milliput question

[gary]

I have been using green stuff to fill in gaps on my models but have found that with larger models no matter how much I sand the green stuff there is still a small ridge left. I have seen that a lot of people use milliput but there are a few kinds out there so I wanted to know what was the best kind to use for gap filling.
The model I will be working on will be a 1/8 resin model and the gaps are mainly on the arms and legs so it will need to be a very smooth finish. Any help will be great on milliput or any product you use and would rate for me to use.
Thanks in advance Gary

 

[War Griffon]

I normally use yellow - grey but if you want a really fine finish you could try the superfine white.

You could also try Pro-create it is a resin putty used by sculptors and is sandable where as GS isn\'t that sandable.

 

[DaN]

Most of these putties are also mixable - meaning you end up with something with the characteristics of both.

 

[freakinacage]

i used the standard but hated it. it worked ok for what i wanted but it stank and didn\'t mix nicely. the superfine white, that i bought the other day, however is much nicer. i\'d recommend trying that

 

[donga666]

Ive found Miliput OK, if you want to finish it off to a high standard (when filling) just brush it with a wet paintbrush. Thats the Yellow/Grey one, never used the white stuff.

Also a 50/50 mix GS/Miliput makes up for BOTH their deficiencies (the whole is greater than the parts) making a really nice sculpting mix.

But there is no replacement for experience and having a play!

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by gary
Any help will be great on milliput or any product you use and would rate for me to use.

If you can get it, MagicSculp - cheaper, easier to work with overall and lasts much longer during storage. If you have to buy Milliput because it\'s all you can get locally take the two rolls out of the box and store them separately.

BTW, you don\'t have to go all the way to Superfine White to improve on smoothness over the Standard, there\'s also Silver Grey.

Einion

 

[gary]

Thanks for the advice on the products, I will order online so I don\'t have the restrictions on what a local dealer has in stock. I love working in sculpey but with the baking aspect it is out of the question when dealing with resin models sadly

 

[Verm1s]

Originally posted by freakinacage
i used the standard but hated it. it worked ok for what i wanted but it stank and didn\'t mix nicely. the superfine white, that i bought the other day, however is much nicer. i\'d recommend trying that

Ditto.

Reminds me, I have all the different types here to try out. I\'d better get round to it.

 

[demonherald]

I\'ve been playing with allsorts of putties recently here\'s some of the things I\'ve learned......

milliput was the first I ever used due to it being only £1.50 for a pack in the local DIY shop..
I use either standard or terracotta...for groundwork on their own.. on models mixing a little GS into it... The combination makes a lot smoother easier to work with putty than GS alone and the GS adds the ability to hold shapes better than Milliput alone..

Magi sculp is my favourite by a long long way.. the stuff is just great .. on it\'s own large muscle areas and the like can be done easily and using a cheap paintbrush and surgical spirits you can get it as smooth as glass.. (thanks Vincenti)
mixed with GS gives a little more binding to it which is better for doing finer details as o its own doing fur etc I find it is a litte too soft. also this is the best for doing wvy tendrils tentacles tails and hair etc as when set it is like plastic with no annoying movement just solid..

Pro sculpt is also a great product but I find it a bit too soft to start but after about 20 minutes curing is a lot more handleable..as with the others a little GS helps here but Brown stuff is it\'s true love.. mix a little with this and you have a great great material..

Banners and cloaks are best made with A+B putty .. by Sylmasta ..(same guys who do magi sculp) You really have to try this to see how ridiculously hard even thin banner sets with this stuff.. and you can get all the movement and billowing effect you want in thare and it keeps it\'s shape..

brown stuff is slightly harder than GS but on it\'s own I find it a little to much like chewing gum and a bit too elastic so any of the above mixed with it in even small amounts make it easier to work with..

