100 Hours Sculpting: First Project

So, a couple weeks ago, I started a project bigger than anything I had ever done before. I converted a Space Marine into a standard bearer, painted it, and then did some freehand painting on the flag. Although it is not technically a sculpt (I started with a full miniature, so it's more of a conversion), I would like to share my technique, as well as some things that I learned using green stuff in this manner for the first time.

Techniques used

The banner was just about the only part of the model that was made of entirely green stuff, but I will not go into too much detail about the process I used. To make the green stuff banner, I used a technique very similar to the one found Here ( Instead of using talc to prevent the green stuff from sticking, I used water. Not a great idea on my part, but I didn't have anything better). I rolled out a ball of green stuff into a sheet, cut out a banner shape using an sharp X-Acto knife, and allowed it to dry in curve position, to simulate it "flowing" like a flag in the wind. The flag handle is just a thinly rolled rod of green stuff as well, which I did just using my hands.

What I Learned

First, I learned to definitely work in stages. Trying to work on/near green stuff that has not dried is a nightmare. My advice is to let a part completely dry before you do anything to the area. In this example, I tried to mix and use all my green stuff at once. I had cut the Space Marine's arms at the joints in order to re-position them, and I did the same with the legs. I attached the limbs in their new positions using green stuff and super glue. Before the green stuff had dried, I tried to attach my already-made green stuff banner to his hand. The whole thing fell apart. I didn't learn from my mistake the first time. I slowly put it back together, and then tried to start painting. Again, everything fell apart. So to sum up my point, you really should wait for

Another example to prove my point is the purity seals. I flattened out a sheet of green stuff and cut out two lines and a small circle for each seal. Then, stupidly, I tried to glue them to the model right away. They ended up looking smushed and disformed. I should have waited for each of them to dry completely before applying them.

Second, I learned to definitely use lubricant. I used water in this example, but I think I will be moving on to something like petroleum jelly next time. When I rolled out the green stuff into a sheet to make the banner and the purity seals, the water underneath the sheet would get displaced, and the putty would still stick.

I (also stupidly) did not take pictures throughout the whole process like I wanted to. I do have pictures of the finished model though. I was generally pleased with the outcome, but now I know a few things that I would do differently.

Overview:

Sculpting time elapsed: 1 hour (not including conversion, painting or putty-drying time).
Learned: Work in stages, wait for putty to fully dry, use a good lubricant.
Sculpting Time to go: 99 hours

My next sculpting project will be a true sculpt ( building up from nothing to make a full miniature). It is a huge step up, and I know I will make a lot of mistakes, but hopefully I will learn a lot as well, and that's the goal.

100 hours - Sculpting: Green Stuff

Although this is not technically part of my 100 hours diary, I want to take some time to talk about Green Stuff and sculpting miniatures in general. Sculpting has always fascinated me as a hobbyist. Seeing fully sculpted miniatures online, all I could think was "I want to learn how to do that!". So,  a while back, I purchased some Green Stuff, and messed around with it a little, but did not attempt anything major. These picture show what the possibilities are with green stuff, albeit with lots and lots of practice (just so you know, these are not mine, they are pictures of the level of sculpting I wish to accomplish).

Green Stuff Basics

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Green Stuff, aka Kneadatite, it is a two-part epoxy sculpting putty used by many gamers to sculpt miniature and do conversions.

Green stuff is made up of two parts: The Base, which is yellow, and the Hardener, which is blue. It comes in two types: bar and strip form, both shown in pictures below. In both kinds, you create green stuff by mixing equal parts of the blue and yellow until the mixture is uniform. To change the properties pf the mixture, you can experiment using more or less of either color.

Immediately after mixing, green stuff becomes extremely sticky. Working with green stuff requires some kind of lubricant, which can be water, petroleum jelly, oil, spit, or any one of all sorts of things. Green stuff becomes progressively harder, and becomes mostly unworkable in an hour or so. It then takes a full 24 hours to fully harden. This hardening time can be shortened or lengthened depending on the temperature. If you wish to shorten the hardening time, increase the temperature slightly. I use a makeshift oven-type thing using a light bulb (pictures to come later). However, you shouldn't make it too hot, as Green Stuff can burn, and also "melt", blurring details. If you wish to lengthen the workability time of already mixed green stuff., maybe because you were interrupted and have to put off your project till the next day, you should just throw your mixed green in the freezer. This can allow you the green stuff to be workable for another day or two. After that, it will still be soft, but will be very rubbery and unusable.

Green stuff can be mixed with other sculpting putties for various properties. Although I have not experimented with this, I have heard good things about a 1:1 ratio mix of green stuff and Milliput, another sculpting putty. I plan to try it out soon.

Getting Started with Green Stuff

Obviously, before you start out with green stuff, you need to buy some. In this regard, there is definitely a right way and a wrong way. Green Stuff, even though it is all pretty much the same stuff, can cost 5 times as much (or even more) from some companies than from others. Games Workshop sells the stuff fairly expensive, but not as much as some other companies. I bought a strip from Army Painter, and I was very disappointed in how much I got (I bought it online, and the picture did not match what I got). In general, look for green stuff under the name Kneadatite, it is much cheaper. Look for tubes (approx $10) or the strip (approx $15) shown above, and you should be all set.


So that's about it. Green Stuff is not terribly forgiving, but it can be used to create great things. It really just takes lots of practice and patience, just like most things. Keep an eye out for my first actual 100 Hours - Sculpting post, which will be coming very soon!