There wasn't much to show of the "un-boxing" process, just a lot of disassembly of the structure that held everything together. Above you can see the original lens, along with the two mold parts. You should have a better idea how things fit together now and how it will work. You are looking at the lens and bottom part of the mold (pink) right side up, and the top part of the mold (white) still upside down.
You can also see where the chip was on the original lens:
I don't have a picture of it, but all I did was shave off that little extra piece of silicone, and now the replacement lenses will not have a chip in them.
I didn't take any pictures of it, but after I finished the mold I decided to cast a new positive in it out of quick-set resin, since I had some on hand. This will give me a replica of the lens that I can work with using a material like Bondo body filler or 2 part epoxy to fill in imperfections if needed, without having to mess with my rare original any more. In this picture I have already poured the resin into the mold. Unfortunately I poured a little too much, which may have an adverse effect on the mold itself. You should be able to see the outline of the lens and the hole in top, but it have poured what amounts to a "cap" on top of the lens:
Above you can see the positive lens de molded. It is still useable but I will have to cut off the "cap" on the top. More on that later. Because I messed up and poured a little too much, I also tore the mold a little bit getting the positive out. It was just a small, non critical piece that came off, and I ended up reattaching it with 100% silicone sealer. If you have it on hand, you can also put your original back in the mold and use more of the same mold material to fill in the missing piece. When it sets up it will stick together just like the original.
Next step will be to cast an actual replacement lens!
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