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DODECAHEDRONS FOR PINOCCHIO
by Greg Bell
Otterbein College
exhibit no. 1
The director and designer of an Otterbein College
Theatre production of Pinocchio (by Arnold
Wengrow, music by Nicky Rea and Jackie Cassada),
conceived of the play as if the action was presented by a
bunch of kids on a playground. The visual elements
were greatly simplified, so the set consisted of oversize
toy blocks in various sizes, long poles and large fab-
ric panels, which the cast stacked, draped and ar-
ranged to create the different settings. However, the
designer thought simply using cubes (regular six-
sided shapes) for the blocks would be boring, so she
asked me if the shop could build them as dodecahe-
dronshapes with twelve equal faces, each a regular
pentagon. She wanted the blocks to be open, made
from some kind of tubing; in fact, her model piece
was plastic straws hot-glued at the joints.
I quickly chose PVC pipe for the tubing, but had
to cogitate a few days on a method for joining these
pipes together to make a dodecahedron. Two pos-
sible solutions emerged: some kind of exterior plate
to hold the pipes at the proper angles, or an interior
fitting at each joint. As the designer preferred the
look of an interior fitting, the hardware I ultimately
designed looked something like a Mercedes Benz
hood ornament laid flat on a table with each leg of
the three-point star angled 18 degrees up from a
common plane. Since a dodecahedron has 20 joints
and the designer specified seven of the shapes for the
set, I needed to fabricate 140 interior fittings to join
the 30 pieces of PVC pipe needed for each unit.
Given the number of pieces, and since each fitting
needed to be identical, it seemed best to cast each fit-
ting from some kind of resin poured into a mold. The
total process would include: 1) constructing a model
fitting, 2) pouring a negative mold for the process, 3)
casting the fittings, and 4) assembling and finishing
the dodecahedrons.
I fabricated the model fitting from the same type
of casting resin I would use for the actual pieces. Af-
ter research into several different types of resins, I
chose a two-part (A and B) urethane resin because
the technical data indicated that the material has a
flexural strength and hardness rating rugged enough
for the job. More important though, this type of resin
has a de-mold time of only two to six hours at 73 F,
and with 140 fittings to cast, a relatively short de-
mold time was essential. I started by building a
three-dimensional jig that held three 2-inch long
pieces of 1-inch diameter PVC pipe at the proper
angles with their outside edges all touching at a
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
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single central point. (See figure 1.) Supporting
blocks hot-glued to the pipe pieces provided the ex-
ternal support needed to keep them 120 degrees apart
(remember the Mercedes hood ornament) and 18 de-
grees up from the plane of the table. Modeling clay
shaped around the central space where the PVC
pipes met and gaffers tape placed over the open ends
of the pipes enclosed the shape to be cast. (See figure
2.) The model mold was placed on the work table
with the ends of the pipe pieces down before spray-
ing silicone lubricant on the modeling clay and into
the pipe pieces as a release agent. After hand mixing
the urethane resin according to the manufacturers
directions it was poured into the model mold through
a clay dam built up at the central joint and com-
pletely filling that space and each pipe piece. Once
the resin cured (about 48 hours), the PVC pipe
pieces, supporting blocks and modeling clay were
removed. With a bit of sanding and Dremel tool fin-
ishing, the model was complete and ready for the
mold building process.
A mold for a fully dimensional model (i.e. a
model without a flat side) is usually built with two
parts that are placed together and secured. The cast-
ing material is then poured into the mold through an
opening in the mold called a sprue hole. After the
casting hardens the two parts are separated to allow
removal of the finished piece. To build the two-part
mold for the dodecahedron fitting, I had to cast a
negative mold from the positive model fitting. I
chose a silicone RTV (room temperature vulcaniz-
ing) rubber for the mold material. It is very durable
with a high tear strength and a heat resistance rating
up to 400 F. Silicone RTV rubber is sold in a two-
part kit, usually mixed 10 parts of the rubber base to
1 part of the catalyst (hardener) agent. It is available
in many different viscosity and stiffness ratings, and
I picked one of the stiffest because 1) the mold
needed to maintain the shape of the model fitting
without any other structural reinforcement, and 2)
the model fitting had very little detail and did not
need the fine reproduction capability of the softer,
more flexible silicone rubbers.
I first secured the model fitting to a base with
the legs pointed up. Non-hardening modeling clay
formed beneath the central point and around each leg
covered about half-way up the fitting. (See figure 3.)
Once the clay was smoothed out to create a flat sur-
face around each leg, I created a narrow shelf of clay
around each leg of the model to create a keying sur-
face that would eventually allow the two halves of
the mold to fit together exactly and provide a seal
between the halves. With a lauan plywood box built
so it extended about a half inch above the highest
point of the clay-covered model, the mold was ready
to pour once the joints between the clay and the box
were sealed with more clay and the entire assembly
was coated with spray silicone lubricant release
agent. The silicone RTV rubber was hand-mixed in a
plastic cup according to the manufacturers direc-
tions and slowly poured over the exposed half of the
model filling to the top edge of the box. I had to take
some care to prevent trapping air in the rubber, in
fact the manufacturer recommends that the filled
mold be placed in a vacuum chamber to de-air the
material. With the thick rubber I chose for this mold,
de-airing was probably a good idea, but I didnt have
a handy vacuum chamber. As it turned out, air in the
rubber mixture was not a significant problem, and
only some very fine bubbles formed against the
model that did not significantly alter the fit of the
castings into the PVC pipes.
