Super Sculpey or Super Sculpey FIRM?

[JOATRASH FX]

Hey gang,

Need a piece of advice from you sculpting pros. I'm about to order some Super Sculpey to try my hand at sculpting armor for batman's new suit in The Dark Knight.



My question is if it's worth getting the newer FIRM type of Super Sculpey for doing "hard" armor-type projects? (I'll cost me maybe 25% more.) Is it easier to work with doing such pieces?



I am a sculpting novice... having mainly done organic stuff before... monster masks and such... and have not been very discriminating in which types of clay I have used. Since I'm going to try and make this nice and sharp I want to be a little more thorough. I'll be doing (at least the first) pieces on a standing half-mannequin.

(Mods: I put this in the prop forum instead of costuming since it'll reach the eyes of a lot more knowledgeable sculpters.)

Cheers guys!

 

[Too Much Garlic]

For larger things and where it needs to keep it's shape easier while working on it I'd recommend the FIRM, as the regular is just soft and too easy to mess up.

Also... where are you buying from? Last I checked both regular and firm cost the same.

Ah... need to read before replying. Well... for full size I would probably not use sculpey at all...

 

[coofunkcurly]

I wouldn't recommend Sculpey either. It can get kinda expensive for larger projects.

 

[Contec]

Check out the IRON MAN Armor thread for tips on what to use.
Sculpey is better to use if you are going to make a statue (small one ) of batman, because you need to fit the parts in a owen to harden it.

/Conny

 

[JOATRASH FX]

I'll be sculpting 1:1 for a full suit/costume. Will be getting it locally. At most places it DOES indeed cost about the same but I found a place that has a great discount on the regular if you but lots... but really, I WILL go with the better option even if it costs more cause I really want to minimize the headache with this project, haha. (Before I've just gone with the cheapest non-sulfur-based option.)

What would you use besides sculpey? Don't know if you've seen the TDK suit, but it's made up of lots of small separate plates, not large all-covering pieces:

I'll have a look at the Iron Man thread as well.
(Thanks to the Wackychimp for hosting the pic!)

For larger things and where it needs to keep it's shape easier while working on it I'd recommend the FIRM, as the regular is just soft and too easy to mess up.

Also... where are you buying from? Last I checked both regular and firm cost the same.

Ah... need to read before replying. Well... for full size I would probably not use sculpey at all...

 

[Too Much Garlic]

For something like that I'd probably go with some kind of craft foam or whatever miniature aircraft builders use to make the prototypes. You just get the approx size and shape and then start carving away.

Are you a builder-upper or a carve-away kinda guy? Depends greatly on the material you should choose to work with.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Well, for props I usually use Styrene, wood or metal (like when I did my Jubel Early pistols from Firefly) but this will definitely be a clay sculpt... at least initially. Might cast up the rough parts in resin and do any smoothing that needs to be done. Building up or carving away totally depends on the project.

Was thinking of doing parts of these (like the ab plates) partially out of styrene but the chest will be clay (especially as I don't have a workshop to do major sanding and stuff in any longer).

I've just been seein' people rave about super sculpey here and there and thought I'd give it a try. Been looking a little at Dullam-Causey and readin' up on what kind of clay they use... but being in Sweden, my options are more limited.

But I gather the general sensus is for the FIRM SS but that it might not be suitable at all?

For something like that I'd probably go with some kind of craft foam or whatever miniature aircraft builders use to make the prototypes. You just get the approx size and shape and then start carving away.

Are you a builder-upper or a carve-away kinda guy? Depends greatly on the material you should choose to work with.

 

[fettster]

i would stay well clear of sculpy for this project, i would use chavant medium.