Easy to mold putty?

JimLo

Thanks. I was serious because I don’t have baby powder. 

Heh, no sweat, just making sure! Yeah, the next time you go to the grocery store, or if there's a pharmacy near you (eg, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreen's, etc), I'd pick up a bottle of talcum powder.  It'll last your lifetime, as far as hobby uses go. 

I do metal casting, toy soldiers, using silicon rubber molds.  I use talcum powder as a parting agent before pouring. I dust the mold cavity with the powder, and it helps make it easier to get the pieces out (with metal molds, you use soot-hold the mold over a candle flame).

JimLo

Thanks. Would flour work too? 

I don't know if you're kidding, but to give a serious reply, no, I would not use flour.  It'd probably be rendered inert, mixed in with the putty, but I wouldn't want any chance that it could absorb moisture and promote mold.  I would avoid using food products altogether.

I forgot about the different grades of Milliput.  The Super Fine White is what I'm using right now.

I use Aves Apoxie Sculpt, too, though I started out with Milliput, when I wanted to learn to work with 2-part epoxy putties.  Both products are good, but do realize when comparing that there are different grades.  Milliput's basic putty is somewhat grainier than Apoxie Sculpt's basic grade, but Milliput makes finer grades.

I've used ApoxieSculpt as well.   Mix a bit of baby powder into mix,  spread a bit on some wax paper as you roll the sheet of the stuff.   Like you're rolling out some pie dough.   You can roll it quite thin,  cut it into sheets or strips. The putty can be tooled with a paint brush handle or edge of a steel ruler to make surface texture like waffling on sound deadening blankets.  Sheets can be draped over a part of the model to make a tarp. Strips can be draped seat belts, equipment straps, or cordage.

I once watched Jef Verswyvel, former patternmaker for Squadron, make a rolled sleeping bag in 1:35 scale.    He rolled out a powdered sheet of putty to less than 1/16" thick and cut it to size.  He rolled the sheet up, making sure the ends showed in a spiral.  Sort of like a jelly roll.   He then tooled indentations and wrinkles in the middle  where the bag would be tied.   To finish it off he rolled out some fine snakes of putty, the thickness of a thread,  wrapped it around, and finished it with what looked like  a knot.  He also made some duffel bags and similar items

The powder helps cut down on the stickiness and allows you time to tool the putty.  Wet the tools to help prevent the putty from sticking to them and to make shaping easier.

I like Apoxie Sclupt

https://avesstudio.com/shop/apoxie-sculpt/

I find it a bit less "stiff" than milliput and finer grain. As with millput it can be brushed with water to smooth it out. When I dont use it I store it in the refrig to extend its life.

No problem.  After you knead it with your fingers to mix the two components, what I usually do is just use a dish wand and clean it off my fingers so I don't end up accidentally transferring it to places I didn't want to transfer it to.  Cleans up really easily before it cures.

Thanks!

That's exactly what I need. Slow cure and not a sticky mess. I will order now. 

Milliput.  Its a firm, two-part putty that is easy to mold and sculpt to whatever shape you want, with a fairly long working time of about 30 minutes.  One of the really cool things about it is that it can be smoothed out with a damp q-tip as it is water-soluble until it cures.  It cures fully in about 24 hours, has an incredibly strong bond with the surrounding plastic, and can't be damaged or accidentally removed later by water like other water-soluble putties can be.  I have actually used it to repair edges of parts that I accidentally removed good plastic from while trimming flash, and those repairs are completely invisble under paint.

I used it on this glareshield for the Su-25 project I'm busy with right now.  Modified the glareshield to make it like that of a Ukrainian M1 model, and needed an extra canvas cover, which I sculpted out of Milliput.  Here's a couple of pics to show before and after.