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heya Dakka!

so i do 3D modeling and a lot of my pre-pro is done using clay and maquettes. i am really interested in creating minis and have purchased some GS to play with.

i haven't broken it out of the package yet... instead i have been filling my head with videos on YouTube and the amazing tutorials found here on Dakka.. truly some amazing artists here.

so my questions are these (this will be the first questions of a million i'm sure):
how easy is GS to sand?
once GS is cured, is there a way to add fine details in? or should all detail design be done early?
once the GS is cured can you cut chunks of it off and re-do sections easily?


in making maquettes (much larger than 28mm hero scale) i am used to setting/curing and then dremel and sanding for other details. i am sure these questions are answered elsewhere but my searches have revealed nothing. i appreciate any and all help in answering these.

I've heard that green stuff is sandable, but I think that it might be a stretch of the term. Sure, you CAN sand it, much like you can sand somebody's arm, but it doesn't sand gs well, in my experience. (unless you're sanding their arm because they were counting cards at your casino, I guess). Trimming with a hobby knife is tricky, too, as the knife can (and will) slip out of control and take off more than you intended.



Ghidorah

I've had no problem with filing down green stuff if that counts as sanding , for things such as filling gaps and the like. That said I use liquid GS so I'm not sure if the putty fairs any different.

GS is a pretty soft material, even once its hardened.
it can be sanded, as mentioned above, but you can sand a lot of things.... because GS is soft and "plyable" after its cured, you can cause damage if you apply too much pressure and end up tearing a fiddlier portion off. I do sand my things, but to smooth out surfaces. Too much pressure and it will tend toward tearing.

Details can be added in later, but i prefer adding holes or some other texture to give the detail bits something to grip onto as insurance that it won't fall off.

Cuttign gs is tricky. Cutting plastic is hard, but cutting gs can have unintended consequences... it's not that easy to repair a section that's cut out, because you'd have to blend the surfaces back together again.

If you want to add hardness to GS, there are other putties you can get that harden to a clay-like consistency, just take a bit of those and blend them in with the GS.

As a blending tip, my preffered blending method is to fold blue onto yellow, then pull untill it tears, stack it back together (alternating colors) squeeze and pull it into two halves... stack alternating colors, pull apart.., and keep repeating this process. I find you mix the gs much faster this way.

Cured GS doesn't sand particularly well. It's a relatively soft polymer, so it tends to fur up. Fine grit, a gentle touch and it'll work. Uncured GS can't be sanded, it'd be like trying to sand chewing gum.

Once it's cured, it's difficult to work. Best to work in layers and add details as you go. It will cut with a knife when cured. If you really want to multipart though, using vaseline as a barrier will prevent the GS sticking. A good method is to build the first part, drill a hole, lube it up, build a rough macquette on the pin to fit in that hole. You can build fairly complex interlocking parts in this way.

1) while it CAN be sanded or filed, you usually wont get good results. Consider using a combination of materials, e.g. green stuff and brown stuff. Green stuff does better soft, organic structures, and dries a bit soft. Brown stuff Is great for sharper edged shapes as it dries very hard and stiff and is very sandable.
2) You can't add subtractive (removing from or detailing existing GS) details to GS after it dries very effectively. What you CAN do is add MORE gs. Don't try to make the form and details in one go. First make the basic shape of whatever you are sculpting (cloak, tunic, etc.), let it dry, then go back and add a small amount of GS to sculpt details in. It is very hard to get both details and form into GS when sculpting at this level. Do it in two steps.
3) You can cut chunks off fairly easily with a sharp hobby knife, though due to its bendy nature don't count on them being precise. Plan on cutting off slightly more than you need removed and then adding GS back on rather than trying to cut it perfectly the first time.

Finally, get some silicone "clay pushers"/"clay shapers"/"paint pushers". GS is very sticky when it comes to metal and plastic tools. They have their place, but the really impressive, from scratch mini's you see out there sometimes are typically sculpted with silicon sculpting tools.

I appreciate the responses.

I hope to be starting my first model this weekend, rather I hope to start the learning process of GS.

I'll take some pics as I go and hopefully have something to share (and ask for help).


Again, many thanks!