Green Stuff Sculpting

Tutorial - Cloaks, Robes and Tabards

2010-04-19T18:16:00.000+01:00

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Recently due to work and other commitments posts have have a bit slow in the last week or so, however I've managed to find a little bit of time to write this post.

I'm sure there are many of you that have looked at either the Dark Angel veterans or some of the Space Wolves models and thought it'd be great if you could create your own version, bit without buying the box, I know I have.

For those of you that are Space Wolves fans then this is one for you, over at B&C there is a member by the name of Stinkenheim, and he's done a wonderful tutorial on how to recreate a wolf cloak. The fur effect is done in a very similar way to a previous fur tutorial shown on here a few weeks ago, which works perfectly. So far this is the best tutorial I've seen for making your own wolf cloak.

The next two are geared more towards your Dark Angel veteran looking models, however I'm sure these techniques can be used on a number of different figure types from Sci-fi to Fantasy.

The first of the two tutorials is a tabard authored by Madscuzzy of B&C, which looks a lot easier than it actually is, finding the right placement of the creases is not as easy as it looks if you're trying to make the tabard appear to flow.

The second tutorial incorporates a different method of making a robes for your Dark Angel models, however, there is also a different method to making a tabard, and also a good tutorial on creating hoods. This tutorial is my favourite, and have had it bookmarked for some time. I'd definitely advise a look over it.

-Green Stuff Sculpting

If you would like one of your articles to be posted here, or know of an article by someone else you think would be of use to others, please e-mail us the links at: greenstuffsculpting@googlemail.com

Tutorial - Wings

2010-04-12T18:46:00.001+01:00

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Image from Mandragore Miniatures

At the back end of last year I decided that in my Chaos Space Marine Army I would use the good old favourite Daemon Prince of Tzeentch with wings. As many of you know the Daemon Prince model doesn't come with wings so I had to purchase some separate, which I did and with a bit of assistance from Col Corbane I managed to fix them with Green Stuff and Pinning.

Since then I have found two tutorials on how to create your own wings from Green Stuff, one of which I could have used and the other, less so, but would still work along the Tzeentch theme.

The first is from a member of Bolter and Chainsword called Caroline, the wings she has created are of the feather variety and look stunning. The detail put into the wings really sets them off and I could really see these being incorporated into a Blood Angel list, especially with the revamp of the new codex.

There is a step by step guide that seems quite easy to follow, and I believe with a bit of practice a brilliant result can be achieved, just like Caroline's.

The other wings are from a sculptor by the name of Gael Goumon of Mandragore Miniatures. In this tutorials (which is in PDF) Gael goes through the process of how to create dragon and daemonic wings, firstly by showing pictures of how the wing armature should look, and then going through the process of creating the wings.

The result is amazing and although the tutorial verbally isn't the lengthiest, you get a good idea from the photos how to create each stage, and what has been wrote down is of good enough quality to follow and get to good grasp of the concept. I will definitely be trying this one out on future Daemon Princes.

-Green Stuff Sculpting

If you would like one of your articles to be posted here, or know of an article by someone else you think would be of use to others, please e-mail us the links at: greenstuffsculpting@googlemail.com

Review: Miniature Mentors - Sculpting with Aragorn Marks (Fimo)

2010-04-07T18:38:00.001+01:00

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“Miniature Mentors for those of you that do not know is a company that specialises in producing tutorial videos for those that wish to learn how to paint and sculpt to a higher standard. The artists that are doing the teaching are without a doubt some of the most talented people in their field, with experience that is second to none.

All of the video tutorials that I have watched so far are probably the best quality tutorial videos I have seen on the market. They're captured in Hi Definition that not only gives you an up close view of the artists’ creations, but also brings the figures to life, whether they're being painted or sculpted.”

Sculpting like any art form has an endless number of ways to be done, with each sculptor preferring to use one medium over another. Although the main focus of Green Stuff Sculpting is to guide and help those that wish to increase their skill and knowledge of using Green Stuff, I am also aware that there are other mediums out there worth using. One of those is Fimo.

