Tabs, Teeth and Ears

Whatever you call them they can be a real pain, especially with older moulds.

We've got 9 of the old Linka Moulds and one of the new. The old were bought on Ebay just before the prices went through the roof.

Seriously if it's a matter of £5 for an oldie or £7.40 for a new mould - get the new one from Terrascenic, they are much more flexible.

That said the oldies are quite useable as long as you use a bit of gumption (and get advice from someone who really knows what they are up too like we did).

This is how to do it -

1 - CLEAN the mould till you are sick and tired of washing and waiting for it to dry to reveal plaster residue.

2 - Treat yourelf to some GOOD mould release - we used Formula 5 Release Agent 400ml Can at £6.38 Inc VAT from Tiranti. Spray thoroughly and get it in all the corners - we found giving a little brush up with a stiff paintbrush helped.

3 - Cast and celebrate

It really does make a real difference to getting the little bs out in one piece.

The thing that really brought it home to us was a mould where I'd missed a bit or two - a residue of plaster stuck firmly to the mould - which needed washing all over again.

If you are used to HA moulds Linka is not so forgiving and needs a lot more practice to get a good cast - particularly leaving the casts for quite a bit longer to let the plaster reach a stronger state of cure.

With a bit of wangling Linka is compatible with HA -
8 linka brick rows = 1 HA block or 2 small brick
4 Linka stone rows = 1 HA block or 2 small brick rows

2 Linka thicknesses = 0.5 HA block or 1 small brick thicknesses or 1 wall builder thickness

The brickwork provides a very small texture and the stone would be a realistic small stone to fit in with Hirst.

Mix and match the way to go.....

All the best,

Jon

Fox and I cast together so his comments go for me as well, but I have to say that I find the Linka a bit too fiddly for my taste. Though the general premise has great merit.

Hawk