Resin Stalactites and Icicles

Ice and stalactites for winter scenery

Sixty small castings in clear resin solve a detail that is difficult to make from ordinary materials. An icicle or a stalactite has to be slender, pointed and above all it has to let the light through, as otherwise it looks like a piece of white plastic. The cast pieces have that quality straight from production, so once they are glued on it is enough to tone the surroundings slightly and the scenery turns cold.

The size of the individual pieces ranges from three to twelve millimeters, which is a span usable across scales. The smallest pieces suit a coating of ice on the gutter of a vehicle or on a branch in a large scale, the medium ones regular icicles along the edge of a roof, the largest ones stalactites on a cave ceiling or ice columns in an underground scene. Because these are separate pieces, the density can be chosen place by place and no regular pattern arises that would give mass production away.

The clear material has one more advantage: if you place a light source beneath it, the piece carries it along its whole length and the tip lights up. That can be used in an underground scene, where lighting otherwise comes across as flat.

Gluing and further work

Best is super glue applied in the smallest amount, because its white bloom would spoil the transparency; an accelerator helps as well, so that the piece does not have to be held for long. The pieces can be shortened with a sharp knife and joined into longer formations, or cast into clear resin to create larger masses of ice. The tip can be polished and the upper part lightly fogged with white, so that the transition to the base comes across naturally.