Judging by our inbox, the world of epoxy modelling putty can be confusing. One of the most frequent enquiries we get is to explain the difference between the various model making and sculpting putties available and which one is most suitable for a specific application.
Green Stuff, Magic Sculp, Geomfix, Milliput… there are a lot of options. The rather unhelpful answer is that most of the time, choosing an epoxy modelling putty comes down to personal preference. Some will find the stickiness of Green Stuff easier to work with; others the smooth texture of Magic Sculp.
It is rather like pizza toppings. Everyone has their favourite and there really is no wrong or right answer…. even pineapple is acceptable. Before we end up talking too much about pizza and I end up going to Dominos for lunch, let us get back to the subject at hand – model making putty.
Whilst a lot depends on which putty you get along with best, there are some differences between epoxy modelling putties that you can take into consideration when deciding on your sculpting medium of choice.
Welcome to the SylCreate guide to selecting the right model making putty.
Green Stuff
Green Stuff is often the preferred epoxy putty of wargamers. It is flexible and gives a fine cut, making it ideal for adding intricate details to goblins, orcs, and other fantasy creatures.
For highly-detailed Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy work, it is perfect. Some of the world’s leading model makers such as The Goblin Master Kevin Adams and Alan and Michael Perry of Perry Miniatures are Green Stuff devotees.
When working with Green Stuff, it is noticeable just how sticky the putty is. It can take some getting used to. This stickiness allows the cured putty to retain a degree of flexibility, enabling the user to bend it into shape without it breaking.
These elastic properties make Green Stuff popular with scale model enthusiasts and professionals as well as wargamers. Whilst scale model makers will use a firmer epoxy modelling putty like Magic Sculp for initial sculpting or conversions, more detailed items can be made with Green Stuff, bent and then glued onto the other cured putty.
Award-winning AFV modeller David Parker deploys this technique for adding detailed insignia and supporting accessories such as belts and hair to his tank crew.
Green Stuff comes in two formats; a reel and a stick. The reel is pre-formatted with the resin and the hardener combined. To use, you simply cut off the amount of putty required and mix it together until it turns green.
One downside of the reel format is it does not allow the user much control over the mixing ratio of Green Stuff. That is not the case with the stick, where the resin and the hardener are separate portions.
The recommended mix of Green Stuff is 50-50, but in more specialist applications there are advantages to be had from adjusting these quantities. Professional model makers will sometimes go as far as to use four or five parts yellow to one part of blue hardener.
Less hardener means a longer curing time than the standard of 90 minutes to 1 hour and a much lighter consistency of putty, allowing for more time to work with a material capable of holding even more detail.
For more guidance on using Green Stuff, then Kneadatite have written a handy guide on their website with everything you could ever want to know about using the putty.
Magic Sculp
Magic Sculp has a finer texture and a softer consistency than Green Stuff, making it easier to sculpt in larger projects.
It is much more clay-like and once cured, it can be sanded, carved, painted… you could even attack it with a grinding tool and it would not break or lose shape.
Whereas Green Stuff is used mainly by wargamers, Magic Sculp has multiple uses. It is popular in the scale model world for easily converting existing models, gap filling and sculpting new models and accessories.
Sculptors like it because of how easy it is to carve and the smooth finish it provides. They use it to repair and restore existing pieces as well as for creating new pieces.
In one of our favourite applications, it has even been combined with brick dust to create a coloured putty which seamlessly repaired a large hole in a brick wall.
Another reason Magic Sculp is popular for larger projects is its work time. At room temperature, it will not cure for two to three hours, offering much longer for model makers and sculptors to carve and shape the putty in larger projects.
Geomfix Original A+B Epoxy Modelling Putty
The best way to describe Geomfix Original A+B is as a cross between Green Stuff and Magic Sculp.
It can hold the finest of details like Green Stuff, allowing it to be used for intricate work. At the same time, it has a tough surface similar to Magic Sculp for building up bulk models and use in restoration work.
Geomfix’s secret is that it is ceramic filled. This allows it to set harder than most other epoxy modelling putties, giving it a ceramic feel which makes it perfect for restoring china and other materials.
The list of users of Geomfix Original is pretty extensive. Scale model makers, wargamers, arts and crafts enthusiasts, china restorers, doll repairers and jewellery designers all use it.
Away from our world of creativity, a super-strength, industrial version of the epoxy putty known as Sylmasta AB is used in maintenance and repair tasks.
If you are unsure whether Green Stuff or Magic Sculp are the epoxy modelling putty for you, then Geomfix is a versatile, happy-medium between the two.
It has a two hour work time which can be accelerated using heat, is available in bulk quantities for the biggest projects and comes in three colours – standard white, jet black and silver grey.
Geomfix Coloured Epoxy Modelling Putty
The colour options do not end there. Geomfix is also available in a further 25 colours which match Swarovski crystals.
Originally, Geomfix Coloured was manufactured as a jewellery epoxy putty but the concept quickly grew into other areas including antique restoration, large design projects, and creating seasonal items sich as Christmas crafts and decorations.
Geomfix Coloured is made-to-order on-site by SylCreate. As well as the standard 25 colours, our technicians can customise an epoxy modelling putty to a specific colour.
