What is sculpting? The American Heritage Dictionary defines sculpting as "To shape, mold, or fashion especially with artistry or precision." For gamers and modelers, it means you’ll likely be creating something from scratch, or converting something to give it a new shape. The purpose of this article is exposure to the different physical components of miniatures sculpting and to create a primer for future sculpting articles.

Epoxy Putty

Typically miniature sculpting is done with epoxy putty, although it can also be done with polymer clay. For the purpose of this article we will be limited to epoxy putties. Epoxy putty is a two part compound with two relatively inert halves that react with one another when mixed to form a hard, solid mass, and can be used for creating and maintaining shapes without the need of an outside heat source. In English, it’s a compound with two parts that you mix together, and it will harden naturally over time. The advantage for gamers and modelers is that it doesn’t require an additional heat source (like baking clay in an oven), so shapes can be made with relative ease, and that it can stand up to both the casting process and to normal wear and tear.

There are many types of epoxy putty that can be used for sculpting. The following are commonly used:

Kneadatite Blue-Yellow (a.k.a. Green Stuff):
This is the most common putty used. It cures solid, but retains a little flexibility, much like a hard rubber. It is excellent for making organic shapes, but does not hold well for sharp edges. Green Stuff can easily be cut once cured, but is difficult to sand or file.

Kneadatite Brown-Aluminum (a.k.a. Brown Stuff):
This is a "hard" putty that combines a bit of flexibility with the ability to be sanded and filed into sharp edges. It is often used for making mechanical and other metal parts. It can also be mixed with Green Stuff to add some stiffness to the putty while maintaining greater flexibility.

Apoxie Sculpt:
This is a self-hardening synthetic clay that combines the features and benefits of clay with those of epoxies. It initially mixes very soft and has a much longer working time than other putties. It is typically very soft for the first hour, pliable for the second and third, and then becomes more rigid after that. Once cured it is rock solid, and takes sanding and filing very well. It can be mixed with Green Stuff to extend the working time of the putty and give it more rigidity.

Milliput:
Epoxy putty that cures rock hard. Once fully cured Milliput can be machined, drilled, tapped, turned, filed, sawn, sanded. It can also tend to be brittle, which makes it excellent for projects that involve broken stones or pavement.

Mixing Epoxy Putty and Cure Time

Mixing epoxy putty is very simple. First, use a sharp knife to cut off equal amounts of both parts of the putty. Make sure your knife is lubricated because even unmixed the putty components will stick to the tool. Straight water is fine for this.

Note for the above picture: I buy larger quantities of Green Stuff available as a rod shape, and store it in small resealable containers. The blobs shown above are those rods over time.

Next, take the equal portions, and knead them together with your fingers. Your hands should be clean since any dirt, oil, or other debris will get mixed into the putty. Make sure your fingers are well lubricated as well, since putty will definitely stick. Water, again, works just fine. As the two colors combine you’ll notice a marbling effect with the color. Keep kneading the putty because you want that color to change and become uniform. An example is mixing the Blue-Yellow epoxy thoroughly to have a solid green putty (hence Green Stuff). Be sure to knead and squeeze thoroughly, working out any possible air bubbles or water bubbles.

After mixing the putty will be soft and pliable. You will have about 20-30 minutes where it is very soft. This is a good time for basic shapes. After the first 20 minutes the putty will start showing more rubbery characteristics and begin to harden. Most epoxy putties will have about 1-1.5 hours of working time before it is too hard to work anymore. Epoxy putty will typically cure fully in about 24 hours.

Mixing enough to be about the size of a pea is a good start and will provide you with plenty of putty for most projects.

WARNING: Some people have an adverse reaction with putty contacting skin. If you notice a problem, wear rubber gloves while sculpting.