Hi I have bought two materials recently with the intention to use them to sculpture some original work on injection moulded plastic figures. The two products are Squadron Products’ Green Putty and Sylmasta Green Stuff Original Duro. The task I’m looking to do is to take a 1/35 scale model of a bear chested man and use one or both of these materials to create a vest or a jacket to cover him. I have never used these products before nor done a task of this kind and am looking for advice please. What tools and technics will I need to do a satisfactory job? And once I’m satisfied with the sculpting do I need any special primers to seal the work?
I’m not familiar with the Stylmasta material, but what you probably want is Milliput, Aves Apoxiesculpt, or a similar material. These are two-part epoxy putties. Think of hardware store A&B plumber’s putty – but a much finer grain.
Mix two equal sized dabs of material until the color is uniform. Roll out a sheet of the material on a board which has been dusted with talcum powder. The talc stops the stickiness so that the putty doesn’t adhere to the roller. You can use a Xacto handle or a wooden dowel. Use a straight razor blade or scraper blade to cut pieces.
Like sewing, develop some paper patterns of what your coat pieces will look like. Cut the putty to shape and apply. Use a wet paint brush to shape drapes and folds. Piece the coat back & front. Blend the seams with the wet brush. Same for sleeves. Pockets? They are a small piece attached and blended. Needed seams are added with a point of an Xacto or needle.
Roll noodles of putty and push into seams between plastic pieces, Smooth & sculpt as needed.
These epoxy type puttys begin to harden in about 45 minutes, They can be cut, sanded, & finished like most plastics. Unlike the solvent puttys like Squadron Green (or Bondo Red) - they are good for sculpting,
Speaking of Bondo, while similar to Bondo epoxy auto body putty, Milliput/Aves is different material with a firm consistency.
While any putty should work, with appropriate carving skills, the two part ones are generally stronger and will not crumble as easy when carving.
Ed’s suggestion of tailoring the vest/jacket from rolled out putty is exactly what I would of replied with. This is what I did when I had to fashion some gloves and boots for Red Sonja.
Before diving into that project, I had asked the opinion of PlanetFigure members, and several had advised me to mix the Green Stuff 50/50 with either Apoxie Sculpt or Magic Sculpt (which was learned from well known modeller Bill Horan ) .
Apparently green stuff is difficult to sand, but is very fine grained which is excellent for holding detail. It also allows to be rolled out really thin without becoming brittle. So combining the two gives you the best of both worlds.
regards,
Jack
I would go with Milliput for your project as it can be carved and easily shaped. I have used Squadron’s Green Putty for years to cover holes, gaps , etc but it will crumble very easily so it’s not suited for carving.
Hi guys
Thank you very much to all who’ve kindly replied and suggested useful tips on a topic I’m quite new to. I will follow these and keep you posted. I don’t know yet when I’ll be starting it but I’m looking forward to doing some ‘dressing up.’