LH just bought a brick of milliput, I've been using procreate (a delicate greystuff for the last 3 years).. I looked at it and said mix it 70 hard 30 soft so it quickens faster,for finer finishing.. (he's trying to (lazy)cast some bases he made).
He followed the rules for 50/50.. 3 hours later it was still unusably tacky even under heating and stuff..

What do? How does miliput work, do herne/talus/hunter et al have some ninja guides to help our comrade.. before he asks some warmachine website?

I tried milliput years ago (and by that I mean about 20 years!) and hated it, was very rough and didn't mix well at all, and remained tacky for a good 12 or more hours. When it finally did set it went crumbly. Never used it again.

I have been forced to start using Milliput as my supplier of A+B Epoxy can't order it anymore. The important thing I have learned is to make sure it is the yellow-grey mix. The silver-white was always too hard and crumbled when I tried to mix it. I follow the directions for 1:1 ratio and I haven't had any major problems with it.

I mostly use it for gap filling, bulk filling (e.g. inside metal warjacks) so I can pin and stuff, and apparently watering it down makes it really good for smoothing surfaces etc. Also nice for making rocks etc, and dirt cheap too.

Ive used it mixed 50/50, found it ok, but a little course vs green stuff.
Model shop guy told me to leave it in the sun for a while before mixing it.
I did try to hurry this along in the oven once (winter outside) and it never cured properly at all ...

I'm using it for basing. I've greenstuffed some templates, made my casts & trying to get these to imprint on Milliput on another base. As it's for basing then I'm actually after the courseness & the ability to drill more easily than GS.

The test cast using instant mold seems to have come out fairly well.

Mixing the milliput 50:50 (it is grey:yellow) meant that it was still very tacky 3 hours later, but overnight it cured & its seems ok (but still a little rubbery) I haven't been back gto it yet, I'll look tonight as this'll be day 3, so it should have cured by now

The base came out a little wonky, but I think that's down to me trying to prise the mold away from the milliput to early & not using enough milliput. I think it works as a proof of concept, I just need to get the mix of the hard:soft of the miliput right.

I'm going to to try 75%grey:25%yellow next...

Depending on the type it can take something like 16-24 hours to harden.

To stop it being tacky to the touch, use a little oil (peanut butter oil is good, oddly).

I've not used it for years though so that advice comes from the depths of history...

I almost exclusively use milliput (yellow/gray) in a 50/50 mix. The only down side is how long it takes to set. I find it takes about 8 hours to set, which slows things down conciderably. But, it is a lot more workable than Green Stuff.
I did once make a GS mold to replicate a piece I needed, and used MP for the piece itself. But I had to let the MP set fully and the had to cut the GS mold off of it. Which obviously isn't favourable if you're wanting to make many bases. I would suggest, if you haven't already using something as a mold release. I used vaseline that time, but have later used sunflower oil.
Another option you may look into is mixing MP and GS together, which I have also tried. I mixed them in approx 50/50. It sets slower than GS, but a bit faster than MP. Its alot more workable than GS, but has more stability than MP.

As for actually sculpting, this mix is much better than either MP or GS on their own. Using MP on its own takes much longer, as I have had to build the detail up in layers when using pure MP.

Hope this helps.

Nathanael

Had another go last night. Redid my instant mold molds at a far higher water temperature & got a much better mold result from them (the packet says 60 degrees C, I did it at boiling water minus temperature drop frm putting in mug & walking to the living room).

Did a slightly more grey mix than 50:50 & left. I had a quick peek this morning at one of them & it looks like I've got a few air bubbles (or miscasts/ whatever). I'll be able to have a proper look tonight hopefully, but it looks like I'll be able to cover the cock ups with bit of snow (or the model). We'll see when I look at all of them.

Will provide pics!

I used boiling water on my molding material from day one - much more pliable, ready to use within just a few seconds, and gives more time to get it pushed into the detail

Ok, here we go, the results are in.

Here are the templates and the castings in their little jonnies...


Here we are a day later

The photo seems to be upside down for some reason, but working from left to right in the photo:
Leftmost - not a lot of milliput, untrimmed
A lot of miliput, untrimmed
A lot of milliput, trimmed
Not a lot of miliput, trimnmed

Can't really tell the difference once trimmed, but it seems 'crisper' if less is used.

Close up of trimmed down castings:


And a close up of the untrimmed:



A success I think - I'll be using a 'less is more' approach from now on...

I'm using a lot of milliput at the moment - gotten through 3 packs so far in the last month. I'm casting up floor section and wall sections from the 40k buildings to use as rubble. I wanted to build bases for the buildings that look like real destroyed buildings rather than the end of a building with the rest conveniently cleared away, which is what the kits always look like when made. I wanted upper floors smashed into the ground level of the buildings and so trued laying out some of the actual plastic pieces. Sadly they are so thick they don't look realistic. To add to this they are a nightmare to cut/break and cost a fortune.

Cue cheaty solution: Oyumaru casts and milliput allowing for thinner floor sections that break and smash beautifully to give me more realistic ruined floors. I also picked up some fabulous scibor winged skeleton wall reliefs - expensive for two, but once cast up they can be smashed up and used to decorate the ruined wall areas.

I find yellow grey milliput works well if it is mixed 50:50 and with warmer hands. It does take 8 or more hours to dry, so be patient. It is more brittle than green stuff, but as a plus it is harder than the slightly rubbery finish that sometimes occurs with greenstuff. It moulds and smooths beautifully with the addition of water.

They white/grey (silver) milliput also works well and has a smoother finish. It is a little more brittle, but gives a finer smoother surface.
Pics to follow for demo of walls and floors....

Heres some pics of the aforementioned castings used to make rubble:





Anyone wanting to explore more: go here: Explore Hernes city