Experimenting with Geomfix Original modelling putty

Citizen Sade

Citizen Sade

Baron
While not much of a putty-pusher, I like to have some lying around for ham-fisted conversions and the odd press mould. Previously, I've dabbled with green stuff (which I didn't care for much) and ProCreate (which I did).

Sadly, ProCreate is no longer available and never seemed to be very good for things that you want to be hard and inflexible like shields and banner toppers anyway. Consequently, I started looking around and found an article on alternatives to ProCreate by Sylcreate. Geomfix Original - a new one on me - caught my eye as did a short Kev Adams testimonial on their website:

“Geomfix is a good putty which sets very hard. Unlike Milliput, it doesn’t fracture when drilling or sanding. I really rate Geomfix.”
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I ended up buying the white pre-formatted stick which means you can simply cut a bit off and mix it together. With this in hand, and a promise to @Slave to Darkness to keep, it was time for a play.



This stuff comes in a resealable metallic foil pouch with the putty and a pair of blue nitrile rubber gloves inside. There are instructions, warnings about skin and eye irritation and information on working and full cure time (up to two hours and 24 hours respectively) on the back of the pouch.

The putty itself has the look and feel of short crust pastry. The instructions say to mix it together until it's a uniform colour and streak free. This took me less than the five minutes indicated though, TBF, I was working with a small quantity of putty. Unlike some other putties, I didn't need to use lubricant to prevent it sticking to things you didn't want it to. The mixed putty went into some simple Oyumaru moulds and was left to set for a day. The results:



A bit of flash, but I think the detail has been captured pretty well and the thin casts are hard enough for gaming with. You can snap them but it takes more effort that you're likely to get with normal handling.

I cleaned up the casts up a bit to see how it went:



A sharp scalpel made short work of the flash and it takes filing well. It is quite hard so a little bit of effort is required. It clogged the diamond file I used, but that rinsed off under running water easily enough.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with Geomfix Original for this sort of use and plan to give it another go with proper two part moulds and more care about the amount of putty I stuff in them. I'll report back after that.
 
Thanks for that. After the loss of Procreate I am searching for a new ideal putty, so this is another option to explore!
 
You're welcome. I'm not convinced that this is it. This feels to me like superior Milliput. It might be worth your while experimenting with mixing it with other putties though.
 
Second attempt with better two-part moulds and putty portion control:



Happy with this.

My experience with this putty:
  • Mixes easily and doesn't stick to your gloves or tools when doing so
  • Recreates detail well in a press mould
  • Sets hard and inflexible
  • Bonds to many things but not Oyumaru
  • Takes filing well
  • Can be drilled without cracking
This will be my go-to press mould putty.
 
the 'doesn't stick to your globes or tools' does sound.. a bit worrying for a good putty.. while I find some like green stuff can be TOO sticky at times, if it's not that sticky, does it stick to itself well? (I know this isn't your field ^_^)

also.. might be small but.. successful two-part moulds.. ugh.. never get them right.. maybe not using silicone is a good idea.. wonder if I could do a mix of silicone and some different soft material which wouldn't stick to it.. mmm
 
My preference is for Green Stuff World Acrylic Resin. Its a powder you mix with water and can then pour into the mold. Its not for everyone as its not as hard as say milliput type products but as its a liquid I find it easier as I'm able to scrape away the extra before it hardens so you don't have the problem with excess putty around edges (especially on shields) and as it begins as a liquid I find its great from fine details.
 
Heard some bad reports about GSW's business practices so I avoid them.

Cleaning up the very thin flash on my mark II's will be easy and take seconds.
 
Citizen Sade said:
Heard some bad reports about GSW's business practices so I avoid them.

Cleaning up the very thin flash on my mark II's will be easy and take seconds.
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don't know.. Have had a few orders from them and.. fine but nothing great but haven't really heard too much about them either good or bad really. but ugh.. trying to say it's an important message and you have to watch the video for it.. yeah.. maybe sometime... I don't do too much with them cause they don't do much of interest
 
It comes in 200g sticks, but it is more than twice the price of standard Milliput. That said, I doubt I'll be using huge quantities of it.
 
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