How to Make a Carvable Foam Pumpkin
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- čas přidán 29. 08. 2024
- In this video, I show you how to make your own carvable foam Pumpkin. There’s a few ways to make foam pumpkins, this is just one. In this video, I give a step-by-step guide on how I make a silicone mould to cast a realistic-looking rigid Polyurethane foam pumpkin.
This method eliminates the join line which you find on many foam pumpkins, however, it requires the pumpkin to have a hole at the bottom, something I’m ok with, as when on display you can’t see the hole, and it gives me a space t place a LED light inside… I will probably make another video at some point showing other ways to make a foam pumpkin without the hole.
This method also stops the issue of paint flaking off, by painting the mould (rather than the finished pumpkin) you are making the foam stick to the paint, rather than the other way around, doing this leads to a much better paint job and eliminates paint flaking.
When the pandemic hit, like many people I found I had a lot of time on my hands, in the UK where im based foam Pumpkins simply weren’t available to buy, so I set about trying to figure out how to make my own, after dozens of attempts at making various moulds I finally achieved something I was happy with.
Although I have sold a few of these uncarved foam Pumpkins in the past, I have very little interest in selling foam pumpkins, I’m making these to carve myself, I am fully focused on continuing to improve this process and making the best Foam pumpkins possible, and happy to share what I’ve learned so far, and will continue to share new materials and methods I discover to improve this process.
What you will need:
-A well-ventilated area
-PPE: respirator, eye protection, gloves
Silicone
Smooth-on, Mould Max 15T
OR
o Smooth-on, Dragon Skin 10 Slow
OR
An equivalent Silicone with similar technical properties
-Rigid Polyurethane Foam
o My favorite brand is the Smooth-on Foam-it range.
o I use the foam-it 5 or 8, but you can use any rigid foam
· Laminating resin
o Any laminating resin will work, but you need one with a long “pot life” this is the amount of time you have to work with the material once mixed - I try and use one with a 20 to 40 min pot life.
· Chopped strand fiberglass matting
o Any matting will work - I use ones around 300gsm
· Wax mould release
· Newplast putty
· Ribbon
· Tape
· Disposable paint brushes & mixing pots, above 1000ml (at least 10 of each)
· Baby powder/ talc
· Acrylic spray paint
· Drill & paint mixer
#FoamPumpkin #howto #pumpkin #haloweenProps #props #funkin - Jak na to + styl
Buy one of my Carvable Foam Pumpkins here:
www.pumpkinfreak.co.uk/faux-pumpkins
Check out my stencil shop here: www.pumpkinfreak.co.uk/category/all-products
Incredibly detailed tutorial. Thank you for sharing what you have learned through your experiments
Glad it was helpful!
Hallelujah….Thank you for posting this. Even though I can’t watch it now, I’m so happy you did. Thank, thank you.
I love how tye pumpkins actually look real! Theyre not perfect & the outside has bumps & lumps like a real pumpkin. Best fake vege ive ever seen 🙂
thanks!
the ribbon was a great little trick il have to keep in mind. but if i can give a tip, trim the edges of your mother mold with a rotary tool or grinder so its not so prickly and buy a pack of bolts with wing nuts to keep your mold closed. ive always wanted to mold a real pumpkin so your video is super helpful!
Yes I've been meaning to tidy my mother mould, and I'll definitely use bolts on my next mould
I was thinking squeeze clamps, whatever they are actually called, would be better than the ratchet F clamps.
Finally!! I’ve been looking and trying for years to figure this all out!! You are a savior!
I'm continuing to improve this and have a few things that didn't make this video. will make another one at some point and go into a bit more detail
Holy shit my man. That is quite the process! For you to jump head first into trying to master this is very impressive. Thank you for the extremely expensive and frustrating sharing of your learned skills with this. I’m glad I didn’t try it alone! 🤣
Thanks! Figuring out how to make these kept me sane during the pandemic
@@PumpkinFreak I know how difficult it can be to try and figure out why something went wrong and what steps to take to eliminate the issue but you did your due diligence. That is what separates a professional from an amateur. Not only in pumpkins but life in general. Great tutorial my friend.