In this review we will be looking at a video tutorial produced by Miniature Mentors, using the sculptor Aragorn Marks. Found within the tutorial is a guide to creating your own armatures for sculpting, whether you use Green Stuff or Fimo, there are tips on how to use Green Stuff along with clay based mediums, and a full sculpt of a Barbarian with Fimo. You’ll also get some great ideas on how to cure your sculpts with halogen heating rather than a conventional oven.

Aragorn Marks is an expert sculptor, with over ten years experience to his name. He has worked for Rackham miniatures as their head sculptor, creating some of their most icon figures, namely the barbarians. Aragorn now works as a freelance sculptor for a number of different companies from his home is France.

The tutorial set is split up into 7 sections, the first one being an Interview with Aragorn Marks, where he talks a little bit about himself and some of the tools he uses; the best part of this section is his use of a curing cooker. We then go onto 6 more sections that take you through the process of sculpting with fimo, starting with creating an armature, to using Green Stuff and them going into the sculpt itself.

The figure was in fact commissioned by Miniature Mentors for the video tutorial, and there may be plans to bring it into production for purchase.

The only downside I have to this tutorial and some of the others by Miniature Mentors are the file size of the sections. They run from anywhere between 800mb and 1.2 GB for a 40 minute section. If this doesn’t bother you, then you’re fine.

All-in-all this is a fantastic set, and one I thoroughly enjoyed watching, and have since re-watched it to pick up bits I missed the first time round as the content found within these tutorials is great and numerous, you can’t possibly remember them all from one viewing. If you’re interested in trying Fimo as a sculpting medium then I would highly recommend getting your hands on this tutorial.

-Green Stuff Sculpting

Conversion Report: My Farseer by Dverning

2010-04-06T17:58:00.000+01:00

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(Original Work of Dverning)

Dverning of Maunderings of a 40k Gamer - Some miniatures we look at by members of the blogging and forum community have had slight alterations to make them more individual to their owner, and give the army a personalised feel on the tabletop. The conversion could be anything from a few more purity seals to an altered power weapon. There are some modifications out there that just make you go wow, that is pure brilliance not just because it looks fantastic, but due to it really fitting in with the army it's been created for. It is one thing to make a model stand out, it is another to make it stand out in a way that still keeps with the theme, Dverning has gone just that.

His Farseer jetbike is fantastic, from the conversion on the jetbike to the colours used once it had been built. I'm not normally an Eldar fan, mostly because of their affiliation with elves and such; it's really not my cup of tea. However, Dverning has made me want to create my own jetbike squad; I can't say I want an army, but definitely a display squad. I believe anyone that comes up with an idea that inspires you to go off and create your own twist on it, especially if you don't like the army the idea is based off deserves some kudos.

Contained within his article is a step-by-step photo guide on how the bike in question was assembled with the conversion work, there is also a link to a Sculpting Tools 101. I'll also link the guide on how he sculpts the fine lines on the bike.

Other interesting articles on Dverning's blog are:

Sculpting 102: Putty
Sculpting 103: Simple Fills, Forms & Repairs
Sculpting 104: Silicon Shaping Tools
Sculpting 201: Pinning, Armature & Large Shapes

Go over to his blog and have a look, you won't be dissapointed and I'm sure you'll get your own ideas for your own Eldar if that's what you play, or you'll be able to use the technique for your own army in some way.

WiP - Blight Drone Proto-type

2010-03-31T21:23:00.000+01:00

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Oh late I have been debating as to whether I should create a Blight Drone, not for any gaming purposes, but to simply create one from scratch, try some ideas out and just go with the flow. More and more I'm turning to nurgle in all things Chaos related. There was a time when I disliked the theme and thought it boring and horrible, however with my increasing interest in sculpting and scratch building I'm finding that it is in fact a gold mine for inspirational creations.

The first thing I decided to do was look up pictures of blight drones and see how they looked, how others had converted them to look their own, and I also looked at a few other scratch builds by other hobbyists. Once all this information was gathered I set about making the armature as it were, if you can call scrunched up cooking foil an armature.

