Watching a Pot of Water Boil, Watching Grass Grow, Watching Stone Dry … you decide which is more painful to do. 

Okay, I know I posted the pictures a while ago of the mold form, the pour and the removal from the form and even a “dry-fit” of the various parts, so what’s been done since on the Blood Lich Diorama … not much.

It really looks wet here because it shortly after pulling it out of the form.  But it still looked a lot like this a couple of days later. The fiancee called it “Lego Cake.”

The process by which I achieved the “pit wall,” given my newb status to casting dental stone, came off fairly well all things considered … or so I thought when I pulled it from the mold and took the “dry-fit” pictures.

I attempted to clean the pit wall block and start sanding it after giving it a couple of days to dry.  I literally ignored the thing in that time.  So imagine my surprise when it still felt “wet.”  I sanded the face of the pit wall anyway with the intention of making it more concave than convex.  It literally gummed up the sanding sheet.  So, I changed tactics and pulled out my carving tools.  Made some headway but then … snap, came off a corner.  Top left as you face it.  Basically the second pour from the corner to the support.

I grumbled and set it all back on the shelf.  Complained about basements and such.  Then made sure my dehumidifier was running and pointed a fan at the pit wall.  And left … discouraged by the whole thing.

So I came down the next day and checked it … no change.  Grumbled about it some more and set to cleaning up the work bench.  Found the mushroom and set it aside.  Went back upstairs to watch TV.

The New Stone Golem came and WOOT was feeling like working on something … went in the basement.  That lasted only a short, fleeting moment.  Still wet.  Set the Golem down on the bench and went to Family Game Night.

Did some work on the Mushroom and Rubberized the new golem over the weekend and stared at the block of wet dental stone.  Ugh.

Guess what … it is finally dry.  I am sure there’s something somewhere that tells me I have to mix it less wet, in proper humidity controlled environment, etc. but damn that was discouraging.  But it’s dry.  So I’ve given it two additional days of drying; maybe, technically three.  So tonight I revisit it but first the hunt for sandbags…

The Hunt for Sandbags

You might be asking yourself, “WYTAW?” or not if you didn’t grow up watching “Diff’rent Strokes,” but yes, the Hunt for Sandbags occurred because I wanted to find something I could set a wedge of dental stone in so I can work on the face of it with both hands and not damage it.

I headed off to Wally-world in search of just that.  I recalled having seen two oblong bags which could be used to hold up something and prevent it from shifting.  And I might have seen it in Lowest or Home Despot but they aren’t open late at night.  So, I checked around … nope, what I thought I had seen wasn’t there so I checked sporting goods for any options thinking handing for camping or shooting or any of a number of items.  Found a two-pack gun support for $25.  Two v-notched weighted bags.  Not really what I was looking for.

Then I figured, WTH, I can have my fiancee make a pair of oblong bags or a pillow with a couple of stitches in the middle and fill it myself with some sand from the Garden section.  Apparently kids don’t need refill bags of play sand after July.  So I meandered back over to the craft section figuring I could at least get the bottle of play sand they sell there.  WTF?   Alright, that option is exhausted so I head over to the fake flower section and look for even decorative sand, I have a ton at home but that’s for projects.  Nada.  Glass beads and that’s it.  Seriously?

So I leave Wally-world and head home and not long after I head to bed.  Yes, it was late, I like to have a nice quiet store even if I get the one lane situation with 10 deep of people who also like the quiet of shopping at night.

Next day, I gripe about the whole thing to the fiancee.  She says, “I got that bag of play sand we used for the vertical planter back from school.  I think it’s in the shed.”  Grumble.  So when I got home from work I went to the shed.  No play sand there.  WTF?  Okay, I check all her landscaping/garden work spots.  Nada again.

Feeling frustrated and just a bit tired of it all I head back to the basement and I AM GOING TO PAINT SOMETHING.  I dive into painting the Myconid Cephalopod.  I turn on Stargate the movie on my Kindle and patently ignore the dental stone pit wall behind me on a shelf.  Uh-uh.  Not turning  around.

I get up the next morning and grab up the mushroom to show off at work and head for the front of the house.  I open the door to the porch.  Then attempt to open the door to the front having forgotten that someone down the street had a break-in so we had locked the door.  I reach to unlock the door but had looked down and to the left first.  There, behind the door when it’s open is the bag of play sand.

I go to work.