I have a question for all of you sculptors out there, magic sculpt or greenstuff, which do you prefer for sculpting uniforms?
I'm very used to milliput in it's various qualities but I'm thinking of trying something new for my next project.
I will start with a 1/16th mannequin from David Parker at AFV Modeller, this comes with 3 heads, 3 pairs of hands and laced up boots, I'm going to make a custom pose for a SS Panzer crew member to go with my 1/16th Tiger 1.
As all of the bulky work will already be done it will be the uniform I have to contend with.

Many years ago I was working as a profesional model maker and one of my commissions was to make some 1/35 scale dioramas that included a large number of figures.
I was given some modelling clay, green in colour, to use in the process of resculpting/adapting white metal figures.
For the life of me I can't remember what this stuff was called but I liked it and it was good for forming tunics, webbing, etc, I'm guessing it may have been greenstuff, it was more elastic than milliput and lent itself well to forming thin edges, like collars and cuffs.
I've read about mixing together magic sculpt and greenstuff but can you mix greenstuff and milliput?

Anyway, your advice will be welcome, I hope that I've given you enough info to be clear as to my needs, if not just ask.

Thanks very much.
All the best and Merry Christmas.
David

Thanks for the reply.
At the moment I’m tempted to get a little bit of both M/S and G/S just try try them out.
How are your figures coming on, got any photos you would like to share?

Hi David

Happy Christmas yourself.
I'm far from expert, but for what it's worth I've played a lot with putties this year and think that MS is a better choice than Miliput for most work as Jason says (I used to use only Miliput, but it tends to break up into grains when wetted)

Greenstuff only has it's advocates but I find it difficult to blend smoothly when adding new putty onto old already dried putty. (It doesn't sand very well) It is very good for flags etc where you need a degree of flexibility in the finished part. I tend to mix the two together to get a putty which sands easily, but retains some of Greenstuff's flexibility for fine edges (coat tails etc.)
To mix the two is easy. Mix each separately as normal and once they are both fully mixed just blend them together. You can vary the proportions, but I've found 50/50 works well.

Have a peruse of the sculpting threads for more ideas and suggestions, but its worth getting hold of some and just plying about with it

Hope that helps
Paul

ps - yes you can mix Miliput and Greenstuff together. I posted a thread about a couple of figures I converted using this mix (There's probably some work in progress shots somewhere)
https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/tucumcari.183994/

I've had good success with greenstuff for my 35th scale figures. Granted, I'm not doing major sculpts, just filling gaps for joins, replacing collars, making head gear and adding hair. I really like the elasticity of it for bendy stuff like collars and straps. Also, the stuff can be really rolled out thin, great for tears and holes in tarps. I've also had good luck blending with sculptor's vaseline from Greenstuff World.

Kimmo

I am not a great specialist in sculpting from epoxy putties, it is inconvenient for me to work with them, but sometimes I have to do it. But from my personal experience, given that your figure is quite large (1/16), that the surface areas of the clothes on it are large, therefore, you need to start off first of all on how successful it will be to smooth the fresh material onto the already frozen one and how comfortable it will be handle it after hardening.

Greenstaff is the worst option in this regard, because has a very dark color (although it can of course be lightened by adding a little white oil paint to it while mixing, but this is not the best option), and also has a strong gloss, which makes it very difficult to work. Personally, I use Greenstaff only for the sake of sculpting small details, with a textured surface, where these imperfections of Greenstaff are leveled, and its ability to adhere well and adhere to metals is only a big plus.


If you choose only between Greenstaff and Magic Sculpt, then I would only recommend Magic for such large works, because it is hard after curing, which is good for post-processing, as well as it has a very weak gloss (or does not have it at all), and if necessary, in order to remove a strong white color, against which the surface relief is poorly visible, you can always add a dye to it or a little Greenstaff.

In this photo, the Magic Sculpt is light gray, the main volume is made from it, and the little things are stuck from Greenstaff (a hand from a mixture of Magic + a little Greenstaff).

Although, of course, each material needs its own approach, and different people have their own skills in working with materials, for example, I would prefer Milliput more if I had to work with epoxy putties, despite the fact that I also have Magic Skultp and Greenstaff, as well as two types of Tamia.

Not saying the standard of sculpting is as high as most on this site, but the old 1list Sculpting Group has some useful material on sculpting.

Although now rather old (2003) I found Section 2 of the attached FAQs useful to help understand the properties and characteristics of various putties.

First time on here for ages, ongoing cataract problems. I've found all 2part putties to be toxic after extended use. Take care!

Geoff

This fall I faced a severe allergic reaction to my eyes from working with epoxy putties, and I also stopped using these materials extensively in my work.

When I was a mere youth, I was a member of a modelling club in Birmingham (UK), a mate of mine discovered that he had a problem with milliput.
After going to the bathroom and not thoroughly washing his hands after doing some sculpting he developed a problem in his 'gentleman's area'
His wife said it was the biggest he had ever been, he said, yeah, but too bloody painful to do anything with it.

I always make sure to wash my hands completey, once I have mixed milliput and then once I've finished working with it.

So far, so good, no problems using the stuff, sorry to hear that you have had to stop.

This is what I will start with (hope you can see the image okay).
Once I have to pose set that I like, I will superglue the joints, reinforce them with milliput and the smooth out the entire figure with more milliput.
At the moment I feel that I might use more milliput to make the bulk of the sculpting and leave the greenstuff for things like: collars and cuffs, pockets.

Can greenstuff be sanded like milliput once it's hard?

So far, I've only found El Greco's website where I can order Magic Sculp from a UK supplier but they will be closed until Jan.3rd
Anybody know of another UK supplier?

Oh by the way, the attached photo previously is not my work, it's from AFV Modeller website, hope I haven't breached any copyright agreements.
I haven't used one before but, to me, it looks very useful and as I have 4 complete figures from them already, I feel confident that it will be of the same quality and size.

I see now that my question about sanding greenstuff has been mentioned previously, foolish me for not seeing it.

Thanks for all of your input

I found using a coarse sanding sponge (3-400 grit) will yield decent results, to a point. It can't really be refined like Milliput, but you can smooth it out some and take the shine off.


Kimmo

I have just placed an order for some greenstuff so I will get to play with it in the near future

You can polish hardened Greenstaff, but in some situations the material can peel and flake, especially if there was a longitudinal joint on the surface to be grinded. I, if necessary, do something from Greenstaff, and if after that something needs to be processed, I first cut off the main volume with a very sharp knife, and then grind it with fine sandpaper, or scrape it with a knife blade. As an example of a photo of such a leg, I cut Greenstaff here with a knife and polished it with sandpaper.