Bronze Casting - The Clay Models

The start of bronze casting is creating the sculpture. This is usually - but need not be - in clay. Water based clays are the most commonly used and offer the advantage that they can be shaped and smoothed easily - that is if the skill of the sculptor is sufficient that that they can be shaped and smoothed easily.

These models are actually from polymer clay of the type you can find in hobby shops. The advantage is they make much less mess than water based clays and can be hardened in a kitchen oven. The drawback is the properties of the clay are harder to control, the surface is more difficult to shape and smooth, and last but not least, the cost is quite a bit more.

The next step is to make wax models.