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.