This is damn impressive. So much more goes into this than I would have imagined. Thanks for sharing your process. I look forward to someday carving on one of your kins! 🎃
Thanks! Yes defo need to sort out getting some over to you, I've got a lot on this month, but maybe something we can sort out in March?
@@PumpkinFreak I’ll be honored when the opportunity arises!
This is fantastic info! I want to have a LOT of pumpkins for decoration. I may not be able to get to it this year, but next Halloween is gonna be crazy at our house. Thanks for the vid.
Thank you! I wanted a way to make realistic looking pumpkins for my haunt and real or fake, they can be really pricey in large volumes. Your pumpkin are beautiful and so realistic!
This was a really interesting watch but I don’t think I could ever do this.
This is great. I made molds in college for bronze casting. Now it’s time to mass produce these for my next show. Thanks for the inspiration.
Glad you liked the video. If you have a go at this let me know how you get on!
You should still keep the imperfect mold and find a foam that is safe to carve for kids and dissolves in the rain so they can carve there own. Just make them solid ❤
Brilliant 🌟🧡the ribbon idea is SO brilliant!!! Thank you for sharing, so happy to find your channel.
No problem 😁 thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment
Wonderful pumkins. Great job
An absolutely fantastic, informative video - new subscriber without a doubt
Thanks!
Real pumpkins have the same imperfections you pointed out but I think your commitment to quality control is awesome and speaks to the integrity of your work as an artist! Kudos to you!
Thanks!
Wow. Incredibly informative!
Glad it was helpful!
Way more work than I think i have the patience for, but looks amazing. Well done. Since they are hard to find in the UK, you should start making a bunch and selling them, might be able to find a good market for them locally. :)
Thanks, yes I have sold a few, but if I'm honest, I don't want to spend all my time making pumpkins, I'd much rather be carving them 😁
Thank you for making this video :) I love me some pumpkins!
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🍄
Are they okay to set outside ? Or would you have to spray them with a sealant to protect them ? Also have you ever made any like traditional looking ones with the face cut out 🎃. I'd be curious how that would look.
You're really great at what you do ! Can't wait to see future pumpkins you make !
@@addypenner7557 I left a test pumpkin in my garden for a year, not fully carved, but I had scraped and cut a few bits... mainly to see how the paint held up. It was completely fine. I can't speak for foam pumpkins made by someone else, but you'd be fine putting mine outside without any sealer.
I haven't done a cut out on them yet but definitely will at some point.
Super good tutorial, thanks! 🎃
Super cool. 👌
Thanks! 🎃
This is cool.
thanks for sharing been wanting to do this for a minute !! HFL!!
Fantastic ❤
Wow. thanks!
Love this! Thank you!!!
Outstanding. Great work. How would you go about creating a flat sheet 1/4" -5/16" thick using the same process? I also have been carving foam pumpkins for many years. I've struggled to find a foam board product that is as nice as the Foam-it 5 or 8 to carve. If you have some ideas, I'd love to hear them. Thanks again for this tutorial.👍
You should check out the video below, is this what you mean? czcams.com/video/pIeQoHpiSl4/video.htmlsi=_CkT91PDAPbyEgEZ
How smooth and consistent is the inside after rolling around and how thick do your pumpkins average? Awesome video with great explanation!!!
With a bit of practice you can get a fairly even thickness, and can control how thick they are. I usually aim for around 2cm thick. But you can easily make them thinner or thicker. I'm actually in the process of making a roto-casting machine and will make a follow up video with how it goes...which will probably be after silly season now.
We can't buy pumpkins that big in Australia, not actual ones or foam carvable ones. Freight for light weight but large items is ridiculous. So I might have to have a go at making some moulds.
Would be very interested to discuss with you about buying some of the Silicon parts, with ribbons, and I'll make mother moulds here.
Then I need to see if we have a distributor for smooth on here as haven't seen anything like it, and Hazmat import and carrier costs also ridiculous.
