Green Stuff advice

[Commisar Necros]

So I've been using green stuff for filling gaps and stuff for a bit, but I'm recently trying to do more. One of my things I'm trying is to make mechadendrites for my tech priest(I want to make every auxiliary in cadain armor) and my main question is this; How do I get a good, even, cylinder with green stuff. Ive tried rolling it, but it seems to split. I wrapped it around a paperclip to give it better shape and support, and its come out lumpy. Should I give it some more time to set before I start working it? And would it be easier to file a lumpy arm down rather than get it perfect before curing?

 

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

[Arkhanist]

The way to do it is to roll the greenstuff between two hard flat surfaces; a bit of water helps reduce stickiness. I used to use an old metal mousepad and a CD.
 
With greenstuff in general, cut off what you need from the strip of both colours, then cut off and discard the little bit where the two strips sit together - it will already be partly cured and can lead to lumps. Use damp fingers to mix well so it sticks to itself, not you. Let it rest after mixing for 15 minutes or so to cure a little - this will make it less sticky and easier to work with. You've got an hour to 90 mins of working time with greenstuff, so you should still have plenty of time.
 
For very nice tentacles/mechandrites, you can use a tentacle maker, such as greenstuff world's one, or you can 3d print some if you have access to a printer.
 
The way it works is you make the even tube of greenstuff first (you can use the back, flat side of the tentacle maker), then roll it between the plates so it adds a regular texture to the tube.
 

 
 
 
 

And would it be easier to file a lumpy arm down rather than get it perfect before curing?

 
Greenstuff isn't the easiest putty to file once it hardens (it's still a tiny bit flexible), but it can be done. Other putties like magic sculpt can be easier. Ideally though, it's better to make a good tentacle in the first place that needs minimal cleanup.

Edited June 20, 2021 by Arkhanist

[Kaiju Soze]

I can entirely recommend the green stuff roller, I used it for all the mechatendrils on my Warpsmith (with some 0.8mm copper wire in the middle for strength/stability).

 

Allow me to reiterate:

• don't try working with greenstuff straight away; give it about 30 minutes and you'll have a much easier time.
• if any bits of the blue/yellow aren't mixing, pull them out so they don't mess up the mixed greenstuff.
• keep a dish of water handy and keep your fingers and tools damp so the greenstuff doesn't stick.
• for simple tubes, you can roll out a rough sausage of green stuff, place it between two flat surfaces, then slide the top surface back and forth as evenly as you can manage.  You might want to make sure the surfaces are quite rigid for best results (I use the back side of the plates that came with the roller shown above).
• If one end of the tube is thicker than the other, put more pressure on that end to even it out.
• I've heard of people carving grooves into greenstuff tubes using a comb, which might work for you.

Edited June 20, 2021 by Kaiju Soze

[space wolf]

Some other things you may want to consider:

 

+  Get yourself some "color shapers" or "clay shapers." They come in soft, and firm.  The firm ones are more expensive, but tend to be better for general use.  The nice thing about these, is GS has a really hard time sticking to them, making sculpting and shape making much easier.

 

+  Get yourself some Milliput.  This stuff is great if you do a 50/50 mix with GS.  It will make it a little bit softer to work with, which can be a pain, but it is much easier to sculpt hard/sharp edges, and it dries a bit harder.  

[wulfenkind]

I bought one of them green stuff xl roller thingies since ill be using a lot of them with my IW conversions and I'm even contemplating going the nurgle route when im done with IW. I had the same question a few weeks ago. The green stuff guys roller got mentioned at the local hobby store, then the owner said he made his with some plasticard and wooden food skewers glued to it for top and bottom. Not tried his last tip, but should work.