Polymer Clay

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

With a glut of styrene models and some made from wood, I’m surprised that model railroaders haven’t tried a third medium, clay.

One of the problem that scratchbuilders have is creating an unusually curved shapes. Clay would be ideal as it can be molded into virtually any shape and could be used, for example, to model those crazy shaped appliances found atop industrial buildings or hanging on the sides.

Very intricate work too can be done with clay as the following site shows: http://www.faeryforest.com/sculpting_tips.htm

Furthermore, clay can be sanded and painted.

Dave Vergun

2

Now that’s an interesting idea. I think I’ve seen something where someone has made people using FIMO. I do see one slight problem though. Isn’t that stuff kind of expensive?

Some of those roof top things are kind of bulky, and it seems like a bit of a waste if you have to make them solid. I suppose it would be possible to hollow them out.

If there is something that you need to make a lot of then casting is the answer, because resin is fairly cheap. The polimer clay would be excellent for making the originals though.

3

Not expensive for small things. Suggest comparing the price of a diesel horn part that fell off & got lost during a collision to a polymer clay horn you can make in 5 minutes, paint & glue on.

4

Absolutely Dave, the key is small. Actually, if you want to get fancy, that stuff comes in a rainbow of colors, including flesh, but paint is fine too. Did you bake the horn?

That just gave me an idea!!! What about using that stuff for repairs on broken postwar pieces. You could replace marker lights, or steps on diecast steamers, and window struts on all kinds of things.

I have a very bad 60 trolly. It looks like someone stepped on it. I glued all of the pieces I could find back together, and the roof turned out pretty good. The problem was that the body was missing some small chunks. Sounds like an interesting project. I might even be able to find a close color match.

5

I made some little people for my passenger train. Right now, I’m not doing any work. Taking a hiatus for a while.

6

Yeah, I know Dave. I really miss the construction questions and ideas. That’s OK, summer is usually a slow time for trains anyway. It feels like fall here in Minnesota the last couple of days. I have to fini***his stupid garage sale, so I can get my truck back inside before the snow flies.[swg]

7

I have used clay to build grade crossings. It works great and then I pave the road on top of the clay when it hardens. (I don’t really pave it, I chip and seal it because it is cheaper.)

8

Sounds interesting, but I am not sure I know what “polymer” clay is. How is this different from other modeling clay?

John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

9

My brother used to make castles for his warhammer army with fimo. I made mostly ballast weights for modelairplane’s from it (can be shaped to fit inside tricky areas. I don’t know if it can be glued though, which is a must when you want to make missing parts.
There is also a way to repair broken hulls of styrene with a soldering iron and some styrene sheetmaterial. When repaired from the inside you can attach new styrene sheeting to old or broken parts by heating it and melt it together. Afterwards fill the gaps on the outside and paint.
Clay seems to stay a bit greasy which can give problems when glueing…

10

An amazing thing. As I posted my question, the Google ads filled with links to web sites selling polymer clay. Here’s a description I found on one:

Sculpey® Polymer Clay
Description:Sculpey® polymer clays have become the most popular craft clays on the market today. Sculpey® is soft and pliable, works and feels like ceramic clay, but will not dry out when exposed to air. Shape it into your desired form and bake according to package instructions. No kiln needed, just your oven! Once cool, it can be sanded, drilled, carved, and painted with waterbased acrylic paints or Sculpey® brand glaze. Quick, clean and inexpensive it’s ideal for sculpture and children’s projects. For the child, Sculpey® motivates, encourages interaction, and turns the conceptual into reality!

Another site had this ad:

FIMO Soft Polymer Clay Assortment
Includes an assortment of 24 colors wrapped in 25 gram blocks. $23.96

And starter kits at $1.83 (for making jewelry).

This ad suggests that the material can extruded through a formed shape and then cut to mass produce a feature:

PRO ART Clay Gun Set
Turn clay into vines, rope, hair, ribbons, grass and much more. Nineteen different clay shaping… ($7.10)

Looks like tooling is simple. Just an oven is needed:

Curiosity Kits Art Oven: for Polymer Clay, Shrinky Dink & More ($36.51)

Dave, I think you have hit on a winner. Have you used the material for elements of the great displays you have posted pictures of?

