Making a Clay Steam Train
Pop bought me a packet of Sculpey and some sculpting tools but wasn't free to teach me how to use them. So it was a joint project to make a clay train with Mom. But what do Mom n I know about clay sculpture? Fortunately, there r plenty of instruction videos on Youtube showing how things are made include using Sculpey, a polymer clay.
Here are the stuff we started with:
1 pkt Sculpey Ultralight
Sculpting tools (small plastic knife n toothpicks will do)
1 old bottle (or old rolling pin)
Recycle toilet roll tube
2 ice-cream sticks
Oven (hair dryer also can)
I used a toilet roll tube to reinforce the body of the engine and also to save on Sculpey. The driver's cab frame was done with half a golf ball box with windows cut into it. After kneading the Sculpey, I rolled it with the glass bottle to about 1/4 inch thick and wrapped it round the frame (use ice-cream stick on both sides when rolling to get consistent thickness). One thing I noticed about Sculpey is that the cut off pieces and even the tiny bits become as good as new when I knead them together again unlike ordinary clay.
After putting together the steam engine, cab, funnel, boiler, whistles, light, wheels, cow catchers and coupling, it was time to bake. But alas, silly old Mom got the instructions wrong and baked at 275°C instead of 275°F. So, here's what it looks like:
I'm still thinking whether I should paint it or leave it as it is, like a toasted dough steam train.
