I tred to use Apoxie Sculpt for filling in seams on the fuselage of a plastic kit and for building "muscles" to a 1/16 scull, but the results were discuraging. I expected after seeing the photos of the beautiful figures on the Aves website to have a very plastic, very well forming medium that can be layered, detailed, smoothed. In the fist case it was really though to make it stick to the plastic and even harder to level it - there is a lot of material left to sand. In the case of detailing the "bones" with "muscles" I found that I can't simply use the small amounts I needed - I had to use much bigger amounts of Sculpt than I needed and will have to use a rotary tool to detail it.
I mixed the two parts for at least 5 minutes and after 24 hrs the sculpt is rock-hard -it does seem to work.
I would like to know if there is something that I do possibly wrong, or I just simply chosen the wrong medium for the detailing projects.

Hello Andras,

I've used Apoxie Sculpt too and it's a nice product. You might want to wait for it to set a bit before adding it to the model....if there is adhesion problem then maybe wet the model with a bit of water first.

After you have put it down don't try to get it into shape immediately. Wait for it to set a bit more and then smooth with a slightly water-wetted finger/tool. Again don't try to make everything perfect just yet. You can always add more to build the shape up and then sand everything down afterwards. For something like a fuselage unless the gap is small I imagine you will have to build up and then sand down rather than rely on the putty to fill the gap perfectly.

Cheers, Richard .

Great ideas, thanks

Great ideas, thanks

Andreas,
I've just recently started using Apoxie Scuplt myself. Here's a tip I heard that is working well for me. Instead of using water to smooth while wet, try using hand lotion. It doesn't cause the epoxy to break down like water does. I had Vasoline brand in the house but I think most anything would work The Vasoline brand was good for me because it comes out like a paste rather than like a liquid and is unscented.
I have used it to smooth surfaces with my finger and even better with an old paint brush. Also used it to lubricate the pin I was using to shape the epoxy. I think you'll like how it works.
Here's a picture of the results...

I made the eagle badge and the "stuff" on the front of the cap. it's on a 1/9th scale bust so the eagle is about 3/16" long.
Craig

I use Epoxy sculpt as a filler on my truck models and any left over from a mix I make into rolled tarps etc.

I too had a problem with it not sticking and found that if I left it for 5 to 10 minutes after I mixed it and also wiped the places I was puting it with water it worked OK.

Once applied I once again leave it for 5 to 10 minutes before using a cotton bud (like a toothpick with cotton ball on each end) dipped in water to smooth it.

9 out of 10 times once dry it requires no sanding or any further work. Just paint over.

Another thing you could try, especially on a smooth object like a figures arm is to deeply score the plastic where the epoxy sculpt is to be applied. This would help it to 'bite' into the plastic rather then just sit on a smooth surface.

Cheers
Cliff

Interesting!! I've been using Aves Studios Apoxie Sculpt
for about 5 years now. I think it is great for filling seams,
such as with an air craft wing root, since it
doesn't shrink, etc. I use it almost exclusively for all
puttying jobs.

However, I have never had any kind
of trouble gettting it to stick to anything. And I don't let it
set for 5 or 10 minutes either. Go figure. Perhaps I'm
just lucky. . . for once in ma' life, LOL :-) :-) :-)

About a month ago I bought some of Aves Studios
Clayshay, a powder form of papier mache that is the
best stuff I've ever seen. Very light weight but very
strong, starts to set up in an hour. I made an arch
with it and intend to make masonry walls with it,
too. And no, I don't work for the Aves Studio. . . :-) :-)

THank you all for the reply. I had a very strong suspicion that it's not the Apoxie's fault... I'll try my hand on it on the weekend again.
(I ended up sanding A LOT on the UH-1... it really is hard )

Thanks for all the advice again, the stiff works like magic.
How safe is it to handle while wet? How do you get it off your hand after done?
Milliput did cause skin irritation, and if I try hard enough I can even recall the molecular mechanism of the carcinogenicity of epoxies...

The package says it's non-toxic. If you're worried about it, you might want to wear rubber gloves when handling it.

It cleans up fine with regular soap and water. If you let it dry on your fingers, use a little sandpaper to loosen it up before washing, or get some good ol' Lava soap -- that stuff will remove anything, either through abrasion or suspension.

"The package says it's non-toxic."


that's why I bought it. But it also says you should wear gloves while mixing it... I sense some discrepancies here.