How to sculpt weapons/blades?

[beestieboy]

Hi everyone. I\'ve got a question about sculpting weapons and in paricular, blades. In checking out some greens of sculpts that I like, I see that the majority of the model is sculpted in green stuff, and then the blade of the weapon is a pale ivory color. What is this stuff and why is it better for blades? I have seen some where the whole thing, weapons inlcuded, have been done out of green stuff but the pale whitish stuff seems to be smoother and give sharper edges. Any truth to this? I guess my question is, what is that stuff and how to you use it?

My goal is to be able to make a few double bladed weapons not unlike the ones you\'ll find on some of the Confronation Devourer models. I\'m thinking the double bladed sword the Flesh Eater has, the Tyrant\'s blade, and Managarm\'s blade. Any help is much appreciated! :flip: (If I could just bits order those things I would, but I\'m having a hard time finding people to go in with me and put together an order big enough to qualify for free shipping)

 

[supervike]

hmm...

I think the pale/ivory stuff you are seeing is the product called Milliput. It is a two-part putty similar to greenstuff, but has a different consistancy, and from what I understand does work much better for \'flat items\' such as swords and such.

You can get Milliput here in the states from a great company called Micromark. They also have some wonderful sculpting tools.

www.micromark.com

I have ordered some, but have yet to try it.

 

[t_haye2]

right, best way I find is to either make a 50/50 mix of miliput and green stuff, and roll out a ball of it while still soft, then flatten it with a round piece of wood/large paintbrush etc. Let it harden, then, when it has, cut out the shape you want, and file the sharp edge on. Another way of to use plastic card, but that is harder to use.

If you\'re looking for very thin weapons, best bet is to use sheet aluminium, and use an old file and some abrasive paper to smooth it, after cutting it out with a fret saw or something similar ofcourse. DON\'T cut aluminium with a knife! And if you do and slip, post the gory pictures...lololol

 

[supervike]

I knew it!!

Originally posted by t_haye2
And if you do and slip, post the gory pictures...lololol

You ARE a sick-o!!!

 

[Orb]

yeah, milliput is what many use; superfine white usually, although I have trouble with that. It can be sanded easily, unlike greenstuff. Some sculptors use brown stuff instead - again a \'harder\' two part epoxy that cab ne sanded smooth.

 

[beestieboy]

Thanks for the help. Anyone have a preference over Miliput and Brown stuff? Also, do you think I will have to run a wire through the blade to strengthen it, or is this stuff sufficiently strong?

Also, where can I get brown stuff in the states?

Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[supervike]

brown stuff....

can be gotten right here from our happy little site....

http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/index.php?manufacturers_id=17

Good luck!

 

[freakinacage]

i have used green stuff/milliput mix, brown stuff and plasticard in the past. i personally prefer plasticard because you dont have to mix and wait for it to harden. it\'s also a little flexible so it tends not to snap

 

[minimaker]

You can add a stiff wire for strength but I don\'t always do that.

Since you mentioned confrontation, a lot of their sculptors (and those of Illiad and Fenryll) use plastic card. Their masters don\'t go through a vulcanizer so they can use materials that are not heat resistant.

I\'m still working on a weapons tutorial that shows how to make weapons in different materials. In the meantime you can have a look at these:
http://shorterlink.com/?SYIWOX
http://shorterlink.com/?12GMJ1

I made a quick photo of the weapons I\'m preparing for the demo and some other to show an overview of materials used:

\"Blanks\" are cast weapon parts that can be cut, filed, etc. to shape to make a weapon. Example: http://www.coolminiornot.com/71936

As to differences between brown stuff and Milliput: Milliput is cheaper, stick more to everything including tools, tears easier when sculpting, can be smoothed with water and feels softer before curing.
Since you\'re in the US, two alternatives with similar properties are A&B and Magic sculp.

My preferences:
- Milliput/GS mix for general work including main parts of weapons and mechanical things. I prefer to roughshape and then file and sand it. Most sculpting after curing.
- Brown stuff: mechanical things and sharp details (including wood grains) which I want to sculpt before curing. Or mixed with GS when I want the finished part to be sriffer than GS (like in the card warrior above).
- Brass/copper: thin parts, round parts, complex shapes (like that polearm on the pic - the Milliput/GS mix kept on snaping when I tried that).

As to plastic sheet. I find it an easy material to work with but in my case it may help that I\'ve been using it for some 20 years already. It\'s suited for complex shapes to and easily cut and glued. Main technique is scraping.

Hope that helps.

 

[freakinacage]

minimaker - that DOES help. nice one man

 

[t_haye2]

i\'m more interested in the dwarf type dude, who\'s he for?

 

[minimaker]

Origineel geplaatst door t_haye2
i\'m more interested in the dwarf type dude, who\'s he for?

Er, it\'s a gal. But that\'s hard to see with dwarves. She does have a beard to start with. lol
Here are clearer pics and a detailed description (see my reply to one of the comments) http://www.coolminiornot.com/69070

I made her for a sculpting showcase and it\'s not a commercial figure. I may cast a few copies myself though some day.

@freakinacage, glad to hear it\'s usefull.

 

[beestieboy]

Wowza minimaker. That was some great stuff. Thanks much. You guys happen to know where I can get different thicknesses of plasticard? The stuff I have right now is about half the thickness I\'d like to have for the weapons. (For normal sized models it would work OK, but I\'m going for something Wolfen sized or bigger). Maybe I can glue two sheets together? I\'d like to try a few different techniques here and see what works best. I\'ll let you know!

 

[minimaker]

You can buy plastic sheets in scale modelling stores. Evergreen and Plastruct are two well known brands. Do make sure you buy polysterene, not ABS (Plastruct has both). Another source are stores where they sell stuff to model makers. Cheaper but also much bigger.
You\'ll also find a lot of household articles that are from polystyrene. CD boxes for instance. If you have an old CD box you can start experimenting with that. It\'s a harder type of polystyrene than scale modelling polystyrene though.

Unless you want to make vehicles or other big things I\'d suggest just getting one sheet of 0.5mm. This is thin enough for adding details and can be glued together for thicker sheets.
Use liquid scale modelling plastic glue. Not the gel from the tubes. The liquid form is much more aggressive and gives a stronger bond. Ventilate! it\'s nasty stuff.

The two main techniques are cutting and scraping. The best cutting technique is cut and break. Make a cut to half of the thickness of the sheets and then break it at that place. Scraping is pulling the knife across the plastic with the knife perpendicular to the sheet. You can use this technique to make the edge. You may need to refine it by sanding and filing.