Jenny
Thanks for putting on this awesome video. You did an amazing job! I do have some questions.
First, was there a specific reason for choosing the Mold Max 15 silicone or was it recommended by Smooth-on. Is that one specific to casting foam.
With regards to the silicone, how many molds can you make with the gallon purchase, assuming you purchased the gallon. I'm hopeful you can make many molds to help justify the cost.
With regards to the foam, how many pumpkins do you think you can make with what you got.
Look forward to chatting, I'm lost in Smooth-on's inventory and variety
I arrived at the 15T silicone through trial and error... I found lower numbers were too soft, higher ones too firm. I use 1 gallon of silicone per mould (but that will depend on the size of pumpkin you're casting) ...small pumpkins you could probably get 2 moulds from.
For the amount of pumpkins you can make from the foam, again that depends on the pumpkin size, but typically I'm getting anything from 10 to 20 pumpkins from a gallon of foam it 5.
This information is very helpful thank you so much.
Brilliant! I watched it this time. I was wondering: how thick are the walls of your pumpkins? Instead of using a real pumpkin could the mold be based on a pumpkin sculpted out of clay? Would the silicone material be ok with that? How many times can you use that flexible silicone mold before it breaks? I ask about sculpting because they’re ain’t no pumpkins any more. Thank you for ploughing the road.
The thickness really depends how much foam you put in, I aim for 1.5 to 2cm, but that's because I like that thickness. Yes I would have thought clay would work - or just use a foam pumpkin you've bought and make a copy. I honestly don't know how many you can make with each mould, I haven't had one break yet, my oldest one has made around 140 so far and still going strong.
This is more expensive than going out and buying premade pumpkins.
Not necessarily, it can work out between £5 and £20 per Pumpkin, depending on size, what grade silicone and foam you use, which is much cheaper than buying them from the Funkin website, but probably about the same as a on sale one from a craft store. For me in the UK it cost around £120 per pumpkin to get them shipped from America, so works out much cheaper.
Have you tried/thought about seeing if you can get ur products cheaper thru a place that buys in bulk to make props etc? Like tv/movie props for example. They might be happy to do a deal with you where you buy with them so ur order comes with their order n may save you money - compared to buying it from the UK supplier who will make sure any charges like postage etc will be charged to you - if that makes sense.
i already supply them to a few movie studios, theatres etc to use as seasonal props. the main problem I'm trying to solve at the moment is production, the liquid foam needs to be used quickly or it chrysalises over time and becomes unusable, although I could buy in bulk I wouldn't be able to make them quick enough... once I solve that bottle neck then dropping price through scale becomes easy.
@@PumpkinFreak I don't even make anything remotely close to pumpkins, I'm a knitter & crocheter lol. But ur vid popped up in my recommended n it looked interesting - I watched every minute!! A LOT more goes into it than I ever imagined!!
@@MrsGump I mainly love carving them than actually making the foam ones, have you seen any of my other videos?
@@PumpkinFreak not yet, I'm on another pumpkin carving vid atm (I fell down a bit of a Halloween rabbit hole lol) but I have gone to ur main homepage & got it sitting in the background so I can go back to ur channel & check out ur other vids shortly 😀
Such a great tutorial! Thanks for sharing! What specific color spray paints did you use?
Thanks! I tend to use a Capri orange or shock orange spray paint from Montana Gold. Both fairly similar but ones slightly darker
I’m interested in the small pumpkin u made in this video, just wanted to ask if you sell thes
Yeah I sell them but only within the UK. email me on info@pumpkinfreak.co.uk
Good info But I wish you were showing your work more and less talking head
Amazing. BTW, have you since or ever tried using spray foam insulation? Do you think that might work better instead of the liquid foam?
I'm sure it could be done, it's the first type of foam I looked at, but I didn't go down that route, looking at other videos of people using spray foam it seems to give a really inconsistent finish in terms of both thickness and air bubbles. If you wanted a solid pumpkin it's definitely something that could be a good option.
