Methods for the repeated replication of the outer form of hominid fossils in as much detail as possible are necessary, and have been developed, both to supply accurate casts for study and to ensure the preservation of this form in the event of loss of the original. There are several examples of such losses having occurred. Earlier methods of molding fossils were most often based on plaster of Paris, but in the 1960's the Wenner-Gren Foundation sponsored research into the use of silicone rubbers for molds and various resins for casts. Modern practice is based on making a silicone rubber mold for the original and using this to make patterns in epoxy resin; the patterns can be kept in institutions remote from that of the original and used to make further molds. A pattern replicates one part of the mold with the fossil in place, so that each specimen needs at least two patterns. The methods for making molds and patterns are described and illustrated. -- AATA