John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

11

Hey John, long time no see. How is it going with the animations? This stuff might be just the ticket for making the figures you need. It has been around for at least 15 years, and I have seen it a number of times, but I’ve never really thought to use it until Dave suggested it. I wonder how much it shrinks when you bake it.

12

John,

My website doesn’t show any of the clay things I’ve done & I haven’t done that much. I have big future plans for using it, however. An ideal substance that is maleable and forgiving.

13

My thoughts exactly, Elliot.

Dave’s inspiration has me thinking along the lines of:

Get some plastic figures, probably G scale so they can be more easily seen.

Make a mold (anyone know an easy way to make a mold of a plastic figure?)

Fill the mold with clay and any tubing for wire guides, etc.

Remove the wet figure, make any adjustments and cuts for motion, insert piviots,
whatever.

Bake the result, paint, and use for animation.

I knew I could count on this forum for a solution to animatable figures!

Dave, I would be interested in process and results when you do the clay work.

John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

14

Hey John, speaking of G, the garden guys are having their convention in Denver this week. It sounds like fun if you can get over there. I’m sure they aren’t as tight a group as TCA. Do you know Marc Horovitz? He’s the editor of Garden Railways. The TCA directory shows that he’s still a member, but he may be too busy to be active.

15

John,

There are lots of primers out there. I have a set of dental tools for intricate details. Not so much science as art. Just gotta get some clay on your hands and dabble.

I believe that the Gumby cartoons were all clay animations. Each scene had clay modifications. Must’ve been a pretty cool job.

16

Elliot,

Saw a flyer for the Garden Railway show at Caboose. Interesting, but I will not likely attend: too many compelling distractions. I really like the idea of tearing up the back yard and using it for a gigantic train layout.

Like Dave, I have been focused on another project. I do check the forums every morning, but haven’t seen any topics I could make a contribution to. 'Till Dave’s great clay idea.

Dave,

“Art” is a weak point with me. “Science” is more my line. I have been looking at more “polymer clay” web sites and have the impression the field is rather vast. I haven’t found scale people molds yet, but there must be some somewhere. Maybe I need to visit Micheal’s or Hobby Town. Also, making molds of train figures shouldn’t be too difficult.

Seems to be a few new skills to learn, just what I like.

John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

17

Okay, I went to Michaels and bought some stuff to get started with the polymer clay.

A 2 oz chunk of “Sculpey” (made by Polyform Products, Elk Grove, IL) was $1.49. A similar size of FIMO (made in Germany) was $2.49. There were two other brands and sizes up to a couple of street bricks (about $40).

Looks like the stuff could be a bit pricey if you were trying to make a building or mountain, but for figures the cost is not significant.

The Michaels’ “expert” said there wasn’t much difference among the brands, although the FIMO was a little softer. Apparently how soft or stiff the clay is somewhat a user/application preference, rather than any indication of quality.

Great variety of colors, including some that could be transclucent (stick a light inside?)
It appears (Michaels expert) that using multiple clay colors to provide at least the base color of a given area is popular. The baked result can be sanded or carved and still retains the color. This seems too tricky for O/G scale figures, so I intend to paint.

I bought three chunks (white and gray). Since I intend to paint the figures, color doesn’t matter.

I also bought a book “The Polymer Clay Techniques Book.” ($22.99). The book I thought would be best was by Sculpey, but the rack position was empty. (It was also only $13)

Book topics look interesting: Marbling and making blends, using cutters and clay extruders, carving, cutting and drilling, gluing, molding, using formers, using armatures (for things that move!), stamping, painting, image transfers. Looks like I have a bit of experimentation to look forward to.

A brief read suggests that I can use the clay to make a mould from figures. Versatile stuff.

I will let the forum know how it works out.

John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

18

John,

I’m happy to hear that. Expensive but you aren’t gonna make mountains out of it. Think little details.

Toy trains has a way of getting the creative juices flowing and leads to branching out to other related hobbies.

Remember the cliche that goes something thusly: I’t’s not the destination that is the most enjoyable, it’s the journey.

19

Way to go John! Keep us posted on your progress.[8D]

20

Dave, have you had a chance to any of your home switches lately. I’m looking forward to seeing some step by step pictures. Inquiring minds want to see how you do it. [:D]

Mike