Wolf Statues

I decided to make some wolf statues for my driveway entrance and started by buying a 3D STL model file of a wolf online. I resized the wolf model to be 4 feet tall and sliced it into sections to print on my large format 3D printer.

After printing, I glued the sections together with hot glue, filled in the seams, and sealed the PLA model with spray paint. I then prepared it for molding by creating jointing gaps with cardboard, hot glue, and modeling clay, and sealed the seams with polyurethane.

Next, I made a rubber mold by applying 20 layers of liquid latex. Once the rubber cured, I cut the seams open, applied mold release spray, and made a fiberglass mother mold using fiberglass and urethane resin. After the resin cured, I drilled bolt holes around the seams to hold everything together under the pressure of the concrete.

I removed the mother mold and latex mold from the PLA print, attached a steel fixture to hold the mold and concrete, and added rebar and threaded rod for reinforcement. After the concrete set, I removed the statue, repaired a small crack, and made a second statue, which was easier to demold without damage.

This project added two wolf statues to my driveway entrance, enhancing its appearance.