Hi guys (and gals)
I am retired to the Dominican Republic and returning to my hobby after a 25 year break. I brought some Miliput with me from the UK 5 years ago and needless to say it is not in the best of condition now. Not able to source an alternative where I live so have to order online from the States. Question is which is the recommended substance for general work. It was only miliput in my day and things have obviously progressed. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Ken

That depends, here is some that I have used. I have used others yet I like these so far.
A&B Epoxy Putty, white, #9904,
http://www.aplusbputty.com/index.htm

Magic Sculpt, 1 lb.
http://www.magic-sculpt.com/

As far as suppliers try, The Red Lancers, http://www.redlancers.com/ or

http://www.michael-robertsltd.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=1227, and,

http://www.michtoy.com/michtoy_prod...ting, Modeling, Sculpting)&Categories=Putties

I'm using Sculpey, as well as Aves Apoxie Sculpt. You can get it directly from Aves, here's the catalog page:

http://www.avesstudio.com/index.php...ion=com_virtuemart&Itemid=4&vmcchk=1&Itemid=4

or also through Amazon.com. Sculpey has to be baked to cure, Apoxie Sculpt cures when exposed to air.

Hope that helps, prost!
Brad

I have used A & B and greenstuff, but have reverted to Milliput, mainly because it is water soluble and can be finessed with a brush as well as sculpting tools. It also comes in different qualities from standard to superfine.

Good luck,

Mike

Ken, you could try heating up the grey part and mixing it up which should get rid of the crust that developes over time.
I have tried various putties over the years but find miliput grey is the best all round-IMHO
Pete

Thank you all.
Pete, my milliput is crusted on both colours so I think it is well past its sell by date. The heat and humidity over here kills everything if you are not careful and I didn't think to keep it in a sealed container.

Ken, MagicSculp is my favourite epoxy putty overall. In addition to its admirable working properties I like the very long shelf life and if you buy in bulk (5lb pack or more) it's usually the cheapest too, so win win win for me.

The actual MagicSculp homepage is here, not the link provided above.

Price to look for for the 5lb pack of MS is less than $35; any place selling it for closer to 40 bucks is not great value unless the shipping is low enough to compensate.

Apoxie Sculpt is similar but IMO not quite as user-friendly overall, but can be used in a very similar way. Apoxie Clay is worth considering since it's stiffer - 'fixing' one of the problems with Apoxie Sculpt, which is very pasty when first mixed - but it has a shorter working period* so this could make it challenging to use where it's warm.

For some types of work Kneadatite, what used to be called Duro, can be useful. It's also generically referred to as Greenstuff, green stuff or just GS. It's very adhesive and a bit waxy in consistency, curing to a very flexible plastic-like state, so quite unlike most of the other putties which are clay-like. Many people use this for certain jobs (e.g. hair and fur) and for small added details like buckles or medals. Pack to look for ideally is where it's sold as two rolls rather than as a ribbon, where it begins to set along the join.

*This can be tweaked with most putties in various ways, the easiest of them being to use a lower proportion of hardener.

Einion