Milliput?

try aves apoxie sculpt

smeagol the vile

I have used milliput for sculpting and I like it, but I am finding it harder to get it at a good price.

I tried to purchase on amazon (I answer surveys and get free 15$ gift cards) and the price was good but the shipping is almost as much as the price and it stacks per item, so 3 Milliput at 5$ comes to 30$ with shipping.

Hi, Smeagol, I know you're in the Philly area, and so I'd advise you first, if you want to use Miliput, don't buy it online, but go to any hobby shop and buy it there.  Even if the retail price for the clay itself is a little higher than what you might find online, you won't have the shipping costs.  Michael's and AC Moore both carry it.  Also, I think there's still a One Stop Hobbies on the Boulevard, above Rhawn Avenue, maybe before you get to the NE Airport.  I pass it on my way into town for the DVSM meetings.  I don't know what your transportation situation is like, but if you don't have a car, you've got city transportation.  Anyway, that's what I'd do.

smeagol the vile

Does anyone use any other kinds of sculpting clay and is easier to get at a reasonable price?

I'll second the tip about Aves' products.  Here is a link to the page in their catalog for their two-part epoxy products:

http://www.avesstudio.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

Now, in the case of Aves putties, I would buy it directly from them, online.  I think there are some internet hobby shops that carry the products, but generally-generally, mind you-it's cheaper to buy it directly from Aves.

Also, Aves putty was originally made as a plumber's putty, if I am not mistaken, and they realized that it could be used as a hobby putty.  I know some sculptors and modelers who buy plumber's putty from hardware stores or plumbing supply houses.  Personally, I have not used a putty made specifically for the building trades, as a modeling putty, so I can't suggest a brand or offer specific experience.  But it is worth looking into.

I've used Miliput, too, the basic grade, not the superfine.  It's OK, but it doesn't keep forever.  I've used Sculpey, which is good to work with, but has to be baked to cure.  That's not a problem in itself, just a little inconvenient.  Michael's and AC Moore both carry Sculpey, too, so if you want to try it, you can find it there, or you should be able to find it at any good hobby store (I don't count Hobbytown as a good hobby store, in that sense; they have a lot of basic materials, but after you move to a more advanced level, you can't find some of the things you want on their shelves).

As an aside, you really should come up to the monthly meetings of the Delaware Valley Scale Modelers (http://www.dvsm.org/).  I think you'd find a lot of good info among our members, generally.  And one of our members gave a talk recently on different putties and their uses, from seam work to sculpting.  We meet on the first Friday of every month, 7:30PM, at Artisan's Hall on the Boulevard.  Next meeting is July 2.

Hope that all helps!

Brad

I eventually got more milliput from some wargaming store's website, was like 4$ for each, I got 4 boxes of it for around or under 25$ so I cant complain about that.

I will give the aves a try sometime in the future, I do want to stray away from the bake to cure putties though... I like to sculpt in layers, do the smaller bits and work off of that, its what I did for my zoidberg sculpt, if I had to go bake every layer I would end up never using the stuff.

What I have started to do to safe materials is get the miliput, roll it into a thin sheet for the thing I want to do then roll it into a hollow tube or ball or whatever shape, let it dry.  Once it's dried Im putting normal kids clay in there to keep it filled and dense without useing a ton of the good clay.