Finding the Green in Miniatures

[quixotequest]

I am curious if anyone here on the forum does scratch sculpting using Green Stuff or other clays/puttys. I have been doing Fimo/Super Sculpy modeling for many years but just picked up some Green Stuff a couple weeks ago to try my hand at the "professional" materials. (My first mod/sculpt is a Samurai Warlord--a significantly modified HeroClix Silver Samurai mini to make it more historically armoured.) I am having a blast, and curious to find out whether any other Makers o' the Green visit here.

[Widigo]

There are some, I am not one of them. I was hoping you could tell me some stuff though. Is Green Stuff Hard to carve? How fast does it dry? What brand do you suggest? How does it feel when it drys? Everyone else feel free to answer these questions also. I am hoping to be using green stuff by the end of the mounth. Not from sctrach though.

[Rhydderch]

There are a few people here who have done mods or complete sculpts with clay and putty. I remember one member had a Mordred sculpt completely from scratch. CupidsArt is also very good at it. One place you can look at for ideas is Cupid's contests. Just check the contests category of forums and you'll see 3 of them complete with pictures of the submitted sculpts.

[quixotequest]

There are some, I am not one of them. I was hoping you could tell me some stuff though. Is Green Stuff Hard to carve? How fast does it dry? What brand do you suggest? How does it feel when it drys? Everyone else feel free to answer these questions also. I am hoping to be using green stuff by the end of the mounth. Not from sctrach though.

There are lots of things written about Green Stuff (search via Google and there are many great sculpting pages), but I'll wager some answers.

1. Green Stuff cannot be carved when it is freshly mixed. It is too sticky. I read that Green Stuff has been compared to sculpting with bubble gum. That's pretty true. You lubricate your sculpting tool(s) with water, spit, oil, etc. and push the putty into place. I have used Exacto tools for modeling so far, but there are all sorts of useful stainless or rubber modeling tools you can buy. I've used toothpicks for modeling polymer clays but Green Stuff doesn't seem to like wood at all.

It is a different material than bake-to-cure polymer clays, but having been very familiar to working with them Green Stuff hasn't been too hard to get up to speed with. You just have to get comfortable with the sticky texture.

Green stuff can be carved easily with sharp tools after it has dried. It also can be sanded and polished moderately easy.

2. It's modeling texture and drying time will differ based on ambient temperature, freshness of the putty, and mixing proportion between the blue and yellow putties. A slightly more yellow mix is a little more sticky and flexible and dries a little slower. I slightly more blue mix is firmer and dries faster. I've been using a slightly more yellow mix (60:40) and have been getting about 1.5 - 2 hours of working time. It seems pretty firm after about 4 hours. When it is freshly mixed it is more sticky and gets firmer over the working time. I love working with it in the last 30-45 minutes where it behaves a little closer to clays like Fimo. It takes a harder edge as it gets firmer and holds detail better.

Per suggestion of others I work in small batches. First to eliminate waste and some areas are best to set before you add to them. Too much fresh sculpting on the mini makes it easy to stick your fingers or tools into completed areas while adding a new area.

3. The Green Stuff dries firm but flexible and jade-like. It's shininess will depend on how smoothly you work the surface. Glossy, well smoothed areas make for an attractive "Green" but of course this can also depend on whether areas are textured or not. New batches of clay stick easily to earlier areas (if you haven't used oil or petroleum jelly to moisten your tools), so it is very easy to "bulk" up a mini in batches and blend in new areas with old areas. Green stuff is a very smooth texture. I've REALLY liked working with it.

4. Kneadatite Blue/Yellow is the brand name for "Green Stuff." You can find it by searching for either term. It either comes in a ribbon or in two sticks of separate putty. With the sticks you get slightly less putty for your money but don't have the little bit of waste you get with the ribbon. (You have to dispose of the clay that is touching in the center of the ribbon.) I got the ribbon for starters but have asked my local shop to start stocking the stick/tube kind.

There are other brands: Kneadatite Blue/White "White Stuff" (slightly different texture but very similar to Green Stuff I've read); and Kneadatite Brown/Aluminum "Brown Stuff." Brown stuff appears to be favored for robots, weapons and hard edged or machined parts because it dries the hardest of them all. It takes sanding and tooling well I've read. It is also the most expensive. I still want to get me some Brown for modeling. Many professional greens have brown and green areas, and some even blend Brown and Green Stuff to achieve a compromise of firmness/flexibility and curing time. Everyone recommends storing in the freezer (preferred) or fridge to extend its shelf life.

Then there is Milliput. I hear it is less sticky but more brittle. Some favor it for bulking up the under structure of a scratch mini and "skinning" it with Green as Milliput is cheaper per volume. I haven't tried it yet and have only found it in the US sold by Micro-Mark, a popular miniatures goods supplier. I have readily found the Kneadatite Green Stuff on eBay and my local game shop, which is where I prefer to buy it as I know they stock it fresh there. And I like supporting their business.

Green/Brown/White Stuff are all favored by professionals who have their minis cast as it takes well to professional pressured casting (Milliput is too brittle.) But if one uses vulcanized rubber for casting it appears you can use anything you like. As for me I'll probably paint my Greens as "one off" masters and not cast them. But who knows the future? I figured I might as well get accustomed to using the professional Stuff.

5. I'm starting by doing surgery and mods to existing minis to get some practice built up. But I've ordered some "Skellies" (metal armatures) in prep that I know some day soon I'll want to give it a go completely from scratch.

[quixotequest]

There are a few people here who have done mods or complete sculpts with clay and putty. I remember one member had a Mordred sculpt completely from scratch. CupidsArt is also very good at it. One place you can look at for ideas is Cupid's contests. Just check the contests category of forums and you'll see 3 of them complete with pictures of the submitted sculpts.

Thats for the referral to CupidsArt's contests. There is some great work displayed there.