Magic Sculpt or 2 part epoxy?

[mikec55]

Here's a question for the sculptors. I've never had the desire to sculpt my own figures because I'm still trying to learn how to paint everyone else's but I recently ran across a fascinating (to me, anyway) SBS on the Historicus Forma website detailing how to sculpt your own trees & rocks for groundwork in a woodland scene. This looks like something I'd like to try but I'm not sure which sculpting stuff would be best to use for a project like this. Would Magic Sculpt be best to use or would the 2 part epoxy type clay be better? Or, does it really make a difference?

I'm not sure how to post a link, but from the Historicus Forma home page, you click on Features, then Sculpting. The title is "How to Sculpt a Simple Woodlands Scene" by Markus Eckmann

Thanks in advance.

Mike

 

[John Long]

Magic-Sculpt is a two part epoxy putty. It would work just fine for this application. Other options would be DAS Pronto, or a Polymer clay. DAS will set on its own, but will shrink some. Polymer clay, like Sculpy has to be baked.

 

[Hobbyinovator]

Perhapps you meant SuperSculpey wich is a owen baked polymer clay?

 

[Einion]

...SBS on the Historicus Forma website detailing how to sculpt your own trees & rocks for groundwork in a woodland scene. This looks like something I'd like to try but I'm not sure which sculpting stuff would be best to use for a project like this.

What's used in the SBS?

Would Magic Sculpt be best to use or would the 2 part epoxy type clay be better?

MagicSculp is a two-part epoxy clay-like putty

...

I'm not sure how to post a link...

The simplest way is just to copy the URL from the browser window/tab and just past it straight in. The forum software will automatically wrap it in the appropriate codes for it to show up as an active link, like this:
http://www.pretend-link.com

You can also do links like this - I am a link - by clicking on the Insert Link button above the text window on the reply page (the icon that looks like the earth with an 8 on its side below it). Then you paste the URL, click on OK or hit Return/Enter on the keyboard and the name for the link to be will be automatically highlighted for you to type into.

You can create a link from something you've already typed, by just selecting over the words and then using the same button.

Einion

 

[mikec55]

John & Einion,

Thanks for your responses. Having never used sculpting clay before, it looked to me like Magic Sculpt & 2 part epoxy were 2 different things, which caused my confusion. I'll just buy some MS & see what happens.
Here's the link, I hope:

http://www.hfmodeling.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=1246

 

[TWOMOONS]

This is my first post.
I've been around for a long time as a sculptor and I was wondering if someone could tell me what the advantages to Magic Sculpt over A+B epoxy are; if any....
I've used Super Sculpy for years along with A+B, and just getting back into it (miniatures), I see there is a whole new group of products...on every level-painting, sculpting, etc., so I was wondering.
When I was competing ( mostly the 80's), I remember you could count the scratchbuilders on one hand...now everyone sculpts; the work, along with the painting level is off the charts. Amazing.
I've only made a couple of shows recently, but I was truly impressed.

NOTE: Someone had made an inquiry to where I was ...basically what happened to me. I guess I'm an old school guy. I started in the late 70's.
Well, I am alive (I think) and still plugging along, even as I face tottering off towards antiquity...I have a new, revived interest in the whole thing.
Still doing American Indians, prehistoric animals, a horror figure or two, and Pop Art, which really took up the last 15 years or so.
This website looks cool...nice to talk again with people in the art form.
Cheers, Phil Bracco

 

[TWOMOONS]

Here's a question for the sculptors. I've never had the desire to sculpt my own figures because I'm still trying to learn how to paint everyone else's but I recently ran across a fascinating (to me, anyway) SBS on the Historicus Forma website detailing how to sculpt your own trees & rocks for groundwork in a woodland scene. This looks like something I'd like to try but I'm not sure which sculpting stuff would be best to use for a project like this. Would Magic Sculpt be best to use or would the 2 part epoxy type clay be better? Or, does it really make a difference?