What I was looking for when forming the foil was a cashew come shrimp look about it, I knew I wasn't going to match the form of the original, but was fine as I'd by a Blight Drone if I wanted an exact model. As you can see a shape was achieved, I was fairly happy with it, so started to wrap it in masking tape to give more rigidity, keep the loose bits of foil from peeling back and to give the Fimo something to cling to.

By the way, you did read right I did say Fimo. This is a site dedicated to Green Stuff but there are a lot of different sculpting materials out there in the sculpting world that have uses, Fimo being ones of those. Now, it's normally used by sculptors creating models for resin casting such as ForgeWorld and Rackham Miniatures, I'll be using it more as a base for the Green Stuff and to make the bodily shape of the blight drone. As we all know, Green Stuff can be expensive; to make a whole model from it would be more than I'm willing to pay, so Fimo is an excellent alternative.

I start by putting down oval shapes of Fimo bringing down the sides so that a ledge is created, once I'm happy with the over all shape I move onto the next one. You should end up with something like in the above picture. Initially I wasn't overly caring as to whether the Fimo smooth or not, but more that I had the right structure. I continued with the process along the underside and around the sides of the body, forming the shape and then smoothing with a paint brush. The best property of Fimo is that it has to be baked for hardness to be achieved, this in essence means you have hours, days and even weeks to adjust the figure unlike the 30-45 minutes with Green Stuff. Due to it being soft, you only need a moist paint brush (Saliva was used) to smooth out any 'impurities' within the sculpt.

Above is the final body shape of the sculpt, the bumps are there to represent the bulges being created by cables and wires, which will go in the valleys between each bump. At the time I thought it looked good, now I've baked the model and taken a few days to look at it, it has become apparent the shapes of the bumps aren't overly realistic to the way I plan to have the cables, but alas it is but a proto-type. I am learning from errors made, which is good because without failure there is no progression.

Yesterday the Green Stuff was brought out for a bit of testing. The first creation was the two cut-come-maw wounds upon the body, clay shapers were being used for the first time as they'd arrived in the post earlier in the day. They do a fantastic job of smoothing out Green Stuff with a bit of Vaseline applied to it. The wounds look ok, but perhaps a little bit too big. As you can see a few warts were added, along with a smaller wound to which there will be more added tomorrow after work, so hopefully I'll have a fair bit more done by the end of the week.

I hope you have enjoyed my WiP article, my fingers have done a lot more typing than intended, so forgive me. *smiles*

Let me know what you all think.

Tutorial - Scale Mail and Fur by Xenite

2010-03-30T17:36:00.001+01:00

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(Original work of Xenite)

Xenite over at 'Little Green Monsters Blog' has some quite nifty tutorials on his blog, out of all of them my favourites are Scale Mail Armour that has been sculpt onto some skeletons, and his Fur tutorial. On both articles Xenite really goes into some detail in how the final product is achieved, and I'm sure you'll agree when looking at them, the finish is worth the effort.

I particularly like the fur tutorial, I can see the process being put to good use on some of the new Games Workshop Minotaurs. I haven't a problem with the models, but I know that isn't the general consensus of the community, so using the fur method from this tutorial could give a more desirable bestial looking monster.

Go have a look at tutorials and tell us what you think.

Enjoy!

Tutorial - How to Greenstuff [basics] by RetributionAngel

2010-03-29T20:38:00.004+01:00

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(Original work of RetributionAngel)

RetributionAngel - You are just getting into the using Green Stuff and would like to try something simple, that won't take forever and can be achieved with only a little bit of effort. This is what we have for you today, RetributionAngels' Youtube channel has such wonders; found within are a number of easy yet effective tutorials that can be used on your models to give them a bit of character or, make them stand out from the norm.

Here is a list of the tutorials you can take a look at:

How to Green Stuff - What You Need

How to Green Stuff - Banners

How to Green Stuff - Fur

How to Green Stuff - Lizard Scales

How to Green Stuff - Tentacles

How to Green Stuff - Feathers

How to Green Stuff - Negative Prints

How to Green Stuff - Eyes

How to Green Stuff - Teeth

How to Green Stuff - Skulls

How to Green Stuff - Ghost Faces

There is also an Advanced Play-list on RetributionAngels youtube channel, where he goes through the process of scratch sculpting some miniatures using some skeletons (from the GW line I believe) as armatures.