When Donald Trump was in the White House, we were even asked by one customer to produce a Trump-coloured epoxy putty. The result was surprisingly accurate – although we never did ask what the putty was for…
Milliput
Millliput have been manufacturing epoxy modelling putties from their base in Wales since 1968, earning a deserved reputation as one of the best in the business.
All Milliput putties follow the same format – they come in two parts, 56.7gm of resin and 56.7gm of hardener. Mix the two together and off you go, whether your application is repairing a cracked toilet, fixing a leaking radiator, woodturning, or sculpting coal for a model railway.
There are six colours of Milliput available. Standard sets to a yellow-grey with the others doing exactly what they say on the tin: Silver-Grey, Superfine White, Black, Terracotta and Turquoise Blue.
Because Milliput is as much of a repair putty as it is a model making epoxy, it is not great at holding the finer details which most scale model or wargamers require when sculpting.
Where Milliput is good is in price – it is by far the cheapest epoxy putty around, making it a popular choice when it comes to packing out the body of large-scale models.
Surprisingly few model makers seem to know this, but you can mix modelling putties together to combine their properties. It is here where Milliput shows its worth.
For larger model making projects in which greater quantities of putty are required, Milliput can provide bulk in a more cost-effective manner.
Mix it with Green Stuff and you create a putty which can be used to build up a model and offers a degree of Green Stuff’s flexibility and ability to hold intricate details.
You can find out more about the benefits of mixing modelling putties in this article we wrote on the subject.
Superfast Wood Stick
Last but by no means least on our list is Superfast Wood Stick, an epoxy putty specially formulated for wood repair and restoration.
The putty is wood-filled and cures to the colour of wood, allowing it to be used as a damage filler. It repairs fences, furniture and wooden sculptures and the cured putty even floats.
Since bringing it into the SylCreate range, we have seen customers start to use it to carve brand new wood-like ornaments and creations.
Superfast Epoxy Putties do not stop with wood, either. There are specialist putties for the repair of other materials including concrete, which we have recommended to several customers carrying out restoration on stone materials.
If you have any projects completed using our modelling putties which you would like to share with us, then please email photos and a write-up to sales@sylmasta.com.
Thank you for the information but what i would like some advice on is the best way to make a 1/43 scale model car. I have tried to make a model with your Magic Sculp, I cannot say it was a success. As I am sure you will understand the body has to be hollow, I have tried a bread an butter construction but it is extremely fiddly to make sections with Magic Sculp
Your advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Bob Chisholm
Hi Bob. If you need a hollow body, we would recommend using a lump of Magic Sculp to create a solid version of the car first. You could then make a mould of the car and press Magic Sculp against the walls of the mould. Once the Magic Sculp cures, that would give you a hollow body. Alternatively, you could make each part of the car in turn, using wire armatures for support, and allow the putty to set slightly before adding details. Hope this is of some help to you.
I should like to know please, are there any side effects from using any of these products? Should you wear gloves?
Hi Ken. There are no side effects to any of these products, but we do advise wearing gloves to use them.
Hullo. I’m about to start my first project and like to know if any of the epoxy modelling products bond easily and strongly to other materials such as wood, fabric or glass? Or do they have to cure and then be attached with glue? Thanks!
Hi Sophie. Thanks for the enquiry. Our Geomfix putty will definitely bond to wood whilst it cures. It also bonds to plastic, metal, ceramic, glass, stone, concrete and other rigid materials.
We have never been asked about fabric before, so the awkward answer is we do not know! It should bond, depending on the open weave of the fabric. It is something you would need to test though – and if you do, we would love to see the results. Geomfix can definitely be glued to all materials fabric once cured.
Would you recommend using this type of putty to enable headlight moulds to be taken to allow protectors to be made?
If this can be recommended, how much material would I need to enable a size of approx
2 square feet area.
Hi Adrian. Car companies have used Geomfix Original in the past to take moulds of parts, so this should work. At a rough calculation, it would take around 10kg of putty to cover a 2 square feet area.
Have you compared any of this to Smooth On two part epoxy? I’ve used this on a car model, and really like that it sticks to itself really well (you do have to make sure the surface is clean), it dries hard, but doesn’t have sand in it so it doesn’t dull your carving tools. It is completely inert once cured.
The downsides are that it takes about 8 hours to fully cure so any time you need to add more, it means that you have to leave your creation alone until it cures. I’d prefer something more like an hour.
Hi Geoffrey. Putties that cure in an hour are rare. You can get very fast working putties (between 5 and 25 minutes, mainly for industrial users making repairs). The next quickest is two hours, like with Geomfix Original. Geomfix does bond very strongly with anything and it does not have sand in it either.
hello,
I have a question…..please would you be able to tell me once opened, what is the shelf life of the Magic Sculp? I have just stumbled upon this product and am very keen to use it in projects as it look amazing but am completely in the dark as to how long it would last……is it a once opened use as quick as you can product or can you keep it for several months/years?
Hi Sarah. Magic Sculp has an overall shelf life of 18 months from date of manufacturer. It will begin to harden after opening and how long it keeps once opened is dependent on where it is being stored, temperature, etc. Generally speaking, if you put unused Magic Sculp back in its container than it should be usable for several months.