My father-in-law Neil introduced me to Milliput when I was looking for something to use to make the bark on a wire armature for a mini tree. I’d never heard of it, but he very kindly shared his knowledge with me – as a veteran model boat, aeroplane and railway enthusiast, he’s used Milliput for many years.
Milliput is an epoxy putty which comes in two sticks – when you mix the sticks together it becomes a soft putty that will harden like stone in about 2 to 4 hours. The putty can be used in a huge range of applications, from fixing leaky pipes, to repairing ceramics, to making miniature models. It sets extremely hard and once cured, you can sand, drill or paint it. It’s also waterproof and can even set hard underwater.
Milliput sounds like the dream material so I wanted to look into it a little more to find out how it can be used in making miniature models.
What is Milliput used for in making miniature models?
Milliput is predominantly used for filling gaps to help create a smooth surface on miniature models – it works particularly well for disguising seams in plastic models. It can also be used as a modelling clay itself for making things like dollhouse food, miniature stones or bricks, sandbags in war gaming dioramas or any small models! When I used it, it was to cover the wire armature of a miniature tree.
As the material sets so hard, it’s particularly good for creating things like realistic looking bricks, walls and stones.
Milliput is also used to fix gaps and joins in models, such as mould lines (small seams often found in miniatures). The best way to do this is to mix Milliput with a small amount of water as it’s easier to shape and smooth once it’s wet.
Take a small amount of Milliput, make a hole in the middle with the end of your paint brush and put a drop of water in it. The top layer of Milliput will dissolve in the water and create an adhesive ‘wash’ which you can use to fill in gaps with a paintbrush.
Once the Milliput wash has dried, you can sand it to make it super smooth or add colour to it with acrylic paint.
There are five different types of Milliput – Standard, Silver Grey, Superfine White, Black and Terracotta. Standard is used most for model making and sculpting but Superfine White is the better choice if you’re looking to make something very detailed.
How to use Milliput to make miniature trees?
I wanted to have a go at making a miniature tree and wanted to use wire to make the armature as I’ve watched a few cool tutorials on doing it this way. I wasn’t sure what to cover the wire with until my father-in-law mentioned Milliput. I’d used polymer clay before but Milliput is very different, for a start it’s an air dry material, rather than needing to be baked in the over to harden.
So below is a quick tutorial on how I made a miniature tree with wire and Standard Milliput.
- Create he armature using a length of wire that was about 1.5 metres long.
- Mix an even chunk of each stick of Milliput together until the colours are fully mixed and streak-free. I mixed a very small amount at a time so I didn’t waste any.
- Use the Milliput to form the roots and base of the tree trunk, you may or may not have much wire to cover at the base of the trunk as it will depend on how you’ve formed your tree armature.
- Work your way up the wire trunk adding a layer of putty to cover the wire. Don’t worry too much if it doesn’t look too bark-like at this stage.
- When you get the the branches, you can choose how much of the wire you cover, as this will depend on how much foliage coverage you’re planning to have. You may not need to cover all the wire if you know you’ll be covering these with leave or moss later.
- Once you’re happy with the wire coverage you can add detail. You can do this with a sculpting tool such as a needly tool, or even an old toothbrush or tooth pick, whatever you think makes the best bark pattern. You could even use an actual piece of bark to create an imprint on the putty or create little knots or holes in the trunk if you’re going for a gnarled looking tree.
- Let it harden (this should take no longer than about 4 hours) and then paint the trunk with acrylic paint. You’ll probably need a couple of coats to cover the putty.
You can also make a base for your tree out of Milliput.
When you have things blended to your liking grab your wire brush or sculpting tool and begin running it vertically up and down the trunk. The idea is to add a bark like texture to your armature while the surface is still pliable.
What I did and what I learnt making a miniature tree with Milliput
As you can see above, my Milliput tree is not be most authentic looking tree in the wood but it was fun to make and I did pick up some great tips to pass on if you’re thinking of having a go yourself.
- Don’t twist too many pieces of wire into thicker branches – I thought that doing this would make the tree look more realistic, but what it actually did was make it really difficult to glue the coarse turn I was using for leave on. A there was limit branches to glue to turf on, the end result is a very bare looking tree.
- Leave as few holes as possible in the Milliput – I thought I’d done a good job of smoothing out the seams in the Milliput, but adding the material in small sections means there’s lots of opportunity for little holes and cracks to form at the seams. These little holes were very difficult to cover with paint and I ended up adding three coats of paint to the tree.
- Make deep marks in your bark – I thought that scratching the surface lightly with a toothpick would be enough but when the Milliput had set, the light scratch marks were barely visible and the bark looked almost smooth. Next time, I will make deep grooves in the bark.
How long does it take Milliput to harden?
Milliput will fully harden in about 2 to 4 hours and it will be hard as rock. Unlike modelling materials that are baked in the over, such as polymer clay, you can’t go back and finish a model made from Milliput a few hours later. It air dries and can’t be manipulated once it’s hardened.
Why is my Milliput not hardening?
The main reason Milliput doesn’t harden is if it’s not been mixed properly. To mix Milliput, you will need to knead it in your hands for a at least 5 minutes. I found it easier to do this with smaller lumps of Milliput, otherwise your hands will be aching! You’ll know when it has been mixed well enough when the colours of each stick are fully merged and there’s no streaks in the putty..
If you’ve mixed it well and it’s still not hardening then it could be that the packet you have is out dated. If you’ve had a pack for a while, even if it’s not been opened, then it may be difficult to mix and may not harden. My father-in-law reckons that a packet will last for a couple of years maximum but after that, it’s not guaranteed to set.
How do you store Milliput and what expiry date does it have?
An unopened pack of Milliput should last around two years maximum before it becomes too dry to mix and work with. As Milliput is an air dry modelling clay, an opened packet may not last very long unless it’s thoroughly wrapped in sealed plastic bags. It’s important to store Milliput away from light and heat as these will shorten its shelf life.
If you’ve had a box of Milliput in storage for a while and try to work with it, you may find that it’s very hard to mix and may not harden correctly.
Is Milliput toxic?
No, Milliput isn’t toxic, but it is an irritant, so it’s best to wear gloves when working with it, particularly if you have sensitive skin. If you choose not to wear gloves then wash your hands with soap and water immediately after using it.
Can you use Milliput with moulds?
Milliput is designed to be a sculpting putty or to be used to repair things, it’s not the ideal material to be used in moulds. As Milliput sets so hard, if you used it in a mould it would be very difficult to get it out. But the website does say it can be used in casting and and mould making if you use a talc or light oil as a releasing agent.
Can you paint Milliput?
The easiest way to add colour to Milliput is to paint it with acrylic paint once it has cured. Some people recommend using a primer but I just add a couple of coats of paint and this seems to work fine. You might want to add a top coat to to protect the paint from scratches and knocks, but bear in mind that this might add a shoe to the surface which could make your model look less realistic. You can add colour pigmentation powders to Milliput but this has to be done carefully – if you add too much it will make the putty crumbly.