There is also an amazing Squiggoth (also linked at the top of the article) video that is well worth a look. Go get him out, subscribe to the channel and enjoy all that is published.

Tutorial - How To Make a Miniature Cooker

2010-03-26T15:41:00.001Z

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You've done some converting, or put down the foundation layer of Green Stuff on your armature, and now the long 24 hour wait for the Green Stuff to cure is here... or is it. There are going to be some of you out there that are very similar to me, very impatient. If I have an idea, I want it to come into fruition straight away and get frustrated if it doesn't, nothing is more true than when I've used Green Stuff. It's for this reason I have made myself a miniature cooker.

The benefits of the cooker is that it reduces the curing time of Green Stuff from 20-24 hours to between 1-2 hours, which you'll agree is a much better time scale. The project is amazingly easy to do, and took me 5 minutes from start to finish, how's that for a quick and easy? You could do this while waiting for your porridge to be cooking.

For the project you'll need a container that either has a foil lining within it (there is a famous crisp brand that comes in a tube, or there is the example I use, or something similar) to reflect the heat to the miniature, or you can use a tin can, like a baked bean tin. As you'll can see I opted out of using a metal variant for ease of cutting and because I'd forget that it's pretty hot and grab onto it.

Once you've found a suitable cooking container you'll need to mark out with a pen a square/rectangle, this is going to be your window to place your miniature in side or take it out. You don't need draw out this lines, but I find it easier to follow lines when cutting with a Dremel.So once you have your window drawn out, get cutting with whatever tool you wish to use, as mentioned I've used a Dremel, but I'm sure with a bit of care a steak or stanley knife could be used for such a task, just take your time if using a knife as I don't want people severing fingers.

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So you've now cut out your window, clean away any frayed cardboard and foil that may be clinging to the edges of where you have cut. That is basically it for the cut, the only other thing to do is get a lamp that will produce enough heat to cure the Green Stuff. If you have a look around the Internet there are a number of different bulb suggestions ranging from 15 watts to 40 watts. It does seem that anyway over 40 watts is more than likely to have a negative affect and literally cook the Green Stuff and creating something that resembles Stay Puft Green Marshmallow Man. Curing times will probably vary depending on the watt bulb you use, but anything that drastically reduces the 20 hour curing time to no ill effect has to be good. Right?

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I don't actually have a model that needs speed curing at the moment, but the miniature above gives a good representation of how one would look inside the cooker, you'll also note how much room is in a cooker of this size, so a number of models can be cured at once.

Until next time, happy cooking!

Conversion Report: Nurgle Lord and Prince by Lazarus666

2010-03-25T16:05:00.005Z

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(Original work of Lazarus666)

Lazarus666 - When we think of putting a bit of nurgle into our space marines, we normally start with a few pustules, a bit of rotten flesh and add a few carnivorous flies to the mix.

While looking at Lazarus' Nurgle Lord conversion you soon realise that maybe little bits of ooze and puss here and there aren't enough, and you start to get a feeling that maybe I should be putting some more on, a lot more. There is not one part of this conversion I don't like, the armour looks fantastic and the Daemon Claws (tutorial link) look brilliant; he pulls of the tattered cloak really well and I find myself really being drawn to the Lords feet... not sure why.

The Daemon Prince, although hasn't had as much work to it as the Lord, looks brilliant too, the draped fabric and scythe really set it off and brings an otherwise boring C'tan model to life, which is ironic to me as doing so gives it the appearance of death.

Hop on over and have a look, I'm sure like me you'll love boths models, and can't won't be able to wait to try the daemon claw tutorial. How many of us find it hard to get hold of a chaos power fist? Well now you don't have to.

-Green Stuff Sculpting

If you would like one of your articles to be posted here, or know of an article by someone else you think would be of use to others, please e-mail us the links at: greenstuffsculpting@googlemail.com

Conversion Report: Dragon Ogres' by Noeste's

2010-03-24T22:23:00.003Z

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(Original work of noeste's)

While looking through some blogs I'd bookmarked to have a more detailed look over at a later date, I fell upon a blog called noeste's, and there was one particular set of posts that caught my interest above all the others, The Dragon Ogre's. I've seen a great number of conversions recently that incorporates the epic beast, but none that come as close to these in realism.

