In this video, I test reusable Blue Stuff from Green Stuff World by copying an entire miniature. Skip to 08:00 to see the finished product and 08:50 to see it painted. You can follow me on Instagram at / goodmoodgooddude
It helps a lot if you put the first half in the fridge so it get cold and then press the second half (Hot as possible) quickly on the first half this Way they seperate easy
Haha, I did that too mostly to fast things up, also once the second bit of the mold is covering the whole model you can immerse it in cold water so it solidifies a bit faster and has less of a change of fusing with the first bit.
I built a little box out of cheap 3rd party lego and put the molds in it to align better and easier to put pressure on it. Also this coping technique is very useful for minis that can be built in different way and u have extra bits: arms, weapon options ,heads. Just cast the bodies and voila double the units for only a slight increase in price.
Helpful video, your experiences seem to be identical to mine. Heads up using GW stuff, I believe Miniature Hobbyist was issued a cease and desist for using their models in a casting video and had to delete, modify and re-do some of his videos.
Thanks a bunch for the tip! I was thinking of doing a follow up video using the advice people had left me in the comments, and I hadn't even considered the possibility of corporate intervention, which now seems somewhat obvious! I'll be more careful in the future 🙏🙏👍
You said it: result depends on the effort you put in the work of the mould.... And project, and painting, in everything, as a matter of fact! Good job, man!
Hi, a good video there mate. I'm sold on blue stuff for replicating small parts, shield patterns, weapons, goblin torsos or a limb here and there. (And a 15mm tank turret crew hatch lid 👍☺) For even slightly larger items you're fighting time shaping the blue stuff before it cools. One tip is to prime the cup/hot water recepticle first, so holding the heat longer to soften the blue stuff more/prolong it's working time. Another is to dust the first half with talcum powder so as to prevent the adherence of the hot new half to the cooler first half. Some people might use graphite powder, if they have the money for it (and a source of it!)
Ah those are good tips. Now I'm thinking whether you could even do something like put the blue stuff down on a hot plate while you push the bit in to keep in warm for longer. Pre-heating the cup at least is a great idea. I'll have to give the talcum powder a go to as I neither have the money nor a source for graphite powder! Thanks again and good luck hobbying!
Pushing up the blue stuff around the edge of the miniature... oh c'mon why didn't I think of that. I've been failing for weeks due to lots of flash and imprecise edges. Thanks, just that visual tip alone was enough to make a difference!
It depends on the mix of green stuff and milliput. More milliput, then a harder final result. In the case of this one, most of it was pretty hard, but the green stuff gave it a bit of flexibility. For example, the spear/staff could be bent a little rather than snapping, but it's definitely not a level of pliability that you would notice when painting or playing. Perhaps just if you dropped it and it didn't snap. The surfaces are also easy to sand and file. Hope that helps!
Thank you very much for this video. I've been testing this method for some months with pretty good results although some pieces got bulged or warped. Now I know why. Thanks.
Best of luck with your work in the future! I've benefitted a lot from some of the comments more experienced folks have left giving their own tips, so check those out if you haven't already 🙏
They should do. It will slightly depend on the particular putty you've chosen and it's properties, but I'd wager that a milliput/greenstuff mix is easily more robust than 3d printer resin and probably even more robust than casting resin. That's because the green stuff has a bit of give in it. If you just used milliput, the stuff would be rock hard, so it might be stronger or it might be slightly more prone to shattering. I haven't done much testing so can't quite say. In any case, the putty pieces will probably last as many other miniatures, I'd say.
It's been 6 months since you posted this, and I'm really curious about how is your blue Stuff now, regarding the dirt generated from the clay. Has it become an issue?
Good question! I'm glad to say that it hasn't been a problem at all. It's not that hard to clean if there are big parts, and so far I've reused this stuff a lot on many different projects and never had any problems. The stuff does genuinely seem to be indefinitely reusable!
Possibly. I haven't tried that myself. There are some other suggestions in these comments such as putting the first piece in the fridge so the second piece is less likely to warm it back up on contact. I think someone else also suggested some kind of powder-based solution. Good luck!
Your best bet is to use something like the end of a paint brush to make some depressions in the first half. When you lay down the other side, it should go into those depressions too. Then you can use those as keys to line up the two sides. It probably we won't be perfect though.
