Review on 🎨 AMACO AMO41821 Sculptamold Modeling Compound - 3LB, Multicolor - Pack of 1 by Summer Hendricks

I bought two bags of this material for the costume project; I wanted to make some parts out of something strong and light, but it would also be something I could shape, sand, paint and so on. I intended to use it on a hoop to hang from the back of the costume, a pair of horns and a mask. First off, I want to be clear: this stuff didn't do what I wanted it to do. In fact all the parts I made with it were unsatisfactory and are now junk that sits in the heap and I've since remade all the parts with other materials. But before I list all the reasons why it didn't work for me, I'll list the positives! • The texture is smoother than other pulp-based sculpting materials that you get in powder form and mix with water; it is not 100% lump-free, but smoother than eg CelluClay • Dries very quickly! The more compound in the project the longer it will take to 100% dry due to the thickness, but very quickly it will go from soft and sticky to hard enough that you can't reshape it as much. you can manipulate it a bit. In fact, it heats up due to a chemical reaction, which is probably why it dries faster than a gooey sculpting mass of powdered glue and paper, a medium that can take many, many days to fully dry while it normally does within from a few days dries up day. if not before. • It can be placed in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for a few hours to dry even faster if you're short on time or feel like you've created something very thick that needs extra drying help. become completely firm by the middle. • When completely dry, it is very hard and durable. In fact, when I had to remove it from the rebar I wanted to reuse, I had to hit it against the edge of the stone steps several times to break it apart. As long as the piece isn't too small/thin, it will likely survive being dropped and folded - at least more so than the clay you need to fire. Fill in any dents/holes before they dry, this can be a smoothing process by applying a small amount of compound to the concave areas and then sanding again, so I recommend a small hand sander!) • It holds the color very well good ( Also, I didn't try to pre-paint this stuff, I painted over it when it was completely dry, so I can't say if it's possible to pre-paint the white builder, or it will turn into something bad, for example to stop the chemical reaction due to - behind which it dries so quickly) • It applies quite well to the faucet and smoothes it out with water (which I'll talk about later) • It has a kind of fruity smell to it; it is not so bad! Better than the smell of chemicals or glue. • The package contains a lot of $6 product (the price I bought it at and the price listed at the time of writing this review) compared to some other brands that cost more. much cheaper. • This is a very light white which helps if you want to paint it - a lighter background means you can use thinner paint and fewer layers to get a good color result. • Because it dries out so quickly, it's probably much less likely to mold or mildew than many other modeling powders, such as. B. Instant paper mache as it doesn't stay wet for very long, although I will still take precautions to store in a dry, clean place. to avoid disputes and generally treat this material as something that will not get wet if possible. The biggest problem I've had with this modeling material is that it's very difficult to mold and is a giant mess that sticks to everything. and it is generally very difficult to work with. When you mix this St UV it turns into a sticky, gooey paste or dough rather than actual clay, so I definitely understand why this material calls itself "modeling clay" rather than a sculpting medium or clay. I work in many different types of clay, from polymer clay to paper clay, from natural clay to paper clay, and this material is more like lumpy cookie dough than clay, which can be manipulated to retain fine detail and shape; it is too soft and sticky to hold the shape of a ball. And it was MASS. Dirtiest environment I've worked in a long time. It stuck to my hands, my gloves, the table, the container I mixed it in, anything I touched with my hands or hit the wet mass, and it was difficult to smooth off without lots of water . This made it very runny and soft, and made it even more difficult to shape. The addition of water just kept it from sticking too much to everything and leaving little sticky blobs that dried into spiky little spikes (which is when you want good texture but usually want a smoother finish, right?). It was a constant battle between being too wet or too dry; I've tried so many ratios of water and powder and even tried changing the mixing method - slowly add powder to water, slowly add water to powder, add all the water and all the powder, but it didn't work. Nothing