Chapter 2

Dad, Mark, wandered over because he noticed I was doing a mettle casting. Well, you can smell the hot mettle, after all. He was always curious about what I was up to and was surprised to find two young ladies with me.

“So what are you casting this time?” Dad asked.

“A statue,” was my simple reply. I broke open the mold. The statue was solid but still hot. Dad took a look and said, “Don’t let your mom see that. You got a good place to hide it?”

“Oh, it’s not for me, Dad. It is for them.” I pointed.

Dad looked at them and then at the statue again. Then it dawned on him they were the subjects of it.

“You may also want to avoid introducing them to your mother. You know how she feels.”

“Wasn’t planning on it, Dad.”

He then caught a whiff of the curry. “Smells like you are eating better as well. Any chance I could get a taste of that?”

I looked at the girls. They had made two casseroles. They planned on taking one to warm up in the dorm’s microwave tomorrow. There was also enough left for one more meal for me.

Wendy spoke up: “I am afraid we were hungry. There isn’t anything left that isn’t spoken for. Unless Tim wants to share his meal for tomorrow with you.”

Dad looked at my face. “Well, maybe I should just ensure your mom stays busy.” Then, he made his goodbyes and headed back to the main house.

“My dad likes curry, but mom does not.” I offered.

“I can make more next time if you like,” Amber stated.

“That would be nice, “I said as I put the statue in a bucket of water to cool it faster. Shortly after, I sanded the excess of the bottom so it would sit flat—that and the edges that seeped out. This took an hour, and I sat on the bench, Got a can of spray varnish, and spayed the statue down. “To keep it from oxidizing and changing color,” I said as I did so. After it dried, I ran them back to the dorm. I learned later that it was also a big hit. Most dormmates also passed on what would cost about $100 for an 11-inch bronze statue.

Well, the next day was Saturday, and there were no classes. I was already ahead in my reading and had no projects due. As I figured out what to do with myself, the phone rang. I answered only for an excited Wendy to tell me that Pat wanted a bronze of herself in Boris style. She had the sword but wondered if I could add a dragon to it like I could have her riding a dragon. I told her I thought that was possible; I had a few ideas. She wanted to come over as soon as possible to do so. She had her car so that she could come any time on a weekend. I offered that now would work best for me. Then, I heard an excited voice in the background. Needless to say, it takes women some time to get ready. I learned she had to have the hair done in her desired style, so they said noon.

Now, I have a dragon or two in my library of 3D printing images. And I could have her sit on a saw horse draped in a sheet. Once I had her picture, I could merge and resize the two images. When Amber and Wendy arrived with Pat, I was a bit surprised. However, all I can say is that Pat was stunning. Her long, flowing red hair was held in place with a ton of spray. Yet it looks natural. And that sword she had, I learned she borrowed from the drama department. I showed her my three dragon choices, and she quickly said witch one. Then I explained how I wanted her to sit on the sawhorse. I told her it could take a few shots to get things done. Her clothes came off to my shock, and she donned a medieval-looking belt with a leather flap in the back and a much thinner one in the front. She also had some armbands she put on. Now, she was a simple C-cup in size with no sag yet. But She had the most conical nipples I had ever seen. She hopped up on the sawhorse like a champion. And in my opinion, she looked like one. It did take a few poses to get one that would work. I had to convince her that the sward straight up would make her and the dragon small. She got it and opted for extended forward. Anyway, we got one she loved, and then she decided she wanted one fully nude on the dragon’s back. At least that one was quicker to get. I merged the photos with only minor resizing, and she selected the best one. As it was a complicated print, it would take 2.25 hours to make. She would pick it up tomorrow, return the sword, and go to the cafeteria for dinner. It did make it easier for me when the three of them were gone. At least I didn’t have to explain the extra holes in the casting mold. Well, there were a lot of overhanging parts, and I was worried about the sand cast coming out. I was relieved when it worked the first time I tried. And it took a bit longer to sand and file off the extra. The sword tip was sharp when I was done with that.

I also decided I liked the result so much that I printed out one for myself in white. I spent parts of the night and most of the next day painting it. I thought it looked much better than the bronze when it was done. Not that I let her see my version when she picked up the bronze and plastic ones. It turned out the bronze was a gift for her dad. He was pretty much a Boris fan.

Monday came with an order for a wing for a firebird. The restoration shop often uses me to make body parts. I asked them why one time, and they said it was because your parts fit. As I got 800 for the job, I was happy. They told me there would be much more work over the summer as this guy had his ex take a baseball bat to a good part of his car collection.