Tamiya stuf .. well to be honest so far not had much luck with this one.. starts off very very soft but seems to suddenly cure and start to go crumbly while being worked .. I just put mine back in it\'s box and left it .. may come back to it...

for bases and groundwork the cheapest option is FImo or scupey.. the beauty of it is it won\'t set until heated so you can play with it as much as you like beforehand.. which means you can get the groundwork just right to fit your mini before bobbing in the oven...

so there ya go.. my experiments continue but hope what I\'ve put here is useful to ya...

 

[gary]

Thanks for all the info I will put it to the test, I decided on milliput fine for the model I will be doing as it only has to fill gaps between the leg and arm joins and then be sanded smooth. I do most of the sculpting I do with sculpey but will try some of the mixes demonherald has suggested for the fine detail elements. The model I will be workinn on is a 1/8 celt so I want to do some roman looking armour on the base. So once again thanks for the good and fast help.
Gary

 

[freakinacage]

what demonherald said, although i alternate different mixes of gs, pro create, magic sculp and apoxie sculpt

apoxie sculpt is similar to magic sculp imo. both are great but i think magic is cheaper than apoxie, but i would recommend both!

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by gary
I love working in sculpey but with the baking aspect it is out of the question when dealing with resin models sadly

It doesn\'t bond well enough to work as a gap filler anyway (shrinks too).

BTW, you can harden polymer clays in boiling water as an alternative to baking if that\'s ever a help. Doing it this way can be a big help as there\'s no chance of thin parts or projections scorching.

Originally posted by demonherald
Banners and cloaks are best made with A+B putty .. by Sylmasta ..(same guys who do magi sculp)

Symlasta are a (the?) UK distributor for MagicSculp, the maker is in the US (here).

Just to check there isn\'t another epoxy putty, halfway down I presume you were talking about ProCreate?

Einion

 

[gary]

Thanks einion the boiling sculpey tip will be very usefull, I can\'t even scupt a pouch in green stuff but I think I would have a better chance with sculpey. I\'m sure the boiling water wouldn\'t damage metal minis or resin as well, as long as I keep an eye on it.

 

[arogers907]

I thought of this tutorial I saw the other day when you mentioned armor for your celt. Given that you\'re experimenting, this may be a nice technique to try.

Hope they don\'t mind me posting the link:
http://www.sciborminiatures.com/en_,sculpting.php?id=571#i/tutoriale/big/plate26.jpg

 

[gary]

Thats great arogers I will have a go at making some celtic style shields as well as roman armour. The model itself is classed as a celtic warrior but I want a bit of a fantasy english warrior against the romans feel to the piece. Just had a great idea I might try to make some body armour like whar russel crow wears at the start of gladiator, don\'t know how historical it is but i\'m going for the more eye pleasing look, and when it\'s finished I think I will class it more as fantasy.

 

[arogers907]

Sounds good! =)

You should get a work in progress thread started over in the WIP forum, too. I\'m kinduva hack when it comes to sculpting but I\'m sure some of the better sculptors could give you all kinds of good advice along the way.

 

[gary]

I will start one as soon as the model is delivered which I hope will be in a few weeks. Untill then I\'m going to try and get my avatars of war barbarian painted.

 

[demonherald]

Originally posted by Einion

Originally posted by gary
I love working in sculpey but with the baking aspect it is out of the question when dealing with resin models sadly

It doesn\'t bond well enough to work as a gap filler anyway (shrinks too).

BTW, you can harden polymer clays in boiling water as an alternative to baking if that\'s ever a help. Doing it this way can be a big help as there\'s no chance of thin parts or projections scorching.

Originally posted by demonherald
Banners and cloaks are best made with A+B putty .. by Sylmasta ..(same guys who do magi sculp)

Symlasta are a (the?) UK distributor for MagicSculp, the maker is in the US (here).

Just to check there isn\'t another epoxy putty, halfway down I presume you were talking about ProCreate?

Einion

Ah didn\'t realsie where it was manufactured .. just went with the name on the label.. cheers for that.. and yep you\'re right I meant pro create ..doh....:redface: