29 May 2006

Linka - memories of the past


Eric mixing the plaster and Ariel scraping off excess.
Back in the late 1980's I had just discovered wargaming - a better word to describe playing with toy soldiers. Wargaming involved not only collecting and painting the figures and models, but also creating the scenery. There were many methods for creating buildings, but for a cash strapped lad, Linka proved to be a very cost effective way to make realistic models.
Linka was a system which used plaster poured into moulds for various sections of buildings - walls, roofs, doors, windows and so on. I made quite a number of great looking buildings including a nicely detailed church using the stone moulds. Then Linka went out of business and that was that.
Thanks to the Internet I discovered Linka World, a company which has reproduced the moulds and sells them internationally for $10 (US) a mould. We had a session creating pieces yesterday with everyone joining in - mixing the plaster, pouring it into the moulds, scraping the excess once it was partly set, then removing the completed pieces.
Once we create some buildings we will post some photos. The Linka World website has plenty of samples to show.
Hirst Arts also makes moulds and has a great instructional section including videos and detailed instructions and hints and tips.

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