Green Stuff

[Grimfoe]

So I was trolling around Darkseer's blog the other day and I came across a post by "Big Jim."

 

Big Jim made some Great Company Badges from green stuff that looked great. There was a tutorial mentioned in the blog, but it wasn't completed. I contacted Darkseer, and he informed me that Big Jim is no more. ^_^

 

(No, he's not dead, just isn't posting anymore)

 

Here's the problem. I really liked the badges and I know nothing about GS. I looked online for similar tutorials, but I was unimpressed. I wanted a "cookie cutter" approach to the GS. I figure that is the best way to be uniform in thickness and size.

 

Then I got an idea. One can easily get custom made stamps made. I went to Staples and they can make me a stamp from my own artwork in about 7-10 days for only $12.99. I think this will work, but I wanted to ask some of you. If I make up a stamp design is there any reason I can't use a rubber stamp to press onto flattened GS and then cut out badges from that? Once I cut them I'll press them onto shoulder badges and call it a day.

 

 

What do you think? Will it work?

 

Thanks.

[Dahli Llama]

Sounds interesting.

 

Definitely post the results if you try this out.

[Growler67]

Depends on whether your "stamp" is a positive or a negative impression. Greenstuff isn't like clay or other such and easily pressed media because of it's firmness. I saw a tutorial a while nack but I cannot remember which forum I saw it on. It was on how to make and use a negative mod out of GS. Then after it is fully cured, apply a miniscule amount of vegetable oil or something similar as a release agent and just fill the mold with the apprpriate amount of GS to make the part. Remove the part from the mold and let it cure on some waxpaper and make another and so on. Purirty Seals, Shoulder Pauldron Emblems and vehicle iconography or whatever else you want. Whatever size you want as well.

 

Those rubber mold kits for terrain using plaster are now being used for people with a lack of GS prowess to texture things like fur and scales on capes and cloaks. I suppose this could be a similar kind of application. Pics when you decide and show off the results.

[LUPUS FIDELIS]

If you're gonna cast a good amount of pieces I'd seriously recommend going with RTV (room temperature vulcanizing rubber) and pouring resin. You can turn a piece out every fifteen minutes or so with a much better result than green stuff. I'd be happy to explain more if you're interested.

[Grimfoe]

I'm interested.

 

Would you prefer to exchange email or just pm.

 

I really appreciate the info. This is all very new to me.

 

Thanks.

[LUPUS FIDELIS]

Even an idiot can pour resin (I'm living proof). Feel free to get ahold of me however you can. I'm pretty new to the forum so I'm not sure if you can see my Email addy or not. If there's enough interest I'll take some pictures and do a thread on it. (as soon as I figure out how lol)

[Tsuro]

I think it's a good idea, although the "cookie cutter" technique may not be the best; When green stuff is first mixed it's extremely sticky and may lift with the stamp (although this can be worked around by lubricating the stamp), and if you wait for it too cure the badge'll be deformed slightly when the edge of the stamp moves through it.

My instinct would be to get a stamp made exactly as you want the finished badge to look like (that way they've done all the fiddly stuff for you) and then use this stamp to make a GS mold. It adds another stage to the process, and you don't actually need the Stamp afterwards (save to make more molds or replace one that's wearing out), but I've had good experience with GS molds, they're simple and I know they work.

(I used them to produce the skulls, kneepad, chain and apothecary bits on this Wolf Priest)

In fact, I think I'll wander down to staples and see if the UK branches offer a similar service. It'd save me the effort of sculpting the Great Company markings by hand (which I've not been looking forward to).

[Grimfoe]

That's interesting. I think the stamps will only be good for an outline, as they don't have any real depth to them. The 3D images you've sculpted are much more detailed than what I had in mind. (They look great, btw)

 

I'm going to look into this a little more.

 

Thanks.

[the Fell Hand]

If you do the stamp route, do yourself a favor and make your "artwork" tons of the things you want, so each stamp produces a bunch of bits. Man you gave me like 20 ideas with your post, thanks and let us know how it works!

[MaveriK]

when i was younger i worked at this laser engraving place. the laser printer would burn and cut on allot of things like wood, resin, marble, stone, plastic. Depending on the artwork, it doesn't take long to do, because i've done something similar in the past, and it's really not that expensive. you can have a perfect cut-out pieces of whatever materials you want. my best friend is an architect and she just bought herself a 3D printer.

i was actually thinking of doing some nice SW stuff as i have background on graphic design. but i agree with the GS being sticky, you need to lubricate your stamp. keep us posted and good luck!

[Grimfoe]

OMG! I'm an engineer, but I'm a civil engineer, so I only play in the dirt. I've never even heard of a 3D printer.

 

 

That is the COOLEST thing I've ever seen.

[Nrthstar]

HP has one too, I've often dreamed of the possibilities. Imagine being able to print your own combi weapons, axes, shoulders, torsos...........

[Barn]

Yeah 3D printing will make things alot easier in the long run. If you can design something in 3D yourself, its extremly cheap to get it printed.

