making icesicles

[trbruning]

hi, ive read a few posts on here about making icesicles a few months back but cant seem to find them again. would dipping them like they used to make candles be a good way? any idea's are appreciated.

[stuffer2000]

Easy just go buy some whole carrots and pick out the ones you like. Next coat the carrot with a 1/8 inch layer of sylicone and let set up. I build mine up to about 1/4 in after that remove the carrot and wash out with soap and water then hang upside down to dry. Once dry mix up your artificial water and fill up mold. Makes really nice looking icicles. Hope that helps

[trbruning]

it does, thank you

[stargazer644]

Thanks, that is a good tip.

[dugart]

You can also try clear plastic toilet plunger handles   that's right, toilet plungers. You can find these at dollar stores etc and they're usually pretty cheap. All you do is heat them to about 375 degrees,(on a non-stick cookie sheet) 20 minutes, remove from oven and stretch em out. They will taper down in the center and you will need to run cold water over them to lock in the shape. Then you break them in half (at the thinnest point) and presto! two of the most realistic icicles you've ever seen. There are little air bubbles trapped in the solid plastic just like real icicles.

You may have to sand the tips a bit and give them a coat of artificial water once you hang them on your scene but I'll guarantee they will look exactly like the real thing. I stumbled onto this a few years ago and my little granddaughters didn't dare touch one because they thought it would be too cold.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...a good pair of ove-gloves will come in handy, those suckers are h-o-t when you first take them out. This method is especially good for creating longer icicles, but you can make shorties too.

Good luck!

[Damage]

marking

[arrowed1]

I have done the silicone molds of actual icicles. Cut a slot in foam a  bit bigger than the mold. lay a bed of silicone in the foam slot. Lay the icicle in the bed of foam but keep the wide end outside the silicon and foam. Lay another layer of silicone over the icicle but keep the wide end open to air. Put in refrigerator for a couple days with a drip pan under. The ice melts, the water sets up the silicone. I fill mine with clear "goop" adhesive from the hardware store. I can usually get 20 casts out of one form. If I need one in a hurry. Take a piece of monofiliment and hang vertical with a weight on the bottom. Drip Goop down the mono in many layers to form icicle. trim mono and adhere to habitat. Do not thin Goop as you will loose the clarity.
 Kevin

[skinner26]

Try cotton batting and dip it in  envirotec and hang it over a sticks in the base or on the edge of a water scene to make the water look frozen.

[AnnaG]

Marking, great advice here.

[Wilderness Taxidermy(AL)]

Try getting a small glue stick and heating it up and you can mold it to the shape you want and you have one that won't break.

[Debbie C.]

marking -- great tips !