First try at using Fimo

[Brokenblade]

Hi all,

Last night i had my first go at working with Fimo and i have to say its much better than greenstuff in some ways, but has disadvantages in others, i just sculpted a copy of greasus goldtooths head (minus his crown) and wondered if i could get some feedback,

I did this all using the games workshop sculpting tool and a couple of old paintbrushes (the opposite end to the bristles. however, i do have various other sculpting tools)

I have a few questions aswell for anybody with experience of working with Fimo, can it be cooked, and then recooked without being damaged, i ask this because of thinking of the practicalities of sculpting a whole model, as most of you know Fimo its pretty soft, so to make a whole model out of Fimo would be near impossible unless you could bake the first part, add a second part, bake that, add a third part, and so on. Does anyone have any tips on working with Fimo, or any links to sites with tutorials aswell?

thanks a lot Joe

 

[Shawn R. L.]

The face looks good so far. Some of the \'borders\' (where the mustache ends and the cheek begins) could use a little more of a sharp definition. I use a small chisle and work it along the crevice to sharpen the distinction.

I have used fimo alot. Yes you can bake it and add stuff to it and bake it later. I dont know how many times you can do that though. One problem with baking and adding is that the stuff added after baking dosnt stick as well. I have \'baked\' some of my stuff by boiling it in water or using a blowdryer. Each of these is good for \'setting\' the piece but I think a bit of a higher temperature is required for proper hardening. Check the Fimo website for proper temperatures.

As to strength, Fimo sucks. One trick you can use is to build a good armature with wire then cover that with GS or Sculpey and beef up the armature. Then add the final thin layer of fimo for the final outside with all the detail. Fimo is GREAT for doing things that are \'organic\' and flowing. It never gets hard so you arent in a rush to do it perfectly in a pinch. If you warm it a bit (I will simply breath in it for about 15 secounds) it gets real soft and even easyer to smooth. Speaking of smooth, you can use the business end of a brush to good effect with Fimo. Soft hair brushes for smoothing and hard hair for texture.

 

[Brokenblade]

thanks for the tips,

just to note this hasn\'t been baked yet, which is why it looks a little blobby at the moment, as soon as i bake it i will try refining the shape a bit,

This has just been a test to see how fimo works, i will actually be doing a greasus goldtooth conversion, but won\'t even need to sculpt the head or mace anyway, so i will be using fimo for his cloak/body etc,

another quick question, if fimo is baked with a metal or greenstuff skeleton will the skeleton be ok, or does the oven not go to a temperature that will affect them, cheers, Joe

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Fimo sucks as far as sculpting it after baking. It is \'carve-able\' but nothing close to GS or any of the other stuff. As far as the baking affecting the armature, the temperature is around 300 degrees farenheit. Dont use a plastic (styrene) armature. The baking will warp it and fimo, before it\'s baked, will melt plastic.

 

[solaria2k]

I rebake with Sculpey all the time - dont know about Fimo.
However - if you want a firmer medium to work with, freeze it
Sometimes I\'ll sculpt something, then want to slice off any excess without distorting my sculpt, freezing it for an hour or two before cutting usually does the trick.