Lovejoy Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I'm just going to basically agree with the stuff Andrew said... You can also purchase new corks at any home brewing supply store. That's where I picked up all of mine - bags of 50 for about 3 quid.... Another solution are screw blocks (2 blocks of wood that screw together pinching the armature wires between them). I'd do this instead of corks, TBH. Here's a pic of them, nicked from Patrick Keith's blog: Cheap and easy to make, and much less likely to fall over than a cork (although all my corks have 2p coins superglued to the bottom to stop them falling over anyway). I like using blocks, because you can use the line between the two pieces of wood to visualise roughly where the mould line would be, and so it makes sculpting castable figures easier. They are good for 2 legged critters, but I don't use them much because most of my sculpts have 4 legs. When I was sculpting a lot of horses, I used blocks, but with a middle section added, made from 6mm MDF - that worked really well for me. cheers Michael 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TaleSpinner Posted December 10, 2014 Moderator Share Posted December 10, 2014 Thanks Michael! I was having trouble finding pictures of them. I would never have thought of the 6mm MDF for doing 4-legged. Good tip there. The only thing I personally don't like about blocks is the squareness of them. I constantly turn the mini as I sculpt and the corners of the block get in my way when I want to roll the mini back and forth, but that is a very personal trait/habit. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sundseth Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Not a sculptor, but when I'm painting, I use scrap pieces of 1"x2" (2cm x 5cm after kerf) lumber, and if necessary drill holes for wire to hold the minis. The size works well for my hands and I can rotate the stick easily. Also, the pieces I use are generally around 6" (15cm) long, so they lay all the way across my palm, which allows me to rest the heel of my brush hand on the stick and helps reduce muscle fatigue as well. YMMV. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 The only thing I personally don't like about blocks is the squareness of them. I constantly turn the mini as I sculpt and the corners of the block get in my way when I want to roll the mini back and forth, but that is a very personal trait/habit. Actually, that happens to me as well! I hadn't really noticed it, but now you've pointed it out, I'm going to be constantly aware of it... I'll be spending all day tomorrow sanding them into ovals - you're evil, Andrew! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TaleSpinner Posted December 10, 2014 Moderator Share Posted December 10, 2014 The only thing I personally don't like about blocks is the squareness of them. I constantly turn the mini as I sculpt and the corners of the block get in my way when I want to roll the mini back and forth, but that is a very personal trait/habit. Actually, that happens to me as well! I hadn't really noticed it, but now you've pointed it out, I'm going to be constantly aware of it... I'll be spending all day tomorrow sanding them into ovals - you're evil, Andrew! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttuckerman Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Just knock of corners to make hexes. That way they are almost round, but you still have a flat surface for the screw. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Jack Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 It's not an all-the-time solution, but if you go to any public events that serve alcohol you can probably get two or three corks for free. If there's a RenFaire in your area that's serving alcohol, you may be able to ask them to hold onto their corks for you, and end up with a decent bucketful at the end of the season... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CashWiley Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I keep thinking of the old cork skit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornbread Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I use this kind of set up for the big animals. I have a couple of them with different inserts for the middle seperator 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManvsMini Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 If you are still looking for cork, do a Google search for cork stoppers, you can find a big bag of 100 for $15-20, depending on diameter. I find that I knock over wine bottle corks easily as the diameter:length ratio is small. If you have that problem, I recommend looking for tapered stoppers. I picked up a bunch of them when cleaning out a laboratory one summer and love them. The top diameter is larger than the bottom, so I can flip it over and use the larger end as the base. A size 20 or larger should work nicely. They are more expensive, about $1.30 a piece. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonwirn Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Just received a present from my buddy who is a manager at a wine distributor... I had asked him for a couple corks, and he dropped off a grocery bag full of corks! Wooohooo!n I guess some will be going into the next Box of Goodwill. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leader of the Rats Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 I walked into a "Make Your Own Wine Store" and asked if they sold corks because I needed some for an art project, they let me have a handful for free. They had bags of them for sale too but I only needed a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KruleBear Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 You can buy large corks at Menards DIY. I use them for painting larger minis. They are expensive, but the large one seem to be made from ground up cork pressed to shape and has a much nicer density than natural cork for sticking pins into. I assume they are similar to the old lab stoppers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speak_Centurion Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Note: used corks should be baked before use. If you're in the UK, you can buy packs of corks from Wilko. Large corks you can buy as "bung stoppers" from homebrew suppliers or order them on eBay. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Large-Tapered-Cork-Bung-Stopper-Bottle-Jar-size-25-/141331205901?pt=UK_Babay_Baby_Feeding_Cups_Dishes_Cutlery_LE&hash=item20e7ff0f0d 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TaleSpinner Posted January 9, 2015 Moderator Share Posted January 9, 2015 Note: used corks should be baked before use. Why? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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