blade_runner
02-04-2009, 01:33 AM
In my never ending quest to discover the perfect scratchbuilding material, I tripped over Studio by Sculpey (http://www.studiobysculpey.com/) last night while looking for local Friendly Plastic carrying stores. There are none, so screw them, but that's not why I'm typing right now.
Unlike the other Sculpey products I've used before that come out of my toaster oven burnt on one side and show stress cracks here and there, this stuff acts more like a "dough" than a polymer clay. It's a taffy feeling polymer when uncured, but only after you "condition" it like the experts say. It sags a little under its own weight, so armatures are a must. Blending two parts can be tricky because surface tension of the product resists true blending.
Now, I had my toaster oven set on "warm", not "bake" so maybe things will change, but the cooled test parts showed some flexibility, but were light in weight. Fingerprints are hard to sand out. In fact, this stuff resists sandpaper. Sharp knives go through it easily, and leave little or no tearout. You get a smooth, clean cut. My Dremel diamond bur bit machined it down fairly easily, but not so fast that you'd be prone to making mistakes. It's a forgiving Sculpey clay.
Thin sheets can be a little easy to break, but not brittle. It's flexible enough that you'd see the break coming and stop trying to ruin your work.
This stuff comes in a good assortment of "today" colors, but I bought white, grey, and two tan colors.
This has to be my twentieth kind of modeling material I've tried, and nothing so far has won the big prize. I know I gave high praise to Activa Plus Clay earlier, but as an air dry clay, it shrinks too much to be fully reliable as a single application product.
Once I get a test armature built, and roll on some base torso, arms, etc., I'll let you all know if it's any good. For now, this stuff looks like a safe bet for model building without the harsh chemicals or shrinkage problems.
One last note: online shops sell this stuff, but it's better to visit your local Jo Ann Fabrics or other retailer first. The price locally is probably not that much higher than online.
Unlike the other Sculpey products I've used before that come out of my toaster oven burnt on one side and show stress cracks here and there, this stuff acts more like a "dough" than a polymer clay. It's a taffy feeling polymer when uncured, but only after you "condition" it like the experts say. It sags a little under its own weight, so armatures are a must. Blending two parts can be tricky because surface tension of the product resists true blending.
Now, I had my toaster oven set on "warm", not "bake" so maybe things will change, but the cooled test parts showed some flexibility, but were light in weight. Fingerprints are hard to sand out. In fact, this stuff resists sandpaper. Sharp knives go through it easily, and leave little or no tearout. You get a smooth, clean cut. My Dremel diamond bur bit machined it down fairly easily, but not so fast that you'd be prone to making mistakes. It's a forgiving Sculpey clay.
Thin sheets can be a little easy to break, but not brittle. It's flexible enough that you'd see the break coming and stop trying to ruin your work.
This stuff comes in a good assortment of "today" colors, but I bought white, grey, and two tan colors.
This has to be my twentieth kind of modeling material I've tried, and nothing so far has won the big prize. I know I gave high praise to Activa Plus Clay earlier, but as an air dry clay, it shrinks too much to be fully reliable as a single application product.
Once I get a test armature built, and roll on some base torso, arms, etc., I'll let you all know if it's any good. For now, this stuff looks like a safe bet for model building without the harsh chemicals or shrinkage problems.
One last note: online shops sell this stuff, but it's better to visit your local Jo Ann Fabrics or other retailer first. The price locally is probably not that much higher than online.