Thread: A material for the masses

So far in my time here I have come across scale material that either required tools and training that I did not have or is prohibitively expensive. Wood seemed to be my only option.

Until I was chatting with a very crafty friend of mine. He suggested that I try Sculpey. Yes that wonderful bakeable polymer modeling clay.

Tools needed:
Pasta Machine (Anything that Sculpey touches cannot be reused for food, it is non-toxic though) or Rolling pin (not a good idea, but it works)
Oven
Tin Foil/Aluminum Foil (depends on which side of the pond your on)
Options:
Palm Sander like a Black and Decker Mouse. (I love this thing, I may steal my father-in-law's)

Follow the package instructions and roll out to the desired thickness and bake.
Shape like wood and cuts like butter.

Comes in wonderful colors and textures.
My trial was a Sculpey type product (they are mostly the same). It was a little too flexiible so I am on the hunt for stiffer Scupley like Scupley Pro or Sculpey 3.

I'll post some pics tomorrow when I get the scales finished. I am pleased with the end result for a trial product. Next time though I will make the scales thinner, 3/32 or 1/16.

I hate my camera. I put fresh batteries in and it dies. Then my kids hide the cord.

Any way here are the pics.

Sorry for the crappy shots but like I said I hate my camera. Anyway the second is better. This stuff is great. It sands and cuts real easy. Takes a nice shine at 220 grit. Those splotches, this stuff is supposed to be translucent. You can see I failed there because I do not have a pasta machine. I am looking to get one this weekend and I have some of the same material in orange. I hope that it works out better.

I cut this with hand tools. A Coping saw and a B & D mouse palm sander. Drilled the holes with a dremel. This stuff is as flexible as a Chinese gymnast. No offense, they are just really flexible.

It is very forgiving and if you have the time try it. The cheap, kids Sculpey is $.99 and a rolling pin is a cheap as a large dowel rod. If you are working with normal Sculpey a dowel rod will work, if you are working with pearl or granite or translucent Sculpey you may want a pasta machine.

Peace and remember that Sculpey comes in different hardnesses. So if one doesn't float your boat go to the next or do an acrylic liner.

I looked at that product and saw there was one that was very strong flexible and could be made thin. Was it Sculpty Pro??? Anyways I saw that it came in over 32 colors and sounds like it would be fun to try.
What are your thoughts on the product? Did you drop it and did it break?
Seems like you could do a lot with it.

Clever idea! Thanks!

Jeff

There is Scupley Pro and then there is a harder substance that is used in movie making. The later comes in beige only and will need to be painted. I would try the pro if I could find it. My local Michaels only had Sculpey 3 and another brand. I went with the other brand because it was translucent.

My buddy turned me onto this and I would say that it is nearly indestructible. It is a polymer so it is not brittle. I suppose that if you made 1/16 thick scales it may turn brittle if you got the harder stuff, but I have not tried that.

Also, you are not limited to colors. Check this link. Cause this is what my buddy really told me about sculpey.

You want faux Abalone, you can do it. Faux Paua you can do it.

Happy times.

wow, i checked out that site and there's some amazing designs you can do with that stuff! doesn't look half bad on the difficulty either. But if it's as flexible as you say I would add an Aluminum Liner to it or acrylic of some sort. Very cool thanks for the link

Flex varies by Sculpey grade 1-3 and Pro as well as thickness.

It should be interesting.

That's great, thank you for the inspiration! It looks like great material for making razor racks, too.

Wallmart sells 12 color pack of Sculpey #3, I'll give it a try.
They do not seem to sell translucent Sculpey though.

So what is is the material similar to? I mean, does it kind of seem like celluloid or plastic? Also, why can't you just wash off the pasta machine after using it? It looks like it might be fun to mess around with, Ive been thinking about making some scales, too, but I don't like wood, so the only option I could come up with was bone.