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I wish I had an answer, I'm experimenting right now myself, but I'm trying to figure out which will work best for customs that will see some fairly hardcore playtime (my older kiddo, at least, knows how to take care of her things, but at the same time her pretend play stories can get a little...emphatic). I'm looking for something that will have a similar texture/feel when dried, rather than the ceramic-y finish the old Sculpey had when I made stuff as an older kid. Something with a bit of give/bounce to it, that can handle a bit of bending without breaking.Especially because the kiddo wants a Discord to play with, and how in the heck am I going to achieve that without some *serious* customization?
What kind of mold are you making? Or what kind of stuff do you want to cast? I work with silicone rubber molds and polyurethane resin, they're great materials. I've had to use a mold release only when making a two-part mold (I used cooking spray, it worked pretty well)- silicone will not bond to anything but itself. But they're probably not great for very small items, unless you're using an open (the casting will come out flat-backed) mold. And also, you'd have to only mix a tiny amount of resin at a time, which is difficult- the resin hardens within minutes after mixing it so you can't just cast a zillion things at once with a normal amount and a single mold. They're great materials though... after the resin is cast, it's nigh indestructible. I have a tough time snapping things off if I want to go off-mold (if it's more than an eighth of an inch thick I can't break it off with my bare hands no matter how hard I twist and tug) so I'll carve it with an xacto. The site says it's heat resistant up to 140 degrees, but I take it up to 240 all the time to bake Sculpey accessories and haven't had trouble with it yet. It's a little tricky to get the hang of silicone mold making at first... I didn't pour my first mold correctly so it is RIDDLED with bubbles! But my second mold turned out pretty okay, and I'm excited to make a third edit, mainly for Manda- I should mention that polyurethane resin is EXTREMELY rigid. The website I order from though, alumilite.com, has some softer plastics you could try out. I don't know if they'd take paint though.
Oh, I see. You'd have to check whether or not the resin would bond to whatever mold you're using then. Polyurethane resin is used for a lot of figurines as I understand. It's not like feather light or anything, but Sculpey clay is DEFINITELY heavier by a long shot. It can be painted (some people recommend giving it a wash before painting to allow the paint to better adhere) quite feasibly, and I haven't had any problems with it turning brittle, but then again I've only been working with it since July ish of last year. I use Alumilite White from http://alumilite.com/Category.cfm?Category=Casting%20Resins It's a little more expensive than clay I think... I figured it out once and each of the figures I cast, I'd spent a little over a dollar on the resin I used (my figures are a little smaller than G4s). But I buy the 28 oz kit, so. Not sure if you could find less elsewhere. Also, I can use off brand sealer on it and it won't get sticky as long as I don't overload it. Which is nice, because I can't find Testors where I live. What kind of a mold will you be buying though? What's it made out of and how big is it?
There are a variety of different resins you can use. If you want something with a longer working time you can use epoxy resin instead of poly resin. There are a number of consumer quality epoxy resins available, including Easycast, amazing clear casting resin, ice resin, and a few others. These are all 2 part clear resins that can be dyed, colored, have materials mixed in or embedeed, etc.
Hmm, sounds like green stuff is for yo, it's going to be awfully fiddly. Just keep your hands wet and such, and if you want a hard finish- Just add more blue and make sure you mix it well.
Have you checked out Sugru? http://sugru.com/about Ever since I saw this stuff I've been dying to see someone try it out on customs.It's a moldable silicone rubber that dries flexible, strong, and durable. It's tough enough to be dishwasher safe, apparently. You have to work quick though, it's only moldable for 30 minutes.
Edit to add: I saw this a while back and thought about it, but I'm afraid of a custom pony getting left in the car in the summer and melting to pieces http://www.amazon.com/InstaMorph-Moldable-Plastic-12-oz/dp/B003QKLJKQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358555194&sr=8-2&keywords=sugru