When I think of Dragon Ogres, images of half dragon, half humanoid dragonkin style men, and not the traditional half an ugly ogre on a dinosaurs body (sorry ogre fans). The ones on noeste's blog fall more into the category I can imagine, and therefore I believe them to be fantastic.

The models themselves are converted with bits cold ones, black orcs, kroot heads and a number of other different bits, which are listed within noeste's posts. The sculpting of the torso's with green stuff is great and really captures the humanoid form well, some nice muscular definition has been applied.

Take a minute and pop over to neoste's blog and have a gander, there is also a nice post about green stuffed roots and leaves.

-Green Stuff Sculpting

If you would like one of your articles posted here, or know of an article by someone else you think would be of use to others, please e-mail us the links at: greenstuffsculpting@googlemail.com

Review: Miniature Mentors - Sculpting with James Van Schaik

2010-03-23T22:58:00.007Z

Miniature Mentors for those of you that do not know is a company that specialises in producing tutorial videos for those that wish to learn how to paint and sculpt to a higher standard. The artists that are doing the teaching are without a doubt some of the most talented people in their field, with experience that is second to none.

All of the video tutorials that I have watched so far are probably the best quality tutorial videos I have seen on the market. They're captured in Hi Definition that not only gives you a up close view of the artists creations, but also brings the figures to life, whether they're being painted or sculpted.

The tutorial we have today is by a sculptor named James Van Schaik who is a world renowned sculptor that has worked for some of the biggest miniature companies in the world, such as Reaper Miniatures and Pulp City Miniatures. The miniature itself is of a female brandishing a gun that would scare off the bravest of hero's.

Like all of Miniature Mentor videos we start off with an Interview with the sculptor, where he is asked some general questions about his career, he also shows the viewer the tools of his trade, and finally gives some advice on becoming a sculptor yourself. From the interview alone I found myself liking Mr Schaik as he was quite down to earth, and seems a friendly enough guy.

Unlike most of the tutorials I've read or seen when it comes to using Green Stuff and sculpting, James doesn't use a wire armature; he in fact uses a pre-made cast armature manufactured by Reaper Miniatures, which I personally found original as I'd never seen one before.

Every segment of the tutorial is filled with information by the artist for you to try and place into your own advancements in a sculpting career. I even at one point thought to myself "That doesn't look too hard". However, that soon evaporates from your mind when you get to details on clothing, facial features and the hands. James even goes on to talk about the art of fold making in clothing, and how it's a completely different art form altogether. From watching how the folds are implemented, and seeing the figure change right in front of you really do start to appreciate why it takes so long to become a Master, which I might add James Van Schaik certainly is.

My only gripe with the video is that the timing of the video seemed slightly out. What I mean by this is that towards the end of the video it came across as a little rushed. The seemed to be a jump from a certain proportion of the miniature being done, to bits added that I'd not witnessed. To their credit though, it was explained that some of the parts weren't filmed as it was too advanced for the tutorial specifications I guess you could say, and that they'd be covered at a later date in a more advanced tutorial.

All-in-all I would certainly recommend this to anyone wishing to either pick up tips on how to sculpt different parts of a miniature; or who is wishing to start sculpting with Green Stuff and learn the basics; or who simply wants to see a master at work. I personally feel that the £20/22 (EUR)/ $30 is well worth it for what you're getting. At the moment the tutorial is only available for download, but there is a DVD on the way as far as I'm aware.

As a final thought, the miniature sculpted in the tutorial is also available for purchase from RAFM Miniatures & Games.

That just about wraps it up for this review, until next time.

-Green Stuff Sculpting

If you would like one of your articles posted here, or know of an article by someone else you think would be of use to others, please e-mail us the links at: greenstuffsculpting@googlemail.com

Doktor von Svartmetall's Not Very Nice Nurgle Clinic

2010-03-22T22:59:00.004Z

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(Original work of Svartmetall)

Doktor von Svartmetall's Not Very Nice Nurgle Clinic - For a long while this tutorial section has been listed within the encyclopaedia of bookmarks that can be found on the browser. Every now and then it is given a good old refresh to see what disgusting and pustule concoctions have been brought upon us.