Thanks man! I'm keen to build and paint this warband but damn, I'm realising I take on way too many side projects! Trying to streamline things at the moment and get back to my main projects 😅
@@TheGoodMood I'm the same way, man. Started a series called, 'Pile o' Shame' where I go through unfinished projects to do a bit more work on them. It's perfect filler content & it allows you to tick off one of those unfinished projects from the list (or at least make some headway on it)
@@TheGoodMood Thanks, man. Kind of you to say, I'm not the skilled painter that you are but hopefully there's a few crafting ideas in there you can make use of, dude
Hey man, good question. I think for the most part it should work just as well. I haven't tried this with any resin pieces yet, let alone FW resin, so I'm not exactly sure. I'd have some of the worries you might have - will the heat of the blue stuff transfer into the resin bit and reshape it? will the resin be too brittle and snap under the pressure? I think for most robust bits like heads, backpacks, pauldrons, and so on, it would be the same as plastic. But I think for more fragile bits, you would need to be careful. For example, if the spear-holding arm of the mini in this video was resin, I'm not sure I'd be confident putting the pressure on it in the moulding process. But then again, it might fine. I suppose my short answer is, yes it should work just as well but caution is advised around fragile bits. You could always try with some of the sprue resin first to get a sense of the strength of the material. Anyway, sorry for the long response. Good luck and don't hesitate to let me know how it goes.
@@TheGoodMood Doing a trial run with the resin sprue’s a good shout; I’ll give that a go. Thanks for the quick and informative reply and Merry Christmas!
looks really amazing in a way, but also really painful process all in all. Is it worth doing all that stuff instead of doing a test model in your unit (that you still can use simple green or what not to remove the paint) ?
Thanks, and I take your point. I guess it's really up to the individual on how they weigh those options. In this case, it was a sculpt that only comes as a single in the Stegadon kit, rather than, say, one Saraus Warrior in a kit that contains 12. Still, why not just see how you go with the paint scheme and then strip the model if you don't like it? That may indeed be easier if you're confident with stripping minis. (In all honesty, I think I might have just used the test model angle in this video so it didn't look like I was advocating for anyone to make forgeries of entire units for games)
Contrary to what many will say, there is always a risk to stripping a model. Even with generally 'safe' options, you can eventually see damage to miniatures or have mixed success in removing the paint depending on the types of paint used and the agent used to remove it and how many 'tests' you've done and had to strip off. It is a little more work than just painting over or stripping, but doesn't take much more time to be honest and isn't much more expensive either. Given that the molds are reusable, indefinitely as far as I can tell, it's technically cheaper in the long run than mass stripping models (ex: buying a second hand, badly painted army on ebay) albeit more work. A test model made of milliput is objectively safer if you wish to preserve your your miniatures, especially when experimenting with conversions and cutting up rather expensive miniatures (Warhammer 40k and Kingdom Death being the two worst offenders in my mind) - Making a copy to screw up on can really save you a lot of money should you make a mistake you aren't able to repair. Not to mention it's other utilities like when a model of your's gets discontinued, but is still legal in the game. In this video there is a lot of cutaway, but with practice you can eliminate a lot of that extra clean up. There's lots of tips on this comments section already. However, the one thing I would say is rather than buy the Greenstuff World's "blue stuff" i would check out amazon for the japanese 'oyumaru' which is the exact same thing, but significantly cheaper. Blue Stuff costs about $13 for 8 bars. I bought "Hinodewashi Oyumaru-kun" on Amazon for the same price, and it comes with 24 bars (3 times as much) in various colours (helpful for organizing your molds) - You can also get a better deal on shipping with amazon than GSW so, that's my two cents.
@@TraceofHatred Thanks a bunch for that considered response. (And also the tip for cheaper alternatives!) Yeah I think I've found that when it comes to putty in general (be it for copies or just sculpting work) I always need less than I think I do. Need to get better at estimating volumes. Thanks again!
Afaik it's not a very good idea unless you also build a DIY vacuum chamber to remove the air bubbles that you will inevitably mix into the resin when mixing it. Check out Evan&Katelyn's resin videos to see it in action, though their scale is much bigger.
@@Miniocre Not sure about the models turning out too big... maybe use less putty? I've never had that particular problem (at least I don't think so), but lining up the two sides of the mould is always a challenge. It sounds like I use the same technique as you though: poking key holes. If you make a frame for the mould--out of, say, lego--then you might have a better chance of getting the two pieces together correctly as there's less space for them to move around into anything other than what the frame permits. I'd be interested to know if you get better results with that approach!