They are very impressive, and look just like the Funkins, but a LOT of faffing around for my liking. However, I appreciate your efforts and commitment and am very envious, because I have a very unhealthy fixation on pumpkins! I've bought quite a few Funkins when on holiday in the US over the years. About 10 years ago I wrote to Tesco suggesting that they would be very popular over here in the UK, so hoped they would import them on a massive scale. But alas, no reply and no Funkins. I think our stores have missed a trick, because I still think they would sell very well, especially with kids carving them each year and keeping them forever. Have you thought about a trip over to the states to buy them? What I did was split (cut) them into the two halves, then just put them together in my cases surrounded by clothes and things and they practically took up zero space. Also, practically no additional weight because they weigh almost nothing. I also cut the bottoms off (about 4" holes) and stuffed them with clothes, and put them in our cases that way. I have read many comments saying that you can pick them up very cheaply after halloween, like a couple of dollars or so. You can get flights for as little as £300 if you look around. Just a thought! Thanks for a very interesting video.
Yep, I also have pumpkin sickness. I doubt any UK supermarket wants to take on the liability, if it's designed for a light to go inside I would have thought it would need to comply with light shade regulations, which foam definitely does not, plus what effect does foam dust have on health in the long term, it's made from some rather nasty chemicals known to cause Cancer.
Once you've made a mould it's not too bad, plus I can tailor the final pumpkin. I did look into buying and shipping in bulk, but I decided to figure out how to make them myself... Now I just need to focus on improving them.
@@PumpkinFreakFrom what I know, there's probably nothing dangerous in the foam, despite what they're made of. I suspect that once it's cured, it's safe. There are many things for sale here, and elsewhere in the world, that may not be fully safe, but they're still sold. Like all the cheap stuff from China - there's no way most of that complies with regulations, like the cheap phone chargers, which may have the necessary markings, but they simply are not compliant - many catch fire and are incredibly dangerous, yet Ebay and Amazon sell them in their thousands. Anyhow, you've made a great job of them, and they look just like Funkins, so if you can carve them as easily, well you don't need to import.
I have just found you, and am hysterically happy!!! I carved my first Funkin about 30 years ago, and still have it!
I have no idea how many I've done over the years.... large, medium and small!!! I even did one about the size of a large softball that my sister put in the window of her big rig when she and her hubs went OTL.... and I've done R & D on a few football teams for family and friends (BUT - never sold them!!)
I was born October 21, so I have the bug....I mean the Sickness.... I LOVE carving them... But I also have PSA, so I can't always carve anytime I want.... but if I can perfect this? Voila! I can carve whenever my stupid joints will allow!!!
By the way, I haven't seen Funkins for years here in South Carolina ( LOVED THEM!) Now we have "Fall Harvest"... I think I remember there being a difference, but that was so long ago, I don't remember what it was..... maybe the texture was more porous and mealy, but again, I still haven't done a punkin in years..... I am just glad those who love to carve finally have an option! THANK YOU!!!!!
PS: For those of you who have the same hard-on that I do....? I plan on trying one just to paint it red and carve the original Coca Cola Santa in it and place it by the fireplace for Christmas! You're welcome, everyone!
This is comprehensive and great. I’ve been trying to make my own with 2 halves of fibreglass and taken on some of your tips. Problem is either the paint appears to ‘rot’/degrade the pumpkin exterior over time due to either spray paint propellant or maybe not mixing foam parts A and B enough. Not sure which, though I am pre-painting the molds. The exterior foam degrades in some areas over a few weeks, not instantly. Have you ever had this?
Yeah, as in the foam collapses and creates strange marks? ... It's something that's hard to identify a specific cause, it could be one or a combination of a few things which I've listed below... But I have to say, all the below I've figured out by trial and error, and even now it still happen to me, but considering the below it happens a lot less than it used to.
1. not mixing enough... That includes both the A and B parts before you mix them together... I spend a good 15 mins shaking each bottle before I use them. If they have been stood still for a while the chemicals can sepperate.. then if you make one pumpkin without mixing them properly it seems to throw out the chemical balance for the rest of the bottle, so every pumpkin after that will collapse.
