Here’s a list of what materials I tend to use, what I use them for and where you can buy them. Note that all these sites are in the United Kingdom – although I dare say they can ship internationally, for a price.
The 4D Model shop for various things like all different kinds of styrofoam, tools, raw materials, clay, putty, kitchen sinks, ICBMs, in fact just about anything and everything. Check it out because it is a really awesome collection. This is where I buy stuff when I can’t find it anywhere else cheaper because although they’re not the cheapest, they’ve got just about everything and they’ve got good customer service.
A little store called Craftmill sell ‘super sculpey’ – which is ideal for push moulding and larger scale model making. Super sculpey comes in two forms, the standard and the extra firm. I’ve used both but I find that while the firmer one is slightly more brittle (and so less useful model making) it’s slightly better for push-moulds because it doesn’t spring out of shape so easily when you touch it (or remove the piece that you’re pushing in to the mould).
Ken Bromley art supplies sells some really nice clay shapers, as well as Liquitex mediums (flow aid, etc), Daler Rowney inks, pallets and so on. I’ve used them quite a bit, they have very friendly customer service and the goods are always carefully packaged.
I’ve mainly used Fred Aldous for buying styrene (plastic) rod and sheets, although they also do lots of other things like milliput and tools, etc. I’ve used milliput for sculpting rocks and bases and filling holes in walls (real walls, not mini walls – it dries rock solid and is very tough). You can get some plastic bits as well as brass rods, from your local hobby stores too (and it might be a bit cheaper).
If you’re into mould making and casting in resin or metal then you can’t go wrong with Tirranti. By no means are they cheap but their technical support is fantastic and they gave me all the information I needed to get going (stuff that I didn’t know even after having read two good books on the subject).
Hydrospan / Hydroshrink – these are difficult to get in the UK but not impossible. I’m currently experimenting with this and I’ll update this page with the details later…
1oz plastic dropper bottles can be purchased from ‘SHC‘, I’ve just placed an order with them – no idea if they’re any good or not yet.
If you think you can find a better place to get the stuff above then by all means drop me an email or leave a comment.
I’ve recently discovered that Halfords supply Badger airbrush propellant in 500ml cans for slightly less than the GW stores do (and you get 100ml more). It fits the GW airbrush, which is just a repackaged badger airbrush I think, which Halfords also sell. Of course, it’d be much better to buy a compressor but I can’t afford that right now.
N.B. I have nothing to do with any of the companies mentioned, nor do I get any monies for pimping their sites.
