Apoxie Sculpt vs Magic Sculpt

[supervike]

I've been wanting to do some sculpting and thinking about which of if of these I need.

I'd like to build up some bases, making small hills or curbs, and then also build a few bigger sculpts (50-60mm).

I've got milliput and pro create, and those seem fine for the smaller items.

So, first off, do I really need one of these products, and if so, what is the difference between the two?

 

[QuietiManes]

The differences are minimal. AS is softer while mixed. They're both very much like Miliput. I wouldn't say you need to spend money if you've got 2 good clays to work with already. Unless you're unhappy with them or they're past their prime, etc. You can add about a fifth of polymer clay to the mixed AS or MS to extend the working time, like with most other 2 part clays, too.

 

[RuneBrush]

Magic Sculp to my mind fulfils a gap between Green Stuff and Milliput. When you mix it, it's quite "chewing gum" consistency, but unlike Milliput doesn't dissolve with water, making it a little easier to work with. When dry it is solid - no flex in it at all and if you put it under too much pressure will snap. It can be carved, drilled, sanded etc.

I've used it to great effect for making a cloak recently and discovered two things. When working with a thin-ish piece the application of heat will make it very malleable to the point it'll flop everywhere and mold itself to whatever you put it on. The application of cold (i.e. stuffing it in a fridge) will firm up the putties consistency (a lot) but does extend the curing time. Also when rolling it out thin on a glass board (well actually a casserole dish lid) if you use oil as a lubricant but let it stick a tiny bit, leave it to firm up for around an hour, when you "pull" it off, it will stretch thinner and you get a texture that looks very like leather

 

[supervike]

Ok, great advice!

One of the things I do like about Milliput is it's reaction with water. It seems to help me achieve a smoother finish. With Greenstuff I cannot seem to achieve the smoothness. Will Apoxie or MagicSculpt be easier to smooth?

 

[RuneBrush]

The cloak I've done has ended up pretty reasonable although I did roll a lot of that out rather than smoothing it. I can't see achieving a smooth finish too difficult however, though I've not tried it yet and I would imagine some of the secret with Magic Sculp would be to let it cure a bit else it would likely stick to your tool like treacle.

 

[Einion]

I've got milliput and pro create, and those seem fine for the smaller items.

So, first off, do I really need one of these products...

No, you don't need either. But would they be worth trying? Sure.

If you only had Milliput and Kneadatite I'd highly recommend getting Apoxie Sculpt or MagicSculp, or both, to give 'em a test drive. But ProCreate is one of the newer putties and it has a lot of the good features that you'd see listed for AS and MS.

Beyond working characteristics, MS is about the cheapest sculpting material going if you buy it in a large enough pack size and since it does pretty much last indefinitely it's not as crazy as it sounds to buy the 5lb pack! So if the cost of anything you're using now bothers you a bit, maybe makes you less willing to use a lot of it or potentially waste it with a large practice piece it could definitely be helpful just on that front.

...and if so, what is the difference between the two?

See my comments here.

Since I wrote that they literally have become interchangeable for me; a few months back I started to want a putty that was softer initially so I began to use AS more and more frequently and currently I'm using it more than MS, which I thought would never happen. I definitely prefer Apoxie Sculpt for certain things now, but for most of the basic types of simple shaping tasks they're so similar in use (especially well into the working period - after the first hour and a half) that there's no real advantage to one over the other.

One of the things I do like about Milliput is it's reaction with water. It seems to help me achieve a smoother finish. With Greenstuff I cannot seem to achieve the smoothness. Will Apoxie or MagicSculpt be easier to smooth?

Well GS is kinda legendary for how easily you can achieve a smooth (to the point of being glossy) surface so it's hard to say if AS or MS will be easier to smooth for you. A lot depends on your working method, how you move the putty around and when.

And like I've said in a lot of previous posts, smooth tool = smooth mark. If you're using tools that are shiny-smooth you'll very easily achieve a polished surface on your putty if you work it the right way. This is one of the reasons that superglue-coated cocktail sticks are such great tools to start off with, since they're very easy to make perfectly smooth and glossy they can easily produce a similar surface on your sculpting material.

Einion