As the end of the spring semester drew near, I opted to wait until the fall for my next round of classes. Oh, and I was correct about the statues being sold. Lots were interested but lacked the funds to buy them. Then, girls returned to their homes for the summer, and I was doing a bang-up business thanks to that guy’s ex-wife. I figured I could pay for college my last two years. I also managed to print out the parts for the personal scanner I created. It would work fine if the model person weren’t over 6’6”. I even dabbled with the code to cut a pattern out of fabric. They did it in the clothing factory as long as the material wasn’t too flammable. It’s nice to see what you can find on the internet.

A few days before the fall semester started, I had this Mercedes pull into the driveway. I wondered what was up when Pat climbed out on the passenger side. As this woman got out, the driver’s side, she was not much older than Pat. It turned out it was her stepmother. And she wanted her statue made. I had to object when she said she wanted pure 24K gold. Well, pure gold would be too soft. I explained the problem well enough, I thought. Also, I would need the funds in advance as I would have to buy the gold. I was informed she had brought that along in the trunk. And she had it in one troy ounce ingots. She got 50 of them as she didn’t know how many would take. I assured her that I thought it was more than enough. Then, I learned what she wanted. She wanted a reclining nude statue to place on her husband’s desk. She wanted him to know every time he looked at it that she was worth her weight in gold. And how soon could I get the scan done? She needed to get home and was planning to leave tomorrow. When I asked when she would pick it up, she said she would return in two weeks and would that be enough time. I said it would be; however, what was she willing to pay for it? My mouth fell open when she said 10,000. So I agreed. Also, I learned that if I wanted to use any of the scans to do future artwork, I should get a model release signed by the model. This is because of some laws about underage photography and nudes. It seems you needed a 2257 form for all your models. The release would be a secondary item to protect myself. So, I had to explain the 2257 requirements because of the photo scan. She didn’t even quibble; she just asked for the forms. After she signed them, I showed her to the car scanner and told her to get ready and lay down. She stripped bare, and she and Pat discussed the best possible poses. She ended up on one elbow with a big smile, with one leg extended out and the other bent with her toe touching her knee. Now I was thinking this was great. However, we tried several different poses. Only when it came time for her to pick the first pose. The one with her finger crooked in a come here jester. Then again, the slit between her legs was also plainly visible. She said, “Good, it should make him horny every time he looks at it.” I did offer her the use of my shower afterward. The floor was not the cleanest after all. But she opted for the hotel when she got back there. As the two of them drove away, I wondered where I would put all the gold ingots. That’s when I realized it was over 100,000 in gold. Well, maybe under my bed, at least till I could get a safe.

I ended up asking my dad about the safe. He informed me that a safe deposit box would be better. Then I explained that would be inconvenient since I needed to cast the statue soon. After learning all the details, including showing him the plastic printout of her, he suggested just getting the box to store it in until delivery time. So that’s what I ended up doing. He also suggested I pick a new crucible to melt the gold in. He believed 18 K would be good for the cast as well. Well, before casting, I ordered this low-temperature filament that some developed for sand-casting molds. You didn’t remove it; it would burn out when the hot metal was poured in. And you know what, it worked perfectly. I had to look up what was best to harden the gold. However, I found that I could buff out the statue very nicely. Well, the holes were in the bottom of the statue this time. I was learning as I went. Also, I only used half of the gold. Before putting it in the box to keep it safe, I signed the bottom and stamped the 29 Troy ounces of 18K. I may have seen it as an advertisement for my art. Or it could have just been vanity. I also added 1 of 1 to the bottom. Of course, all the leftover gold went in the box as well. I figured she would want that back.

Amber and Wendy were also back at college. This time, however, they had rented an apartment off campus with Pat and Stacy. Or, to be more accurate, Pat’s dad bought the place and charged them 1 dollar a month. Now, I did learn that those two were bi. Also, Stacy was a bit of an artist herself. She also wanted a copy of the Boris-style statue she could paint. When she learned there was a version without all the clothing, she also wanted that. I had all three printers set up then, so I printed them out for her in plain white. The one that was meant to take paint. Well, that was also the cheapest filament I could get. So, other than time, it only cost me about 50 cents for each of them. When she was done painting them, I was invited to the unveiling at their apartment. All I can say is, wow, did she do a good job! The statues did look like the work Boris did. That’s when I was hit with a Boris print she wanted to recreate as a statue. It was of a man and woman sitting back to back nude.

“So, do you have a male model In mind for this?” I asked.