One more time...

Did I mention that pouring the rubber original is the most frustrating part of the process?

I did get four legs and a tail this time around, but the sprue on the chin didn't work and his cheeks and lower jaw look like Swiss cheese. So this morning I did another pour. I'm not especially hopeful, though. Sometimes the sprues clog after the first pour, so I widened it. This should have given me a bit of drainage from the sprue, but I didn't get any so I might be pouring again tomorrow morning.

The image in the plaster mold comes from this piece, so getting a faithful copy is vital. I'll give this one more try, and if it doesn't work then I'll redirect the sprue. My next option is to order fresh rubber, since that can make a big difference. If all else fails, I will go with my (agonizingly perfect and bubble-free!) tailless guy and cast the tail separately. I had suspected that issues later in the process would require that anyway, but I wanted to see if I could get lucky. I would love not to have the extra step of attaching that tiny tail to each foal.

And we haven't even gotten to the "by the seat of your pants" part yet!