Air Dry Sculpt Mediums or, BACK THE TRAIN UP!

[Bunny-san]

So, I apparently am the queen of difficult projects lately. This one is sort of secret though. Needless to say, it's spectacular, and, difficult, and....I can NOT BAKE any sculpting that I would do on this project. Baking would DESTROY it. I've done some research and found some different things...apoxie sculpt and...amazing sculpt.

Few questions!
 Differences between the two? Which is the preferred that seems to work better?
Can you buy an air drying sculpting medium like these in the store? All I've seen so far is bloody baking sculpey.

Do they each take to painting well? Will they hold structure well on their own or do you need to put armature wire in them? (If the structure is small enough, I mean, will it hold its own?)

Thanks for the info, all you crazy advanced sculpting people

[TwistedRainbow]

im interested in this too

[coinoperatedgirl]

Can you buy an air drying sculpting medium like these in the store? All I've seen so far is bloody baking sculpey.

I can't speak for how they compare, but I can say that when I was looking into getting some Apoxie, it turned out that a small doll/hobby shop sold it locally.  I've never seen any in the big craft stores near me, however.

[Bunny-san]

I guess I'll have to check and see if any hobby shops even exisit in my area anymore. The only one I know of shut down because the owner got cancer and passed away Or look into alternative methods of using sculpey and attaching it..The project I'm working on is trying to customize one of the Frendship Train engines....It's going to be a big project but throwing it in the oven would destroy the motor inside the thing, I'm sure. So I need to figure this out. :3

[Colorscapesart]

I have used Apoxie sculpt for years (I get it off Aves website or eBay) and it is darn near magical stuff.  Very tough.  Easy to use.  I have not tried Amazing Sculpt, so I'm no use there lol.

[Sarahlacewing]

I think most people use apoxie.  I have and do.  It sticks very well to the pony and is great for small detailed work.  Depending on how you mix it it can dry quickly.  Always mix a little less than you think you need in my experience because I always make too much.  It is easy to smooth with water and dries hard.  I've sanded it and drilled into it without any problems.  Takes paint well, no noticeable discoloration or seam, but I usually do several thin coats. 

Edit: for errors bad me typing without my glasses on

[NoDivision]

 Differences between the two? Which is the preferred that seems to work better?
I have only ever used Apoxie. I know someone did a comparison post at once point/ Amazing works similarly, but not many people here use it. So you'll be able to find more infor on apoxie

Can you buy an air drying sculpting medium like these in the store? All I've seen so far is bloody baking sculpey.
I've never seen either in stores, but some small hobby and model stores carry apoxie.

Do they each take to painting well?
Apoxie takes paint fine, though can take many many coats, just like any other pony painting. I am working on a pony that was partially sculpted with the "Natural" color apoxie. I was painting it yellow. I put down about to coats of a white base paint, and about 15 coats of the yellow. very thin coats, of course, just like with an FBR. Smaller areas and darker colors will take less coats, of course.

Will they hold structure well on their own or do you need to put armature wire in them? (If the structure is small enough, I mean, will it hold its own?)
While apoxie is curing, it is very soft and floppy. It needs support while it cures but cures extremely hard and durable - much more durable than sculpy. You might have to get creative with your support systems - I've used straws, cotton balls, little bits of cardboard, paint brushes, etc.

[Diamond]

If you prime it, it takes less coats of paint and will give your custom a longer life.  It takes so many coats because it is sucking some of that paint in.

The amazing sculpt from what I have read from other model horse customizers is it is softer and sticker.  I do not think it holds form as well.  I have been using the Aves for a bit now and love it.  It does take a bit to get to the stage I like for putting fine detail into so I always have a body or two around to stick the extra onto.  See my post in here for Ladybrooklynn, all work is done with Avers.  Which does come in colors.

[lilacamy931]

new to customising but apoxie (milliput to me) is fantastic and easy to use.

[ZennaBug]

I use Apoxie 

[kittybethy]

I use Apoxie 

 Same here!

[RevRuby]

ive used both, but 2 different colors. aves natural and amazing white. i've heard apoxie super white is sticky and messy, amazing sculpt's white is like that. but i haven't tried their natural yet. it cures the same, and is very similar. of course i've learned having the sculpt for a few months it improves over using it the day it arrives. less messy, less sticky.

i know mana maiden uses air drying but i have no idea the brand, and i think she gets it in a store.

anything hanging far off a pony should be wired or pinned to the body somehow.

[ZarineBashire]

If you have a Hobby Lobby near you they carry Milliput. It's essentially the same thing as apoxie sculpt and the pricing is similar only you don't have to pay for shipping. It doesn't come in as many colors, but you can buy the yellow kind for cheaper than the white. The yellow stuff is pretty sticky, but I think the stickiness of the epoxie type sculpts actually decreases over time (at least this seems to happen to me since I don't sculpt particularly often). Milliput takes paint just as well and you can smooth it out with hand lotion just like Apoxie Sculpt and Amazing Sculpt. You can also sand it down, but I would suggest using sand paper that is 320 grain or higher because otherwise you end up with scratch lines.

If you absolutely can't find any Milliput you can always check out your local game shop. They are likely to have some Green Stuff on hand that Miniature gamers use on their figures. It's far more expensive and comes in smaller quantities, but it works the same as the other stuff. I've heard some people swear by it as opposed to Apoxie Sculpt.