain liquid anyway once the outer part hardened.

I'm quite new to piece customisation, I have little experience (I've always considered myself a 'purist') and I don't know if something like this has ever been done before.

What do you think? I'm curious to hear what you think :)

[Borador]

You might want to talk to Kaminoan on Flickr. He has done a lot of work with casting, so he might have some insight. He's a very busy guy these days, but I'd still ask him if you are truly committed to this. He also has a book that you can look at.

Here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaminoan/

[emilstorm]

The acetone will create little "bubbles" in the new parts and they will become very brittle. And the substance is like glue, so it is very difficult and very unpractical to use in molds.

[MAB]

I've done it in the past. The cast parts were not brittle. Quite the opposite, way too flexible and soft.

Also use as little acetone as you can. It is surprising how little you need. Add a few drips at a time, and give the parts time to dissolve. If you use too much, the parts shrink and deform when the acetone evaporates.

[Borador]

I've done it in the past. The cast parts were not brittle. Quite the opposite, way too flexible and soft.

Also use as little acetone as you can. It is surprising how little you need. Add a few drips at a time, and give the parts time to dissolve. If you use too much, the parts shrink and deform when the acetone evaporates.

That is interesting. Would you say that the quality is better or worse than LEGO's rubber pieces like Kit Fisto's head or Loki's helmet?

[MAB]

That is interesting. Would you say that the quality is better or worse than LEGO's rubber pieces like Kit Fisto's head or Loki's helmet?

Much worse. I think mainly as the studs (or stud holders) shrink on drying out. Also the parts have a real bad quality feel compared to normal lego, not as dense feeling. Also if you bend them, they take a while to bend back, unlike the genuine rubber parts. But then, I guess they are bad quality parts, so it is not surprising they feel that way.

[Str0ngbad]

It also depends on the color of Lego you melt. Some of them separate rather than melting straight down. I know pearl gold and silver did this terribly but some of the other colors were not a smooth texture; kind of grainy. I know it worked great on the primary colors as well as on green and flesh and not so well on dark brown. I don't recall if I tried anything else. What I was experimenting with this for needed gold and silver and when neither of them worked, I left it behind for people who wanted yellow elf ears. :P

Also, if you're still interested in this, you should check out Kaminoan's books as suggested above. I only have his first one but I think he may have published a second last year.