2. The temperature you've stored the chemicals, if they get too cold they crystallize and cause the same problem as in point one. You need to store and use the liquid foam at a temperature around 23c / 73f
3. Old chemicals, it can go off fairly quickly, again old foam will crystalize. Once open I try and use the whole bottle with in a couple of weeks.
4. Moisture, i never make foam pumpkins on a rainy day, and always make sure the paint is completely dry. get yourself a humidity monitor... It will help.
Let me know if any of this helps!
@@PumpkinFreak great stuff, thanks. I’ll take more care mixing and fingers crossed!
@@PumpkinFreakmost informative, thanks
If i may ask, why fibreglass instead of plaster bandage?
You could use plaster bandage, but you'd need it fairly thick to get the same strength, which also makes it heavier. I just prefer how much thinner / stronger fibreglass is
Can u provide all tools on your page for how to make foam pumpkin pls
I seem to have missed, what is the laminating resin for?
It's to use with the fiberglass
Making pumpkins for jack o'lantern faces... I'd like to make the overall jack faces into molds themselves. Same process as mother molds...? The outer end product will be a resin fiberglass.
The only issue I can see with that is the moisture from the exposed pumpkin might stop the silicone from curing... Unless you used loads of the wax mould release... loads of layers to create a thick waxy protective coat.
Could we just add shaped block pieces to inside of Silicon before pouring foam? Before or after paint??
For your mother mold- 1 side looks brown in color and the other is white. Did you use different resins for that? Also, did you use a mold release before applying the resin?
You can get different colours, I used a different one on each side so I could more easily keep track which one was the front and back. I didn't bother using the mould release on the hard mother mould for this one.
Thank you!
Do u sell these ? Looking for a big one for a Halloween project tried pap mache but it doesn’t stand up to the British weather
As a general rule I'm making them to carve myself, but I have sold a few over the years, feel free to email me: info@pumpkinfreak.co.uk
Can you use an existing purchased foam pumpkin instead of a real one?
Yeah absolutely, the first moulds I ever made were cast from a Funkin, but with it being lighter I'd probably glue the pumpkin to the table so it doesn't move around
@pumpkinfreak is the spray paint adding the color? I did not see the green for stem happen?
He added that first, turned the Silicon almost all the way through so he could spray into the stem
cut your mixer bit to make it shorter. long mixer bit vs small cups equal Mess and INJURY.
That's a good idea! Defo doing that!
Do you sell these at all?!
I don't sell them uncarved anymore. But I recently found out JoAnn.com have started shipping internationally for a reasonable price. Their foam pumpkins aren't as realistic looking but they look good once carved
@@PumpkinFreak I am from the States originally. And am fami9with these fowm pumpkins. I was hoping to find a shortcut to making a headless horseman style head for someone this Halloween. I don't think they'd make one the right size, so I'll likely have to just get on with making one from EVA, as I thought I might have to.
Oh, shit. Homelander.
Thank you for sharing this. It may be a bit more expensive than I am willing to go for a hobby. Because unless you were making these one right after another and rolling then out like an assembly line to sell, you would never get back the investment you put into making them.
Couple of questions #1 you didn't mention what the mother mould was really for, or whether you can use your silicone mould over and over or if it's just a one time use? #2.....what was that annoying clicking or banging noise in the background that just went on and on throughout your whole video? It was so annoying. Maybe next time try to not have whatever that was running in the background.
The mother mould is to hold it all in shape, and yes you can use it over and over again, it will need replacing eventually but you should be able to make a few hundred before that happens. Yes I know the sound is off in a few of my videos and something I'm continuing to work on.
You talk too much
Hello there ! New to your show here !
Just watching your carvings in the background ,
I was wondering , Beautiful pumpkins in what I see but
my question is with all your carvings I've seen carvings
of this type on pumpkins that were even just bought
from near by stores what is the difference between
Store bought and the way your creativity design is !
Thank you much .
Fantastic video! Super helpful and refreshingly thorough. Great work, thank you
Thanks! And thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, I appreciate it 😀