Miliput?

[ispep]

So I've heard good things about this stuff, but not a lot of how to do those good things.

I picked up some of the white/superfine, and have played with it a little. Its, well, different. Anyone have some tips, tricks, rules of thumb to making the most of it?

[chaosobscuros]

[ame]

[/ame]

Good tutorial. The superfine is very hard to work with though. Good luck!

[Major_Gilbear]

Well, while it is still malleable (i.e., not cured), it can be mixed or smoothed really easily with water. Even though you can sculpt with it and it will set in/under water, it will still also respond if you mix it with water.

With superfine white, you can dissolve a very small ball of mixed Milliput Superfine White (MSW) in a little cold water to make a thin watery paste. This paste can then be painted with an old brush onto areas of models where there is pitting or a rough surface from filing/casting or converting. After the MSW is fully cured, you can polish it with a little scrap of fine steel wool or sandpaper to achieve a very smooth surface prior to priming.

If you mix up a 2" ball of the stuff and put it into a plastic bag, you can flatten it easily with either a rolling pin or a flat weight, and then let it cure. When it is, peel it off from the inside of the bag and you will have a brittle slab. This slab can be broken up to emulate the look of either broken concrete or slate as is ideal basing material. Unlike real slate however, it can be sanded, drilled and pinned to very easily, and it responds *excellently* to superglue.

You can also use it as a cheap gap filler of course, but because it isn't flexible like GS when fully cured, you don't want to fill any areas that might be knocked (like shoulder joins) as it may come loose if the parts do get knocked.

It is okay for sculpting with, but I do find that it is grittier than GS or ProCreate, which makes it so-so for any real detail. It is also brittle, and therefore poor for things like swords. However, it mixes with other putties just fine, and you can create a mixture with hybrid properties. To do this, you need to mix each putty separately, and then combine the two different mixed putties. So a MSW:GS mix of roughly 35:65 will give you a more flexible putty than MSW alone, and also make the putty cure much harder than GS alone - this is ideal if you are sculpting weapons, armour or machinery, as you can cut, drill and sand the item after the putty has cured much more easily.

Because it is hard and machinable, you can also use it to pin hollow models. Just part-assemble the model and then when the glue is dry, pack the void inside with Milliput. Once cured, you can then attach the other parts with deep pins safe in the knowledge that the pins will not just go through the metal, but into the hardened Milliput inside as well. This is perfect for pinning the shoulders on the Warmachine Character Warjacks for example.

The other Milliput putty I use is the Yellow-Grey, which is even better for filling bases, making terrain and filling hollow models with as it is even cheaper then MSW. It is however a little coarser/grittier, although it you plan to sand or polish it after curing, then it won't matter as you will end up with an equally smooth surface.

[ispep]

Thanks for the replies. How about mixing the white? Its very... paste like, and incredibly messy. And if I try to lubricate my fingers with water, it just turns to goo. I tried rubber gloves but that just left more stuff on the gloves than workable material.

[Major_Gilbear]

Ideally, with all epoxy putties you should wear gloves. I hear that polythene gloves stick less to these putties than latex or nitrile gloves do.

Personally, I don't use gloves though, as I find the whole experience uncontrollably messy otherwise. I just mix it up, make a little ball or sausage and put it down on a plastic or ceramic surface while I go and wash my hands in tepid water with some hand soap. Then I return with clean hands to the mixed ball and pinch or cut off little pieces to work with. Periodically, I go and wash my hands again.

If you mix it with water, it *will* get very sticky and chewing-gum-like. However, smoothing a little water over it once you've applied it is fine, and if you end up with a milky liquid on the model, just quickly rinse it under a tap - the watery material will wash off, but the stuff you applied and smoothed will stay exactly where you put it.

If you put a very small ball (2-3mm diameter or smaller) into some water in an old blister, you can mix it until it dissolves completely. This will give you a milky paste like single cream that you can brush on to smooth rough areas on models (often things like capes or armour plates where there may be pitting in the recesses for example). Use an old brush for this, obviously!

The thing to remember with Milliput is that it does dissolve in water - unlike GS. However, it will also cure in or under water. So using water as a lubricant won't really work as you'll just work it into the surface and soften it. You *can* smooth the the surface with some water as I've explained above, but it really has completely different properties to GS, so just wetting your hands and tools won't really work the same way. Think of it more like traditional clay (except that it will cure under water) and you'll do better with it.

Edited May 2, 2010 by Major_Gilbear

[Lordfishbane]

Miliput is a different animal if your used to the ol' GS, best thing to lubricate your tools with is alcohol, and no I don't mean your local micro brew!!!

Plain rubbing stuff, the rules for it are the same as GS mix, attach and rough shape, wait 20 mins or so and do your detail.

I use it mostly to bulk up an armature before GS, I have started to mix it with the GS, that way it has a bit of elasticity from the GS and is a bit softer to rough work.

[PaintMinion]

You might try6 Aves Apoxie Sculpt...I find it easier to use than Milli, and much more water friendly fror smoothing and sculpting, also dries super hard.