Creating new Senet game piece molds

Here we're casting new molds for our small senet game pieces.  The original pieces were sculpted out of clay, from which we cast a single mold of each type of Senet pawn. Using the single molds, we cast five pieces of each for a complete set.  The problem with using a single mold to create game pieces is that if you want to add any kind of coloring to the piece, it's very difficult to maintain consistent coloring for the set if you cast the pieces one at a time rather than all at once.

In this pic we've taped the game pieces into disposable aluminum bread pans using glue dots.

Next, we mix the mold compound.  We're using Alumilite HM III compound.  It takes a few days to fully cure, but it's very durable and flexible

Pouring the compound over the secured pieces

Had just enough to cover both 5-piece sets.

Casting Senet Game Pieces

Finally got around to casting the game pieces for the Senet and Tjau games.  We hand-carved and baked the original pieces out of modeling clay, then created a single mold for each piece. From these molds, we created five game pieces of each of style (2 different styles for each player, a simple cone and spool, and a more ornate set modeled after a bundle of reeds and a papyrus flower).  Below are pictures of the sets we've made so far--really at this point we're just playing with colors.  The bottom picture shows a five-piece mold for our cone-shaped game markers.