That's a good idea. I tried Vaseline but maybe I should have used more. Someone posted a comment suggesting to put the side already moulded into the freezer so that it doesn't warm up so much when it meets the other side that it fuses together. I'll have to give these methods a go next time!
That's a good question. I had assumed they were identical in performance and only different in branding and superficial properties. I haven't used any myself so I might have to get some to do a comparison. I'd be interested to know if there was a difference in detail
I have both, they are identical in performance. Oyumaru can be bought for SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper on amazon though (approx 1/3 the price), so if you're looking to save money, I recommend Oyumaru.
To be honest, I've done casts where I didn't use any weight at all beyond the force i used pushing the putty into the mould myself. If I do use a weight, I just put a 5kg weight on there because anything smaller just doesn't seem worth it to me. If you try it without any weight and get satisfying results then you can probably just go there. As I said, I think if you spend the time to push the putty into the crevices yourself, the extra probably doesn't add that much, but I haven't done a side-by-side comparison.
just ordered some blue stuff. I'ma start mass producing plasma guns, skull decorations, chains, chain axes and maybe even berzerker heads. I have alot green stuff that I haven't yet used and if everything works as I've planned, I might have to order more. and later a 3d printer, take that GW.
I made a video on this months ago but never uploaded as it just looked crap (the vid, not the mini). I've back filled an entire warhammer quest set from a handful of minis. My tips Make a lego frame fractionally bigger than the mini Try to orient the mini face up in the first bluestuff layer to match up with the minis existing mould lines You want the outer wall to be no thinner than a 1p piece at its thinnest parts to avoid tearing. I tend to use 2 sticks of bluestuff for each half (for the average mini 4 for the bigger guys) Ensure you push the blue right up against the mini in the tight spots Freeze the first layer for 5 mins Put the second layer on and press down, then use a tool (lego again) that matches the hole size to get even pressure across the whole mini. Freeze An optional step for higher quality (though the difference for me was negligible) is to remove your first half and then re apply on the now solid and well pressed second half. This allows the use of even pressure on both sides De mould the original and place the mould halves back together lightly bound with a rubber band, let this sit for a few to avoid any distortion caused by taking the original out. For the putty, less is more, you dont want the putty proud of the mould half When I combine both filled halves (carefully) I ensure they have aligned correctly, bind them up with rubber bands and then "perform cpr" by pressing down 5 or 6 times firmly on each side When de moulding the copy, remove one half. The model will have a sheen, wait for that to fade then pop the second half When freshly removed the mini will still be a little soft, wait an hour to break off any big flakes around the seam, wait a further hour before cleaning the mould line with a craft knife If your careful, you can remove the mini a little earlier and the softish mini can be re-posed. I've only done this a couple of times though. Seems easier with green stuff as you have a bigger window
My first thought would be that I should have used less putty than I did. Despite knowing that less is more, I still used too much. (A problem I have when sculpting too!) Looks like @Mozzytm has some really good recommendations though!
Hey @Mozzytm, it sounds like you should re-film that video! Thanks for taking the time to write out those tips - I'm going to be trying them out the next I time I try something like this. 🙏🙏
@@foudroyant504 the lego frame prevents fractional distortion you can get when theres nothing for the bluestuff to push up against (normally around muscles). I find it helps alignment (as well as using alignment indents) and keeps everything neat. A square mould is also easier to bind with rubber bands or tape while you let it cure
You look at it KOWING It’s an epoxy model. The paint job looks really good, but I know you cAn do better. What? Are you going to be telling people “oh that’s not “real” its an epoxy copy”? If you play. I wish ic old be there and see how man people even notice OR CARE. KEEP GOING, KEEP PAINTING
Perhaps plastic film works? It's thin, cheap and i'm sure it wouldn't melt, it'd just be a question of wether or not it has a noticeable effect on detail.
@@TANDILBLUES Maybe. I think someone in one the earlier comments had suggested putting the first half in the freezer before applying the second half. If I understood them correctly, this would ensure that the hot second half would not reactivate the first half--at least, not as much--because the first layer would need to be warmed up so much from freezer temp. I'm yet to give this a go myself since I haven't been copying many bits lately, but it seems like it would be worth a shot!
