using "bluestuff" for first time

[aussie cylon]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone here has used "bluestuff" by Greenstuff World?
I have bought an 8 piece pack along with their Greenstuff Putty. Watched their own "how to" videos on their website, but they use Milliput instead of their own putty
Just wondering if anyone here has used this product and what putty or resin they used?
As I said, I have the Greenstuff Putty, but I also have fiberglass resin in the garage and also car body repair filler, which is a two part polyester resin. Can I use these?
All I want to do is make a small mold of a couple of parts of the "Annakin's Pod Racer" kit, nothing big, just the engine nozzles and maybe some engine detail panels to use in a Scarlet Viper conversion.
Any thoughts??

[Ramsayman]

It's a bit of trial and error. I used exactly what you bought - Bluestuff and Greenstuff putty. Just plan out your Blue molds carefully. I made molds of two 1/72 scale seats from an SR-71. My first attempt had the "opening" on the bottom of the seat with the seats head at the depth of the "hole". It was almost impossible to squish the putty down to the bottom of the hole, and it was a fail. Don't know what I was thinking! Might have worked with a liquid resin. So, the good thing about blue stuff is you can reuse it. So I planned it differently. I molded it around the front of the seats leaving the back and bottom of the seat open - they were flat there anyway. So the mold was a V shape. More of a little triangle. I then found it easy to squish in the green stuff, and voila! I now have two very cool seats which I am using for the cockpit of a TIE-Phantom that I'm building.

Haven't used the other materials you mentioned, but I can't imaging why they wouldn't work as well.

[aussie cylon]

OK, I tried the bluestuff, and it was a total failure. Not just once, not even twice. I reckon I tried about 4 or 5 times before giving up. The problem is its too hard when it sets, so I couldn't even cut it with a new blade. For a simple one part mold, it would work great, but not for a two part. I tried their putty also. Real crappy, it sets up soft and rubbery, almost like vinyl. I used equal parts of both components, but am less than thrilled with the result.
Anyone else have their own stories to share about how great or crap this stuff is??

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone here has used "bluestuff" by Greenstuff World?

Trust me. This stuff is awesome. You just aren't using it right. Watch this video by Plasmo to learn how to do it. If you are ensconcing a part into a big wad and then trying to cut it open, then it is just not going to work.

It is different than doing regular silicone casting. Place a stick of Blue Stuff in boiling water until it melts. Take it out and work it into a blob. Smash your part into the blob halfway, and with some sprue or something, make some contact points. Wait for it to cool.

Next, put another stick into hot water and repeat the process for the top of the mold. Smash it down tightly and make sure it gets into those contact points. After it cools, you can easily pull the two halves a part. No mold release is necessary.

I started a thread on Blue Stuff in the scratchbuilding subforum. It's called Oyumaru here in Japan and comes in different colors. So far I have clear cast several parts with clear liquid resin and while it is harder than silicone, it's bendable and you can pop the parts out of the mold fairly easily. It's very nice for casting small parts and it's faster and simpler than going through the trouble of making a box.

So far I have only used it with clear liquid resin. Here is a link that shows my work on a Macross Valkyrie.

What I have done is create a hole in the top with a toothpick so that when I mash the two halves together tightly, the excess liquid resin volcanoes up out of the hole, creating a mushroom cap of sorts. After it dries, pulling the top part will lift the resin piece out of the bottom mold. I then cut the mushroom cap off with my hobby knife and trim off the injection point.

Try it this way and I'm sure you will end up loving this stuff. Let me know how it works.

[aussie cylon]

If you are ensconcing a part into a big wad and then trying to cut it open, then it is just not going to work.

Ummm, yep, that's what I've been doing. I'm trying to cast up some rocket thrusters, so I'm filling in the inside empty section with the bluestuff, then when it sets, I put more bluestuff around the outside of the thrusters. When it all sets up, it's too hard to separate the pieces, especially since the thrusters are tapered. I'll try again, but I'm not overly confident it will work. Thinking about it now, maybe a three piece mold will work. Yeah, actually I think it just might.

Thanks for the links. I've never seen, let alone even heard, of the UV liquid craft resin. Definitely gotta give that a try.....does it dry hard or kinda rubbery soft?? There is a Daiso store here, so I might go for a visit.


Just checked ebay, heaps listed on there, so will get some and give it a go.

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

Thanks for the links. I've never seen, let alone even heard, of the UV liquid craft resin. Definitely gotta give that a try.....does it dry hard or kinda rubbery soft?? There is a Daiso store here, so I might go for a visit.

The packaging for the UV-curing liquid resin is in English as well as Japanese, so I assume it is meant for sale in Daiso stores outside of Japan. If you have one where you live, definitely check it out. They have a soft and a hard one, and I get the hard one, of course.

The trouble with it is that due to its viscosity, it doesn't flow easily into tight crevasses. What I have to do is help it into the tighter cracks in the molds with a toothpick and break up any air pockets. When it sets, it is crystal clear.

As for the Blue Stuff, I don't know what to say. I don't know what your rocket thrusters look like, but I'd think that a two part mold should work (unless they are very deep or something). Sometime soon I plan to use it with regular Tamiya 2-part epoxy resin to recast a 1:4 scale laser gun for a friend of mine.

[Go Flight]

Once I got the hang of it, I love it. The only problem I encountered is when I used it with Aves, the Aves never really hardened. I reported it to them and they were baffled. So now I just used the regular Greenstuff.
Plasmo's video IS a great reference.
Never tried pouring resin into the Bluestuff.

OK, I tried the bluestuff, and it was a total failure. Not just once, not even twice. I reckon I tried about 4 or 5 times before giving up. The problem is its too hard when it sets, so I couldn't even cut it with a new blade. For a simple one part mold, it would work great, but not for a two part. I tried their putty also. Real crappy, it sets up soft and rubbery, almost like vinyl. I used equal parts of both components, but am less than thrilled with the result.
Anyone else have their own stories to share about how great or crap this stuff is??

If you can't get the mold halves apart IMHO I think you're not waiting for the first part of the mold to harden up before putting the softened 2nd part on top. I also make myself a little "lip" to aid in pulling the two halves apart.

Also the mold halves doesn't need to be that thick - I use just enuff to cover the part. A lot of the time I can see thru the BS and see the part inside.

[aussie cylon]

Yes, I have waited for the first half to completely harden before putting the second half over it. But I think the problem is, I'm putting it on way too thick.