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I have a question… I was overjoyed to finally get an emp, however, since he was shipped bouncing around in the box, he’s bashed. Now… most of the damage by far is on the bottom. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough bottom left for him to stand up on his own anymore. My question is this… If I manage to repair him, (BIG if there), will the repaired area manage to hold his weight? Or will he just come tumbling down and wipe out? All of his feet and his tail are smashed. Most of the pieces are big enough to put back together, but I’m wondering if what’s left will be able to support the sculpture once it’s repaired. Is there a glue strong enough to hold the gypsum together as well or better than the original structure?
Drag0nfeathers actually repoured the entire tail on an emperor and it holds just fine. But she can give you a more definite answer.
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http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmI use Loc-Tite Gel and it works phenomenal for these situations. Beware though if you need to rebreak it because it was mis-aligned or something, your more then likely going to break it somewhere OTHER then the place you glued.
I don’t think he will rebreak honestly. I would be hesitant to SHIP him anywhere, but just being fixed and redisplayed should be fine.
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Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry DragonsSorry to hear about your smashed emp! I have a peacock emp that arrived in a condition very similar to what you’re describing, and it’s heartbreaking 🙁 I was able to repair him very nicely by gluing the broken chunks back together with just white (Elmer’s) glue. Tacky glue would also probably work well, but white glue has just the right consistency to not completely absorb into the plaster, but get in there just enough to adhere the pieces well and not go oozing out the sides.
Although I know others have used super glue or nail glue (cyanoacrylates to those who know their adhesives!) with success, I would NOT recommend this type of thing for a number of reasons. The biggest one is what drag0nfeathers mentioned – you have to have the parts perfectly aligned the first time because it’s very hard to dissolve this kind of glue. With white glue you can soften it with water. Another problem with some super glues is the thin consistency I mentioned above; too thin and it’ll just soak into the plaster without actually adhering the pieces together. They do make gel super glues though, which solves this problem. Finally the other big problem is if you put too much glue on and it oozes out the sides. Super glue will cure rock hard and even if you wipe the excess off before it cures, it’ll leave a streak behind. These glues have been proven to turn yellow and brittle over time, so you’ll have a yellow streak showing as your emp gets older, especially if it’s exposed to sunlight.
What I did to fix my emp was to apply a very thin layer of white glue all across the surfaces to be joined, ensuring the best adhesion. Then for any remaining seams or areas of missing plaster I infilled with epoxy putty. If you have another emperor to make casts of the missing sections from, you can recreate the surface texture almost exactly that way.
Best of luck! I’m glad your thoughts are on repairing him rather than sending him to camp 🙂
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I’ve waited 10 years to get an emp. Camp is SO not an option! The tips are much appreciated!! We’ll see what happens!
Hi! I don’t have enough Apoxie Sculpt left to fix him, and I need to get more. My normal vendor doesn’t carry the white Apoxie Sculpt anymore, now they’ve got Apoxie Clay. Does anyone know if that’s the same thing??
In looking at Aves Studio’s website (the maker of both Apoxie Sculpt and Apoxie Clay), they look to be similar in their work time and how you use them. The differences that I notice are that Apoxie Sculpt is listed as lightweight and, once cured, something made of apoxie sculpt can actually be placed outside in the weather. It doesn’t say you can for Apoxie Clay and it doesn’t say how lightweight it is (it is possible that the Apoxie Clay can do the same things as the Apoxie Sculpt, but it doesn’t say either way on the website).
http://www.avesstudio.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=4
Update!
So far, so good! I’ve glued him back together with Elmer’s glue thinly applied with a brush. (Which worked very well by the way! Thanks!!) I’ve finished most of the sculpting, I just have to finish sanding and doing the fine work, then he’ll be ready to paint! He is very stable, and I’m not worried at all! As I’ll never sell him, shipping isn’t a concern! I just wanted to thank all of you for your great tips! It’s so much easier to do it right the first time!
THANKS!!!This is late, but I have used both apoxie sculpt and apoxie clay. Clay is firmer after being mixed, and has a slightly grainy and more “clay-like” feel. It takes and holds details very well. Sculpt is softer, and in my experience, it smooths out better with water than clay does. It is trickier to sculpt details into apoxie sculpt because of the softness. After curing, they are both pretty much the same. I personally prefer to work with sculpt. I like the texture better. Because it is so soft after being mixed, I let it sit for an hour or two before trying to add any details. It is much easier to add details to sculpt after it has begun to cure! By about 4 hours in, it becomes too hard to really do anything else with. Putting either in a warm sunny windowsill will speed up the cure time.
I like Apoxie Sculpt best too. For large areas I need to recreate, I usually do them in a couple sittings. I have a cat Gargoyle with a missing paw, so rather than do the whole paw in one sitting, I did the basic shape of it, let it cure, and then shaped it a little with an Exacto. Now that it’s cured and sculpted, I have a rock-hard base to put another layer over, and sculpt in the texture without accidentally warping the paw.
Hardly a revolutionary idea (seen lots of sculptors work like this before); it works great.
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