I'm not sure how to post a link, but from the Historicus Forma home page, you click on Features, then Sculpting. The title is "How to Sculpt a Simple Woodlands Scene" by Markus Eckmann

Thanks in advance.

Mike

Hi Mike,
It really makes no difference what you use...as long as you get the results that you are looking for. Amazing subleties can be achieved with 2 part epoxies, because of the strength you can get from them...like a fluttering flag, etc.
But groundwork is groundwork; I can tell you, the cheapest Sculpy you can find in AC Moore or Michael's (if you have them where you live), like the white or terra cotta (2 lb. box) is great to use... and both stores offer a 40/50 % off coupon every week in the newspaper. And remember: there is no time limit on Sculpy, like there is on 2 pt. epoxy. You can change it a hundred times- epoxy gives you until it sets. About 40 minutes (?).
And in the long run, you'll save money on the the cheaper Sculpy over epoxy. Lots more.
I actually use it under Super Sculpy as armatures sometimes.

 

[Guy]

NOTE: Someone had made an inquiry to where I was ...basically what happened to me. I guess I'm an old school guy. I started in the late 70's.
Well, I am alive (I think) and still plugging along, even as I face tottering off towards antiquity...I have a new, revived interest in the whole thing.
Still doing American Indians, prehistoric animals, a horror figure or two, and Pop Art, which really took up the last 15 years or so.
This website looks cool...nice to talk again with people in the art form.
Cheers, Phil Bracco

Glad to see you're still alive and kicking Phil. Welcome to the planet and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

[TWOMOONS]

Glad to see you're still alive and kicking Phil. Welcome to the planet and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Yes, Guy...yatahey. I think I will.
Got a lot in my head and it's nice to get it out, even if in the printed word rather than in person.
Saw your beautiful work thumbs and I can only say the best compliment I ever got was from someone who told me that my stuff "made them want to go home and paint a figure".....
I can only say that yours does exactly that to me.
Although I'm already at home.
I'm already home.

 

[quang]

Hello Phil,

I've always been a fervent admirer of your works in Campaigns magazine since I was a greenhorn.

Welcome to the Planet, SIR.

Quang

 

[mikec55]

Phil,

Thanks for your help. At the Chicago show last year, I bought some Aves Apoxy sculpt but still haven't cracked it open. I have a couple of WIPs that will scream out for some type of groundwork if I ever finish painting them. My painting season doesn't start until after Labor Day so we'll see what happens this year.

I look forward to seeing you post some of your work here. I really admire the talent sculpting calls for. If you're a sculptor, you'll never run out of figures to paint & with the recent spike in prices, that's a good thing.

Mike

 

[TWOMOONS]

Hello Phil,

I've always been a fervent admirer of your works in Campaigns magazine since I was a greenhorn.

Welcome to the Planet, SIR.

Quang

Hello Quang,
Thanks for the kind words...and the welcome.
Campaigns magazine was a long time ago and makes me think of my dear friend, Philip O. Stearns. He was a true individual and did so much for the art form.
I look forward to posting pics, but two problems: terrible photographer/crummy camera;and don't know how to post them (the steps involved).
I'm not real proficient with the PC...y'know, basic e-mails and buying useless stuff on e-bay is about my range.
Still learning at my advanced age...

 

[TWOMOONS]

Quang,
Went on your website and must tell you, it is some of the most creative, knock-out work I have ever seen.
The website itself is entertaining and fascinating to go through and the likenesses of the Great chiefs is absolutely spot on.
Great character in the faces of all the ethnic types.
Just eye-popping. Your range is astounding. Really pillipilli!
Love the Hopi Belle, and the Highlander, particularly ( being a dog lover helps)
Your site is saved in 'My Favorites', for sure.
Wow.

 

[bonehead]

This is my first post.
I've been around for a long time as a sculptor and I was wondering if someone could tell me what the advantages to Magic Sculpt over A+B epoxy are; if any....

Phil Bracco? You mean THAT Phil Bracco? Dude, wha's up?

