CelluClay Question

Yeah, it shrunk and curled...celluclay is famous for it...

...the way I deal with that tendancy is to mix copious amounts of white glue with it, as this takes care of some of the warping and shrinking tendency...another thing I do is try to pour off as much of the water as possible before laying it down...you might even consider straining it...It should have the look and feel of very thick oatmeal when it is right...

...you should never cover the base while it is drying as this just traps the moisture that is trying to evaporate...I also usually lay down something on the base for the clay to "bite" into...I use empty sprue trees as sort of a re-bar for it to "grab" onto...this also helps w/ curling...  

What Manny said.. Especially the glue part...  Plus, one-inch thick Celluclay is pretty thick, lol.. It works best if you build it up in 1/4 to 1/2-inch thicknesses... If you have terrain that needs that height, it's best to build it up from underneath with blocks and such, and cover it with plaster-soaked cloth then apply the C-clay over it...

After the C-Clay is mixed, I always put it in a plastic bag, nip a small hole in it,  and squeeze as much water out as I can through the hole... Then, I use a blow-dryer and paper towels to wick off even more after it's applied to the terrain..

Also, plastic requires a solvent based or chemical glue (palstic cement, super glue or epoxy) . The glues in Celluclay are water based, even with a ton of white glue, it will not adhere well to plastic. I use Cellucly on just about every figure/dio base and never have any problem with liftring or warping.

I put the amount of Celluclay I'm going to need in a container. Next, I add some railroad ballast or woody turf material to give it texture. I then squirt in some brown acrylic craft paint and a big dollop of white glue. I add only enough water to moisten this  mixture so it looks like really thick oatmeal. It feels about as moist as the clay we played with as kids. The base has been prepared by drilling a bunch of 1/8 inch holes. Any countours have been built up with styrofoam. I then spread the mixture over this, just deep enough to smooth out the countours and cover the base and give it an organic feel. I finally press in and blend any rocks/bouders/tree stumps. While it's moist, I'll do any touch up painting where the paint may not have blended  as well. I don't even seal the wood. Leaving it natural with the holes gives the Celluclay mixture more to bite into.

I've found, too, that I can't try to force it to dry, by putting it in an area of higher temperature (like outside in the sun, or in an oven on warm).  Forcing the drying time has always led to some curling or-sorry, George!--shrinkage.  I get the mix as dry as possible, and let it dry at its own pace.

Regards,

Brad

It's probably worth it to throw this tip into this thread, too, and I think it's courtesy of Hammer:  if you can find an old blender, use that to mix your Celluclay.  You can get a good uniform consistency.  I've been keeping my eye open for one at yard sales and flea markets.

Regards,

Brad