[MaveriK]

@Grimfoe, LOL I know about the love-hate relationship between Architects and Engineers. It's probably a reason why 3D printers is new, news for you haha. I got to play with it over the weekend! my bestfriend builds her arch models with it. So I know the basics on how-to. I'll post some 40K/SW related pics of what I've made from it when I have the time.

[MaveriK]

okay so I guess the stuff I printed aren't 40K related LOL but here is a perfect example of what a 3D printer can do. http://www.flickr.com/photos/creative_tools/4427009830/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/vmax137/535234088/ Now if only I can play with the thing for a weekend :D

[Grimfoe]

Super cool. I looks as though the resolution? might not be quite high enough to replace sculptors yet. How much does it cost to run this thing? Are prints fairly inexpensive once you get past the cost of the machine?

[MaveriK]

Super cool. I looks as though the resolution? might not be quite high enough to replace sculptors yet. How much does it cost to run this thing? Are prints fairly inexpensive once you get past the cost of the machine?

I dunno how much it cost to run it? as mentioned earlier, it's my best friend's printer... so it's free for me. The resolution is actually really nice, those URL pictures don't do it justice. It's really smooth and clean, no mold lines to worry about. Allot of design firms use 3D printers for their car concepts, yachts, buildings, collectable vinyl toys. It's the same plastic material that you can see used at schools that have those skeletons at biology class. I guess it just comes down to how well you know how to do 3D graphics. The more you know how to do 3D, the better the detail. When I have time with the machine, I'll do up some combi-weapons, bolters and swords.

[LUPUS FIDELIS]

Add me to the jealous list Maverick. Holy cow, the possibilities!

[MaveriK]

LOL I know hey? my 3D is sub-par.. but I was thinking of doing the Space Wolf chapter banner! it's going to be hard, especially with the detail and getting the right size. Still nothing beats sculpting from hand! its like drawing on paper, compared to drawing on the computer. Both have their advantages, but both should be equally respected.

[Barn]

Paulson Games is moving into 3D design/printing/casting. You can see weapon packs in thier 3D image form on the website.

[Forté]

I think it's a good idea, although the "cookie cutter" technique may not be the best; When green stuff is first mixed it's extremely sticky and may lift with the stamp (although this can be worked around by lubricating the stamp), and if you wait for it too cure the badge'll be deformed slightly when the edge of the stamp moves through it.

My instinct would be to get a stamp made exactly as you want the finished badge to look like (that way they've done all the fiddly stuff for you) and then use this stamp to make a GS mold. It adds another stage to the process, and you don't actually need the Stamp afterwards (save to make more molds or replace one that's wearing out), but I've had good experience with GS molds, they're simple and I know they work.

(I used them to produce the skulls, kneepad, chain and apothecary bits on this Wolf Priest)

In fact, I think I'll wander down to staples and see if the UK branches offer a similar service. It'd save me the effort of sculpting the Great Company markings by hand (which I've not been looking forward to).

wow and how exactly? Are all those from a GS mold? Even with all the detail.

[Growler67]

Here is the first of a 3 part series on making GS Molds (basics):

You can easily find the follow on videos in the queue on the right.

[Forté]

Here is the first of a 3 part series on making GS Molds (basics):

You can easily find the follow on videos in the queue on the right.

Nice one

[LUPUS FIDELIS]

Hey, who cares how you do it, any time you can have an idea and transition that to a real piece, it's creativity and art.

[Tsuro]

Here is the first of a 3 part series on making GS Molds (basics):

You can easily find the follow on videos in the queue on the right.

 

yeah, that's pretty much all there is to it.

 

If you're after small surface detail you just push the GS directly over the detail rather than building a cradle. Since I like my molds nice and small (to save waste on GS and also make it easier to remove the cast piece; GS is flexible) I push some 'polymorph*' over the GS when it's set and still on the model - this way I get a nice hard shell to keep the mold in place so it won't deform when I'm using it, possibly harming the clarity of the cast.

 

When I'm making the relief I use my sculpting tool to smooth the GS down to the 'level' of the original armour - that way the relief is nice and thin and theres no awkward trimming to stop it standing too proud on the model. (also saves on GS - no point in making a perfect copy of half a figure for that single small section)

 

I also use vegetable oil as the lubricant - but that's only because theres always some lying around and by this point it's what I'm used to. It can get messy and it needs washing off though or nothing will paint or stick together; but I know it works so whatever.

 

 

*this is the brand name for a plastic with an extremely low fusing temperature (60°C) - just add boiling water and it becomes malleable. It's a thermoplastic so you can reuse it over and over again.

 

Are all those from a GS mold? Even with all the detail.

 

The wings had to be hand sculpted because they had to be the right right size/shape to look good on the belt/leg (you can see the blue lines I marked out for them), and the hammer was an awful cast (it was from a two-part mold, and they can be tricky if you don't make them well. Which I didn't that time.) so needed a lot of touching up. But otherwise it's all push molds.

 

I tried using a mold for the teeth on the respirator, but it was simply too fiddly so I had to do them my self. (And I'm glad I did - they came out really well in the end. I'd got a desk magnifying glass by that point and it was an enormous help)