Saturday 24 September 2011

Fantasy Demon-warrior polymer clay figurine 1/12 scale



Continuing with the fantasy figures here is another creation of mine: 
Demon-warrior




He is 1/12 dolls house scale and completely made from polymer clay. Also he is a complete figurine, means that he has got all associated with the men bits and bobs lol
Though due to possibility that children can browse my blog I will not display my warrior undressed.



It took me 3 full days to complete him. And I think I have to work harder to improve my sculpting skills :(




His attire (apart from the boots) is made from real leather. The shield is also made from polymer clay with the cardboard base in order to make the structure stronger.






Saturday 17 September 2011

URO POLYMER CLAY REVIEW


URO clay is produced in the UK by "Newclay products" and relatively new on the craft market.
I wanted to try URO clay for some months now and finally have ordered 5 different colours to try: white, violet, magnolia, pink and orange.
I have paid £8 including postage for 5 X65g “bricks” of clay. But if you buy more packs you can get each brick as low as £1.35. There is a good choice of colours as well.



Packaging: plastic, similar to the more popular polymer clay brands, though it is very plain, as you can see, but who cares? I do not. What I did not like is that there is no colour/tone identification on the “brick”, but again it is not something that is able to turn me off URO.
Now, the most important bit is coming: physical appearance, performance and pliability. 

Smell: err… the smell reminded me my childhood. URO smells of plasticine, not overly strong at all. And to be honest – I like it.

The feel: Right! I was rather taken aback when I have opened the package and tear a piece. It looked “crumbl-ish”, but when I worked it out with my hands the crumbling disappeared and I was pleased with the texture of clay. What it feels like? Have you tried KATO polymer clay before? If yes, then it is very similar: stiff to knead, does not leave colour residue on hands and workable the same time. Very “sturdy” clay, keeps the shape well, not excessively responsive to the heat of the hands, thus it is difficult to smooth the seams out.


 
Actually, coming back to clay is being brittle before kneading: the texture is perfect for ice cream and insides of a cake. 





Colours: colours are lovely and do not fade once cured.
 
Personally I would name the URO colours that I’ve got as:
Magnolia = vanilla ice-cream
Pink = pink icing on the bun
Violet = “violets”
Orange = Halloween. Orange is a gorgeous bright pumpkin colour. I was immediately inspired to quickly model 2 pumpkins. 



I have not opened the white URO; I guess it is just white lol

Curing process: Though FIMO these days can be cured at 110C, URO as per instruction requires 130C. When I was baking it the smell of plasticine was a bit stronger, but not annoying.

Baked pieces
Please note that i have brushed some glitter to the gummy bears, aliens and middle of the cookie before baking





Overall:
-          You need to have strong hands or pasta machine to condition URO properly
-          Clay keeps the shape very well and will be perfect for making canes and jewellery
-          Takes texture well, but at the same time difficult to smooth the seams out
-          Does not leave colour residue on hands – big bonus!
-          Colours do not fade after baking
-          Easily mixed with other colours and other clay brands
-       There is no traslucent in URO range - may be one day

      -          Clay is not very tacky but pieces can be attached to each other effortlessly




I hope this review will help you to make a wise choice depending on your craft needs.

I will definitely use URO clay for making miniatures.



I bought URO clay from here:  http://pollymcclaycreations.co.uk/ArtShop.aspx

Also I think you can find it on Ebay, but it is more costly there.