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I recently got some greenstuff (the blue/yellow strips that you combine together) to help with modeling my Gamezone vampire, as it's metal and the mold is really bad. I've always thought that, with greenstuff, you should take an equal amount of both the yellow and the blue, mix it together as much as you can until it is totally green (meaning, you can't see any separate yellow or blue within the mix), and then use use use!

But I tried this, and I'm having problems. One, it seems like the greenstuff, when mixed, is REALLY tough and hard to mold and shape. Two, it has a tendency to stick to everything too much, making actual molding and/or spreading or whatever almost impossible. It sticks to my fingers when I press it down to fill in gaps, and when I pull my finger away (hoping to leave the greenstuff in the gap) it pulls away from the model. I bought some sculpting tools (metal dentist-looking pokers and stuff) and it sticks to those, too.

So, am I using a bad mixture? Should I have more or less of either the yellow green? Is there something that I can add to it to keep it more pliable? Or is there something else that I'm missing?

Help!

Wet the implements you use- the tools or your fingers.

Yarp, as above, keep tools wet and model dry. Probably a good idea to make sure the figure Is good and clean too, so give it a scrub with a soapy toothbrush and rinse well first, to get rid of my grease or dust

It shouldnt be very tough either, if its the strip form, it could be that in the middle where the yellow and blue touch could be bonded already.

Also Like DeadShot stated wet your tools and fingers, it helps a lot, and the rest is practice.

If I remember correctly the Blue is the Catalisk (the Hardener) so more or less blue will make it harden faster or slower.

There is other types of "Green Stuff" that are epoxy putties that you can get from anywhere, like walmart or homedepot. Theres one Called Quik Steel that is a dark grey color and has a harddening time of 10 min and can be sanded and painted another called Quik Plastic that is white and it has about 20mins of work time. There are more but those are the ones ive used in the past.

Good Luck!

Didn't mean to say MY grease or dust! Not been sneaking into your house, honest!

 Inflatable love badger wrote:
Didn't mean to say MY grease or dust! Not been sneaking into your house, honest!

HAHAHAHAHA

Ok, so, wet the implements... does temperature matter at all?

And it SHOULD be roughly equal amounts of blue and yellow, right?

As for the middle part (where they are touching) hardening early, should I carve that middle strip out immediately? And just work with truly separate parts?

Not sure how temperature effects curing, but unless your sculpting in a fridge it should be ok. I think the blue is the hardner so the more you use the quicker it will go solid and the more solid it will be, but not sure of the ratios, obviously too much and it won't cure at all.
I tend to use 50/50 and just pull the middle bit out as I mix it.

 Tangent wrote:
Ok, so, wet the implements... does temperature matter at all?

The hardening process is based on a heat generating chemical process. So heat speeds up the hardening and cold slows it down.

 Tangent wrote:
And it SHOULD be roughly equal amounts of blue and yellow, right?

Just mix 1:1 ratio. You can vary it for different purposes though. Like Inflatable love bagder said varying the blue ratio changes the hardening process. But as a beginner just mix roughly 1:1. You probably won't even see a big difference between the different mixing ratios until you get a feeling for the medium.

 Tangent wrote:
As for the middle part (where they are touching) hardening early, should I carve that middle strip out immediately? And just work with truly separate parts?

Yeah, remove the middle. It is full of already hardened bits and can't be used for detailwork without risk. The only thing you can do with it is bulk work, like for example sandbags for basing or creating a first rough shape for larger parts on which you will layer the true details later on.
There is greenstuff out there that has the blue and yellow parts seperated. So if you want to sculpt more it is better to go for those. And also don't buy from GW direct. you can get putty for roughly half the price GW sells it from others like Gale Force Nine or Kneadite(greenstuff is just another name for Kneadite epoxy putty).


I don't know how deep you want to travel into the land of sculpting. But if you want to dig deeper you might consider other putties like Milliput or ProCreate. Those aren't as sticky and cureing harder. This allows sanding. Mixing some into your greenstuff can even create a hybrid that might be interesting for sharper details and sandability.

Definately wet the greenstuff and your fingers

Thanks a ton, guys! I'm going to give this a shot and try to smooth it out a little better.

I usually dunk mine in water when I start mixing it, and whenever I feel it get stick again I add more water.

Also - let your GS set for a bit before you try to use it. The stuff is meant to stick to things, if you let it cure up for a bit before you try to sculpt it...it is less sticky, but still plenty workable.

Keep your unmixed green stuff in the freezer if possible - it will keep fresher for longer.

Wetting your tools helps a lot. If you want a really smooth shiny surface try putting a bit of vaseline on there and polishing with a smooth implement. I fint vaseline helps make it a bit more workable as well without really effecting the hardened state.

Also it should be catalyst...

 bubber wrote:
Keep your unmixed green stuff in the freezer if possible - it will keep fresher for longer.

Believe it or not, I have put mixed GS in the freezer and the next day after it thaws, it's still usable. Until it cures, of course.