Nice model! I've used WSF myself when printing busts. But then again, I'm no expert.
However, I see that you're using ZBrush! Nice. One thing you have to keep in mind is that you will have to reduce the polygon count a LOT to be able to print it since Shapeways has an upper limit to the number of polygons you can have. First if all you will have to hollow it out to make the price reasonable and to do that you will need a lot of extra polygons (although not necessarily double the amount). Your model looks very high-poly. I would suggest using optimize (or whatever it's called) in a program like blender to reduce the polygon count. Of course you can just go down a level or two in subdivisions in ZBrush but sometimes that does not give the best results. Also do note that if you print it in a rather small scale (5-8 cm) you probably will not see all the details anyway so there is no need for them to be in the model.
Ive considered this. Making the model hollow is a must.
How possible would it be to cut the model into 4 separate sections and printing them separately. Each section would be under the 500k tris limit and could then be assembled by myself. I could use some type of epoxy putty like epoxy sculpt to hide the separation lines.
After which I would hope so use it as a master for a 2 part silicone rubber mold to make copies out of resins.
Has anyone produced objects with a similar process. Has anyone found any pitfalls ?
I could tell you a million things that could go wrong with two part moulds since I make them all the time.
Have you done it before?
You'd be better doing it in half...front/back since it's a bust....quarters would make your molding process painful and time consuming. If you're using all the right gear and making actual wooden mold boxes then you'd be better of making 3 or four one piece molds so you can churn out three or four at a time. The plastics I use cure in about a minute so I can make ten copies of what I want in about fifteen minutes with one mold while working on other things.
If your making simple molds then definitely go for 2 piece molds, that's what I'm using because I don't have any electrical tools right now. Wish I had a Dremel.
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One thing you have to keep in mind is that you will have to reduce the polygon count a LOT to be able to print it since Shapeways has an upper limit to the number of polygons you can have. First if all you will have to hollow it out to make the price reasonable and to do that you will need a lot of extra polygons (although not necessarily double the amount). Your model looks very high-poly. I would suggest using optimize (or whatever it's called) in a program like blender to reduce the polygon count. Of course you can just go down a level or two in subdivisions in ZBrush but sometimes that does not give the best results. Also do note that if you print it in a rather small scale (5-8 cm) you probably will not see all the details anyway so there is no need for them to be in the model.