If you're trying to think of ways to nurglify your army, then look no further than this post, if you can't find some inspiration for nurgle here, I'm not sure you ever will.

-Green Stuff Sculpting

If you would like one of your articles posted here, or know of an article by someone else you think would be of use to others, please e-mail us the links at: greenstuffsculpting@googlemail.com

Conversion Report: Corbania Primes' Going Green

2010-03-22T22:22:00.006Z

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(Original work of Corbania Prime)

Col Corbane over at Corbania Prime has recently dipped his toes into the vast and wonderful world of converting. If you pop on over to his blog and take a sneak peak at his conversions to date I'm sure you'll be rather impressed with what he's produced considering he's new to the game.

Doc Butcher and his patient *cough* have to be my favourite of his models, and definitely worth a look, who knows, these conversions may even inspire you to give your Imperial Guard army a more personalised feel.

-Green Stuff Sculpting

If you would like one of your articles posted here, or know of an article by someone else you think would be of use to others, please e-mail us the links at: greenstuffsculpting@googlemail.com

Conversion Report: Thunderwolves

2010-03-22T09:04:00.008Z

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Space Wolves Grey Blog-spot have post up a nice little article on a few hobbyists who have converted models into a Space Wolves Thunder Wolf, one of which is converted from a Chaos Juggernaught.

They have stated they'll be putting up a tutorial on how to convert your own Juggernaught very soon, so stay tuned for that.

-Green Stuff Sculpting

If you would like one of your articles posted here, or know of an article by someone else you think would be of use to others, please e-mail us the links at: greenstuffsculpting@googlemail.com

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Tutorial - Nurgling Your Rhino

2010-03-21T20:24:00.007Z

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While exploring the wonder that is Youtube for channels I haven't yet subscribed to but may contain videos for future reference, I came across a wonderful method of nurgling a rhino. I'm sure you can use the idea for other such tanks of a nurgle theme or even some terrain pieces, and all you'll need is Green Stuff, a pointy pokie tool and a paint brush tube.

Youtube Channel - Dark Future Apparel

Enjoy!

-Green Stuff Sculpting

How To Use Green Stuff

2010-03-21T18:00:00.006Z

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Green Stuff is made up of two different components, the base which is Yellow and the curing component, which is Blue. If you wish to make a blend that has a longer work time and softer cure, then add more yellow to your mix, if you would like a faster and more hardened cure, add more blue to your mix.

There are also two variations in how Green Stuff is manufactured. The most common form is in the way of strips, which have the two components attached to each other, with a slightly greater proportion of yellow on the ribbon. The other way it is supplied is in two tubes of equal size of each component.

If you’re going to use the ribbon variant for sculpting or converting, you may wish to cut out the middle section of the ribbon that attaches both components. The reason for doing cutting the section out is because where the Blue/Yellow pieces meet the curing process has already taken affect, and if you started to mix your putty in this state you would end up with lump in what should be a smooth mix.

Ribbon Mixing
As stated above, cut away the joining section of the ribbon with a knife (you only need to cut a few millimetre’s either side) so that you take away the cured section, and then cut up the ribbon so have your desired amount of each colour. With damp fingers you will need to knead both parts of the putty together until you have a uniform ‘Green’ coloured mix.

Bar Putty
As the bars are separated from each other there is no need to cut anyway away, and as with the ribbon Green Stuff, you’ll need damp fingers. Take your two bars and cut away the amount of Blue putty you want. If you would like a standard consistency to your putty you will need to cut away a 1.5 ratio of yellow. Basically this means you need 50% more yellow putty to blue putty. Obviously if you need softer or harder putty add more of the particular component required as stated earlier in the article.

Green Stuff has anywhere between a 30 – 60 minute work time depending on consistency, and as a full hardened cure time of between 20 to 24 hours.

It is also advised to use either Vaseline or saliva when working with Green Stuff as it can stick to tools and your skin otherwise as the putty can be quite sticky when mixed.

-Green Stuff Sculpting