Ideas on how to replicate an animal encased in amber?

  1. Poly Optic clear two part by volume resin. You'll know how much you'll need if you fill a plastic easter egg with water and measure how much each half will hold combined. Divide by two and that will tell you how much of each part to measure out. into two small disposable paper or plastic cups.

  2. Drill hole it the top of a two-part plastic Easter egg.

  3. Lightly grease the interior of the egg with Vaseline or olive oil. It should shine but not be wet.

  4. Put dino toy in egg and snap closed.

  5. Put egg in ziplock bag.

  6. Cut corner of bag off and stick vacuum hose into hole and secure with vinyl electrical tape. Make it air tight.

  7. Two drops yellow food coloring in one cup of resin (Part A) and one drop or red food coloring in the other (Part B).

  8. Mix thoroughly and poor into egg. You should have plenty of time to be careful.

  9. Seal bag closed, and turn on vacuum to suck all micro air bubbles out of the resin. This will look like it is making a huge mess. Because it is. That's the reason for the bag, besides limiting the amount of air being sucked. Let it go until it stops bubbling out of the egg.

  10. Turn off vacuum. DO NOT OPEN THE BAG YET. Use the bag to push as much of the resin that came out back into the egg. If done correctly, it should be air bubble free.

  11. Remove egg from inside the bag, and carefully sit upright until the resin is hard and not tacky to the touch. Some like to clean the outside of the egg first, but I prefer to leave the resin on the disposable shell so I don't have to touch the actual prop to test for tackiness.

  12. Remove amber trapped dino egg from plastic easter egg shell.

  13. Sand the surface defects, using progressively finer grits until you achieve a realistic semi-gloss shine.

/r/DIY Thread