When creating a new tabletop miniature, MeinMMO editor Caro realized: she needs more than just glue and patience, namely green stuff… and that literally.
While assembling a new miniature, a fancy dragon that turned out to be significantly larger than I expected when ordering, I had a realization. A stupid realization:
The individual parts of the dragon that I wanted to glue together were so heavy and unfortunately not well printed that glue alone would not do the trick. This can’t go on. Except…
Yes, except I jump over my shadow and venture into a whole new territory in miniature building: the so-called “Green Stuff”.
Green Stuff is exactly what the name promises: green stuff. A modeling compound made from a yellow and a blue component that is mixed together like clay and then hardens completely after 1–2 hours. Originally developed as plumber’s putty, it is now popular in modeling to fill gaps and create a smooth look.
“That doesn’t sound so complicated,” I thought, not realizing that this thought would bite me in the ass later.
From friends to enemies to… peaceful colleagues?
I got Green Stuff like most of my components at the local tabletop store. I bought it from The Army Painter, as I’ve been doing well with their products so far. However, there are more retailers that offer their own Green Stuff.
At home, I set out to rescue the rather cracked wings, airy armpits, and leg transitions of the dragon.
I had already fixed the parts with plastic glue, but the side gaps were just driving me crazy. Every miniature fan can relate to that.
I rolled a bit of the yellow and blue modeling compound together to get a pea-sized green ball. I rolled it into thin “worms” that I then stuffed into the gaps. Unfortunately, I realized: in the tutorials, it looked much better.
The stuff stuck to my fingers, to my cutting mat, and to every wrong millimeter of the dragon’s resin skin that it accidentally touched for a millisecond. I knew I had to say goodbye to my perfectionism. Because now it was just about the bare rescue of the model and damage limitation.
Dragon operated, Caro exhausted
Ultimately, the result is… a sufficient 4, with a squinted (and really very squinted) eye maybe just about a satisfying 3.
In a hobby where aesthetics play such a big role, I simply had to be happy that my dragon finally holds together somewhat.
I prefer an imperfect surface over gaping gaps or completely forgoing some body parts because the model is too heavy. Especially grateful for Green Stuff am I with the wings, as they would never have held just with glue.
I believe Green Stuff and I will never become friends. But we have made peace. It saved my dragon, and for that, it won’t be thrown in the trash.
Do you have a step or some other thing with your miniatures that drives you crazy? Or did you generally have better experiences with Green Stuff? Tips are really very, very, very welcome.
Otherwise, I’m much more relaxed when painting miniatures. Especially since I came across a type of brush that is a true blessing when painting: A tip for 5 euros makes my miniatures so much better that I had to cheer out loud on the very first try
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