Floppy Greenstuff! :-s

[Techno]

Hi Steve.

Right.... The following is purely from my own experience....But I think it'll be relevant....I believe (hope) that all of my colleagues that spend most of their days 'pushing putty' around would agree.

Milliput..

A very useful putty for what I'd call 'straight line' work.
It tends to set 'rock hard', so can't be 'tweaked' by bending, because it tends to shatter...and then you'd have to re-make whatever you'd just 'spoiled'.
It can be a real s*d to try and stick to anything (but only if you're using really miniscule amounts.)......I've used fairly copious amounts to mend things that have got nothing to do with our hobby....Like a fine crack in a toilet cistern.....(True !!...Honestly !!)

I find it a very 'messy' putty to work with...But once dry, it's wonderful if you need to scrape or sand things down to a 'sharp' shape....eg, a sword in whatever scale.

Green Stuff (I find) is FAR more versatile (once you've got used to it  )......
About the only thing you MIGHT find a problem with is doing the aforementioned 'straight line work'.
You won't get as sharp edges. unless you're a sad g*t like me who has super-ultra-fine glass/sand paper......But I still wouldn't trust it for this type of work.

If I need to do something like that....I'll mix it with other 'harder setting' putties......Possibly M/P or more frequently Majic Sculp in 50/50 ratio

To get putty to stick to a metal model (if you're converting it)....It's best to 'warm' the metal model......I pop mine on a radiator during the cold Months.
I then 'smear' the tiniest blob of putty onto the area I'm going to be working on....So there's an almost non existent amount on the model... Then work putty on to that.

ProCreate is another very good putty.....Not my particular favourite....But Clibby gets some truly stunning results with that.
From a very personal view I generally find it too stiff to mix...(Clib must have much stronger fingers than your truly  )..though I'm more than happy when I DO use it.

In a nutshell...At 'our' scale.

M/P .....Not a great deal of use for 'small items'.....Though fairly easy to work for larger stuff.
(I personally hate it because I'm very allergic to the dust when it's sanded....Unless I wear a dust mask)

G/S...Probably the most versatile.

P/C.....'Almost a sort of' combination between the two....And a truly damn good putty......I might well have ended up using this in preference to G/S if I hadn't got so used to G/S....Basically....Because it was G/S or M/P all those years ago....When dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. 

I hope that helps !...And feel free to ask more if this has still come out as gibberish !

Cheers

[marshall1945]

Hi Steve.

Right.... The following is purely from my own experience....But I think it'll be relevant....I believe (hope) that all of my colleagues that spend most of their days 'pushing putty' around would agree.

Milliput..

A very useful putty for what I'd call 'straight line' work.
It tends to set 'rock hard', so can't be 'tweaked' by bending, because it tends to shatter...and then you'd have to re-make whatever you'd just 'spoiled'.
It can be a real s*d to try and stick to anything (but only if you're using really miniscule amounts.)......I've used fairly copious amounts to mend things that have got nothing to do with our hobby....Like a fine crack in a toilet cistern.....(True !!...Honestly !!)

I find it a very 'messy' putty to work with...But once dry, it's wonderful if you need to scrape or sand things down to a 'sharp' shape....eg, a sword in whatever scale.

Green Stuff (I find) is FAR more versatile (once you've got used to it  )......
About the only thing you MIGHT find a problem with is doing the aforementioned 'straight line work'.
You won't get as sharp edges. unless you're a sad g*t like me who has super-ultra-fine glass/sand paper......But I still wouldn't trust it for this type of work.

If I need to do something like that....I'll mix it with other 'harder setting' putties......Possibly M/P or more frequently Majic Sculp in 50/50 ratio

To get putty to stick to a metal model (if you're converting it)....It's best to 'warm' the metal model......I pop mine on a radiator during the cold Months.
I then 'smear' the tiniest blob of putty onto the area I'm going to be working on....So there's an almost non existent amount on the model... Then work putty on to that.

ProCreate is another very good putty.....Not my particular favourite....But Clibby gets some truly stunning results with that.
From a very personal view I generally find it too stiff to mix...(Clib must have much stronger fingers than your truly  )..though I'm more than happy when I DO use it.

In a nutshell...At 'our' scale.

M/P .....Not a great deal of use for 'small items'.....Though fairly easy to work for larger stuff.
(I personally hate it because I'm very allergic to the dust when it's sanded....Unless I wear a dust mask)

G/S...Probably the most versatile.

P/C.....'Almost a sort of' combination between the two....And a truly damn good putty......I might well have ended up using this in preference to G/S if I hadn't got so used to G/S....Basically....Because it was G/S or M/P all those years ago....When dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. 

I hope that helps !...And feel free to ask more if this has still come out as gibberish !

Cheers

Phil, many thanks for the above. I have now been working with green stuff for a few weeks. It works really well for making things with the 'mini mold' plastic mold maker to do bits for conversion etc. Much easier to use for little bits. But I find it is much stickier than Milliput and so still getting the hang of it. It also does not seem to behave in the same way as Milliput with water - can get even stickier rather than just becoming smooth. any tips on the stickiness?

cheers

Steve

[Techno]

Hi Steve.

From my own experience green and water don't really work too well together.
A couple of 'rules of thumb' for green stuff.

The warmer the ambient temperature is.......The stickier it will 'behave'......Once you've got the g/s attached to the figure, you can try putting it in the fridge for a short while.
On odd occasions, when I've had to leave a figure for a couple of hours or so.....But haven't wanted the putty to cure at its normal speed....That's the method I've used.

To make the putty 'firmer', and less sticky, when you're working on it, you can alter the ratio of the blue to green.
The more blue you add...The less sticky it becomes....and the faster it cures.

As far as smoothing g/s is concerned.....You either have to keep 'working it' back and forth with the modelling tools....Which takes a bit of practise......Alternatively try using some artists' colour shapers......They work wonderfully well with a LOT less practise. 

Hope that helps.
Cheers - Phil

[marshall1945]

....Alternatively try using some artists' colour shapers......They work wonderfully well with a LOT less practise. 

Phil

thanks, not sure what artists' colour shapers are though?

Steve

[Techno]

They look a bit like small paint brushes, Steve.
Instead of bristles, they have a short, stubby, silicon (?) head.
I got mine through Amazon.
(There's probably a piccy of them somewhere on the forum already......I'll try and find it a bit later. )
Cheers - Phil.

[get2grips]

Here you go 

[Techno]

Thanks Gareth !!
Cheers - Phil

[get2grips]

Thanks Gareth !!
Cheers - Phil

You are most welcome

Haven't a bloody CLUE what you do with them; but you are welcome

[Techno]

Smooth/push the putty with them, Gareth.
For certain parts of models they're easier and quicker to use than the dental tools. .....and the putty doesn't ever stick to them.
Cheers - Phil.

[get2grips]

Smooth/push the putty with them, Gareth.
For certain parts of models they're easier and quicker to use than the dental tools. .....and the putty doesn't ever stick to them.
Cheers - Phil.

We're still talking miniatures right...