Reduce Your Green Stuff Waste!

by Rich K

These are a few tricks I use to keep my Green Stuff (GS) waste to a minimum.

Storage

A lot of GS gets stuck to the inside of the tubes because the manufacturers lop off lengths of GS, slap some silver cardboard ends on them, and then wrap them in a sheet of plastic, which is all well and good.  But, as you pull off bits of GS it tends to squeeze out the gaps between the cardboard ends and the plastic.  When you put it back in the tube, the squozen GS sticks to the inside.

So as not to lose my GS to the inside of the tube, I put my raw GS with the plastic wrap and silver cardboard inside another plastic bag.  In this case, a Ziploc I've cut in half.  Wrap it in that and shove it in the tube.  Now if GS sticks to anything, it will be the inside of the bag and not the tubes.  Much cleaner and easier to scrape up the scraps.

I also tape the tubes together to keep me from losing one or the other (which due to my age, happens now and again).

Mix Less

When I first started using GS, I used to mix a big ball of it...  way more than the project called for usually.  This forced me to try and work really fast so half of it didn't get wasted.  Remember: You can't un-mix it but you can always mix more.  Small batches = less wasted.

Have Multiple Projects Ready

I like to have at least two models, a primary and a secondary, I need to sculpt anytime I mix some GS.  The primary model is going to need the majority of the GS while the secondary will just need little extras put on.  For example, I'm working on a Nurgle palanquin right now but also touching up a Nurgle Lord.  The Palanquin gets large areas of rot and putrification.  The Lord only requires little things like icons, Nurgle sickness, or maybe just a gap filled.

Make Long Cylindars

It's really easy to roll out a cylinder and let the GS cure.  What I do with them is if I screw up drilling out a weapon muzzle, I'll super glue a section of this cylinder on to the weapon and just re-drill.  Super easy!  Also, if you need non-textured hoses for engines and such, you can just bend these cylinders where you need them and Superglue them into place.

Make Tentacles or Tubes

I'll also roll out some tubes with a Tentacle Maker and hang them to cure.  Hanging allows them to dry straight and without flat spots.

Make Blisters

This is an easy way to make Nurgle blisters: roll your extra GS into spheres and let them cure. Then slice them in half and smoosh them into a diseased section of your model.

My WIP Palanquin.

If any of you have similar tips, please feel free to add them in the comments section below.