Are you still using that A&B stuff? Man, I quit using that stuff back in the days when I had to walk ten miles to school in a blinding blizzard! Ain't it great being an old fart?

A&B is only good for stuff where its extreme hardness is an advantage, like hat brims and straps and stuff like that. Its extreme hardness is its good point and its achilles heel. I would ruin all of my dremel bits if I still used that stuff. You cannot carve really hard A&B without dynamite and an airhammer. Screw that!

I quit using Magic Sculpt several years ago. It is fabulous to work with, but the translucent gray color makes it nearly impossible to see the surface you are working on. Invariably, the final sculpt ends up being more rough looking than you thought. Bummer man.

I now use Aves Apoxie Sculpt white. The stuff is opaque (so you can actually see what the surface looks like) and, for all intents and purposes, it is identical in its working qualities to Magic Sculpt. Both putties are very user friendly and sand and carve like a dream, although I find that baking it a bit in crock-pot or under a lamp helps harden it so that it carves and sands more nicely.

NOTE: Someone had made an inquiry to where I was ...basically what happened to me. I guess I'm an old school guy. I started in the late 70's.
Well, I am alive (I think) and still plugging along, even as I face tottering off towards antiquity...I have a new, revived interest in the whole thing.
Still doing American Indians, prehistoric animals, a horror figure or two, and Pop Art, which really took up the last 15 years or so.
This website looks cool...nice to talk again with people in the art form.
Cheers, Phil Bracco

So, did you walk ten miles to school in blinding blizzards too?

Really, it's nice to hear that you are still around.

I am still plugging away here. Everybody and their mother has me sculpting pilots and junk. How did they know that's what I wanted to do when I grew up?

Cheers!!

Mike Good

 

[TWOMOONS]

Phil Bracco? You mean THAT Phil Bracco? Dude, wha's up?

Are you still using that A&B stuff? Man, I quit using that stuff back in the days when I had to walk ten miles to school in a blinding blizzard! Ain't it great being an old fart?

A&B is only good for stuff where its extreme hardness is an advantage, like hat brims and straps and stuff like that. Its extreme hardness is its good point and its achilles heel. I would ruin all of my dremel bits if I still used that stuff. You cannot carve really hard A&B without dynamite and an airhammer. Screw that!

I quit using Magic Sculpt several years ago. It is fabulous to work with, but the translucent gray color makes it nearly impossible to see the surface you are working on. Invariably, the final sculpt ends up being more rough looking than you thought. Bummer man.

I now use Aves Apoxie Sculpt white. The stuff is opaque (so you can actually see what the surface looks like) and, for all intents and purposes, it is identical in its working qualities to Magic Sculpt. Both putties are very user friendly and sand and carve like a dream, although I find that baking it a bit in crock-pot or under a lamp helps harden it so that it carves and sands more nicely.




So, did you walk ten miles to school in blinding blizzards too?

Really, it's nice to hear that you are still around.

I am still plugging away here. Everybody and their mother has me sculpting pilots and junk. How did they know that's what I wanted to do when I grew up?

Cheers!!






































Bonehead? Now what in the world can that possibly mean?
Hiya doin' Mike...long time no see.
Great to hear from you. I knew I would have to run into somebody from the old days...and here you are!
Lots of good sculptors here, it looks- are you still one of the damn best? I bet you still are. I was just looking at the two heads I bought from you a million years ago--the Mongol and the Pawnee; do you remember them?
This is a cool place for me...it has invigorated my interests again...the only problem is I can't see any more due to advanced extreme old age, dog.
It's really something hearing from you...do you go to any shows outside CA? I'm starting a little to get to this one and that one...but the rides that were hours away that were no problem (like Boston)feel now like 6 months in Paris Island to me. Y'know what I mean? TIRING, bro.
Keep in touch, Bonehead.
BTW: I use Playdoh exclusively now. Can't afford all this other elite stuff.

PS. I didn't walk to school in blizzards, but I did my homework on the back of a shovel.