The plywood box came off the first half of the
mold after it had cured about 24 hours at room tem-
perature. The model fitting remained embedded in
the first half of the silicone rubber mold once the
base was removed and the clay carefully peeled
away. It was important not to remove the model from
the silicone mold as that could cause misalignment
in the second half of the process. Cleaning the model
and the silicone mold with mineral spirits removed
any residual clay before the lauan plywood box was
reconstructed around the silicone mold, with the ex-
posed part of the model facing the open end of the
Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7
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1999
UNI TED S TATES I NS TI TUTE FOR THEATRE TECHNOLOGY, I NC. 9
box. (See figure 4.) A clay plug about a half inch in
diameter and a half inch long was pressed onto the
top center of the model fitting formed the sprue hole
before sealing, spraying, and pouring the second half
of the mold. (See figure 5.) Removing the box, sepa-
rating the two halves, removing the model, then
cleaning left a mold ready for the first casting. (See
figure 6.)
Before casting each piece, the inside of the mold
halves got a light coating of the release agent, and
then the two were slotted together and secured with
large rubber bands. A carefully measured mix of the
A-B urethane resin was poured into the mold
through the sprue hole and the mold was then set
aside to cure. After the resin cured, the mold was
separated and the casting removed, revealing a du-
plicate of the original model fitting.
Mass Production Procedures and Notes
I was well aware that a single mold would not allow
me to cast all the fittings I needed in the time allotted
for this production. I had planned to build five
molds, calculating the amount of rubber needed
down to the last few ounces in a 9.9 pound kit of
RTV, but one seam in the lauan box for one mold
split apart before the rubber cured, allowing the rub-
ber to ooze out of the box. Without enough rubber
left to pour another half, I ended up with only four
molds. Because the mold building process took
much longer than I anticipated, I realized the total
casting time based on the manufacturers published
curing rate at room temperature (26 hours) would
be too long. Luckily, the resin would set much faster
at 150 F so I built an oven using four R-40 lamps
wired to a dimmer to control the heat output. The
filled molds placed in this oven set firm enough for
de-molding in less than two hours. This way, we
were able to get four castings from the four molds
each work day (including one evening casting ses-
sion). Ultimately we managed to cast more than 150
fittings in about 10 days. We also replaced the rubber
bands used to secure the mold halves with string tied
with shoe lace knots as they better able to withstand
the heat of the curing oven. (See figure 7.)
ASSEMBLY
Each dodecahedron was assembled from one inch di-
ameter PVC pipes and resin. (See figure 8.) Thirty
PVC pipes, cut to length at 12w long each created a
dodecahedron with about a 3-2 diameter. The fit-
tings pushed into the ends of the pipe held tight with
a one-inch drywall screw drilled and screwed
through the pipe and into each leg of the fitting. This
process repeated until the 30 pipes and 20 fittings
were assembled into a dodecahedron. The last few
pipes were difficult to shove over the fittings be-
cause of the angles and stiffness of such short PVC
pipes, but a rubber mallet provided just enough
gentle persuasion to make the fittings go into those
last few pipes. A little paint and clear sealant and the
dodecahedrons were ready for the show.
I did encounter a difficulty with this construc-
tion solution. As I did not anticipate all the rough use
these blocks would receive during the rehearsal
and run of Pinocchio, several fittings broke. This
problem appeared after all but 20 fittings had been
cast, but was solved by drilling and screwing three-
inch drywall screws into each leg of the fitting as re-
inforcement in the finished castings. For the final 20
fittings, the three-inch screws were placed in each
leg within the mold before pouring in the resin.
Budget
Silastic M Silicone RTV Rubber from Dow
Corning9.9 lb. kit (approx. 1 gallon) .......... $132.00
Uralite 3177 urethane casting resin from
H.B. Fuller Co.16 lb. kit (approx. 1
gallon of A and 1 gallon of B) ....................... $152.00
................................................................................
For five molds and 150 castings, I used:
1 - 9.9 lb. kit silicone RTV rubber ....................... $132.00
3 - 16 lb. kits urethane @ $152.00 ea. ................. $456.00
Miscellaneous cups, modeling clay
gaffers tape, etc. ............................................. $10.00
TOTAL: ............. $598.00
Supply Sources
Chembar, Inc. BJB Enterprises, Inc.
5505 Chantry Dr. 14791 Franklin Ave.
Columbus, OH 43232 Tustin, CA 92780
614-751-6582 714-734-8450
Figure 8