I am tempted to try blue stuff to get the extra parts of legs and necks to use the extra bits of the troggoth kit. But It also looks it would be a lot of work to do all the missing parts :_)
Potentially. But I think the more you use this stuff, the better you get at making the moulds and judging how much putty you ought to be using, so it gets quicker the more experience you have. It's probably worth a go once, and then you'll know for sure whether it's worth your time or not. Best of luck!
Hmm I'm not sure as I've never had any PVC figures myself. If there are spare bits in the kit that you would be content to lose, you could always do a test run. Otherwise, I'm not really sure about the material properties of PVC I'm afraid. Good luck hobbying!
@@TheGoodMood PVC miniature are usually found in board games. Some wargames like star wars legion, until the clone wars faction where added, also used PVC miniature. They are softer making it easier to unmold, allowing the miniature to be made in less parts and pre based, 1 or 2 i would say is the average, making it financially viable to assemble them at the factory unlike hard plastic ones. The biggest downside is you can't get miniatures with as much details as the hard plastic ones. After some testing i found that using the Oyumaru on a room temperature PVC mini does cause it to bend to much to get a proper mold of the thin parts like arms or staves. However putting the mini in the freezer makes it as stiff as a hard plastic miniatures fixing the issue. Also in case you haven't tried freezing the Oyumaru yet, it does make it so the 2 halves do not stick to one another. In my testing i got the best result by leaving the first half in the freezer for 40 to 60 minutes, then leaving the two parts at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes at which point the 2 halves often separate on their own. I also found that making a lego casing to make the mold in (like you would with liquid resin molds), then using a lego cube to push on top of the Oyumaru both for making the mold and casting the putty, helps getting finer details in the mold and squeezing the extra epoxy putty out. The lego casing also makes it so you don't need alignment holes and the pressure applied is even on the entire mold reducing the chance of some part of the piece being to squished when recasting. With the lego casing i got the best result by remaking the first half after making the second one. Lastly using modeling clay like fimo is a good way to test how much putty you will need, since it's not self hardening you can mess around with it as long as you need to figure out the perfect quantity.
Not yet, but after seeing Miniature Hobbyist's work on that topic, I'm definitely eager to give it a try! Thankfully I haven't thrown away any sprue lately
@@TheGoodMood ive made copies of spacemarine legs using a silicon mold and it casts ok, considering im not a tournament player and live in the middle of fuck all nowhere i just need them to stand and not break, even if if they look a little iffy but my next step is yhermal plastic. Its not blue stuff but it should be basically same material
@@shadedreaver I'm going to try doing some casting with a silicon mould soon for something I'm building - I might give it a go then! I'd be interested to know if you find any difference between the blue stuff and other brand versions. Good luck with it man
@@TheGoodMood silicon and corn starch miched together makes it so you can handle it without it sticking to your hands , problem being it *gives* since it flexes it warps slightly
I would personally use this stuff for custom made weapons for models. like if you made one out of scrap electronics for an Ork for an example. that way you don't have to worry about law things
IT WORKS, I’ve been doing it for awhile and it makes it even better because i can change weapons, armor, etc. and then with a GOOD paint job they are all that much cooler. Some even look better than THE ‘ORIGINAL EXPENSIVE “ poop. For those of you who dont believe me. DONT GIVE A SHITE, you ARE NO ONE FOR ME TO LIIE TOO. And besides i do mine for me, what others thinks means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
@@TheGoodMood it was definitely one of the best shows I have been to lol. The actual music dance with the dead played wasn't bad but it was abundantly clear that they weren't actually playing, they were just pretending to. Pretty sure one of them was mega hammered cause when he was "playing" the keyboard he was literally falling asleep standing and stumbling everywhere lmao
@@MisbehavedK9 haha oh my god. That's even better (worse) than I expected. Geez. Yeah I was surprised to see that they even did live shows given the sort of music they do. But if you're going to just play your pre-recorded stuff, you should at least go out of your way to make the stage a visually exciting place. Falling asleep at the keyboard... very professional...
Hi and thanks for the comment. Could you specify which step or steps I should remove from my process? I'm always more than happy to make life easier for myself, but, from watching the video you suggested, I can't really see what extra work I'm doing that they are not. I suppose I use a different mix of putties, but I think that comes down to a personal preference for the materials. That being said, it's been a while since I watched my video, so I may very well be incorporating steps I've forgotten! I'd love to know 🙏