seemed to help make it the perfect consistency for sculpting. This method only changes how lumpy it was. This material isn't so much something you mix to shape like a piece of dense wet clay, modeling magic, or backing clay, but something you mix to apply to a skeleton. in one piece, something made of wire, aluminum foil or cardboard, like adding plaster of paris, which simply has more structure than regular plaster of paris (because paper pulp is added to it). It worked much better when I applied it to something rather than trying to make the object entirely out of it, but even then the project often looked so clumpy and uneven and required so much sanding that I wasn't happy with how it looked. what i'm trying to do Also, it quickly became very heavy for the parts of the suit that were supposed to be attached to the harnesses. While projects CAN be easy, they don't have a hard time getting hard either. Note that it is not as heavy as oil based earth or clay but still heavier than paper clay which comes wet and ready to use in sealed packages. or real smooth paper clay sculptures like savory puffy mermaids etc which while more expensive for less product are a lot less messy and a lot better as they can actually be manipulated how you want it to look and function. So just list the negative points: • Messy; it sticks to everything, so put on your disposable gloves and decorate your workspace! Have a covered area to set it up while it dries and maybe even work outside next to a hose for a quick and easy clean. It is easiest to clean before this material hardens. • It doesn't really get the right "tone" texture, so it's very difficult to shape into a ball - think of the texture of gooey chocolate chip cookie dough that you need to spread onto a baking sheet, not sugar chip cookie dough that You have you can shape, shape and add details. • Pretty much requires the rebar to be anything but one piece; Prepare to use foil, wire, plaster, cardboard and anything else to make the skeleton to give it structure and shape. • Doesn't stick well to small parts; There's a brief gap between wet and dry that would allow you to press or stamp it like a metal tool, but that middle ground is hard to find and I haven't tested it thoroughly so I couldn't have it that way be decorated. • It is difficult to get the right balance between water and clay. • Mixing should be done fairly quickly to allow maximum molding time before it begins to dry, crack and crumble. • Usually dries very quickly. gritty even if you spray it and try to smooth it out will usually need sanding unless a gritty look is desired • Can clog drains if flushed down sink so be very, very careful if you rinse off this material! It remains rough from the paper pulp and does not mix with fabrics. I've clogged the bathroom sink twice and tried to cope once in the kitchen. I suggest installing a grate to close the drain to allow any pieces of paper pulp to go into the trash and toss in the trash can. Buy a cheap plastic bucket specifically for this material) if you have a piece of clay, for example, rinse it very well. If it dries out there, there's a good chance it'll get stuck. It came off very cleanly on some surfaces after drying, but I found it wanted to stick to most things and could only be removed by hard soaking and chipping • May crack while drying • Will likely need sealing to prevent it to keep waterproof. Be it paint, acrylic sealer or something else. • The powder itself is very cloudy when poured, so I would be careful not to inhale it in a large spray. I don't think this stuff is toxic, but that doesn't mean it's good or nice to pick up a bunch of paper pulp and bits of glue. Overall I'd say it's very good for a product if you just smear it on something, but trying to use it as a clay like you use polymer/fired clay or pottery clay is a bad idea and this it will not indicate the results you get with similar materials. I prefer it over CelluClay for the task of "applying a light coat that dries hard on an existing piece" and I think it works very well. But if you thought it was like mixing up a batch of Crayola modeling magic, you'd be dead wrong. That's why it gets 3 stars; It's ok for what it is, but it's not what I wanted/needed and it has many flaws that make me stop using it for projects in the future if I can help. The mess is just really extreme and the work it takes to turn it into something other than a spherical shape just isn't worth it to me. Personally, I'd rather pay more for smooth, dense paper tone or something; I'd waste a lot less waste anyway if it stuck to everything or dried really quickly. However, others might use this stuff more effectively on other projects! I tried to create parts of the costumes and it didn't work out very well, but maybe sculpts, dioramas or smaller things would be things that this material would be better suited for.