Unstable figures

Hello,
Not sure about which section of the forum is the best for posting this, but I guess this one. If it's wrong please let me know!

As you know, the bunch of my collection are homemade models made with SuperSculpey.
Also many of you know that I dislike bases and when I do birds, I do without a base so they only stand in their toes.
Major brands always does bases for their birds for avoid stability issues.
I was proud of being able to make birds without bases that stand themselves in two thin legs. They was made mostly in last year, and during many months they kept stable. I never would tought that they would turn unstable.
My house is barely isolated from cold and heath. Maybe this is why I've found yesterday my Maleo fallen, standing with the bill and the tips of toes. My Great Bustard fall to a side since some days ago, too. When I try to put in right position again, after various attempts I finally put them upright but after some hours they fall again.

Also, I had the Safari California condor pending from a thread attached with scotch tape. It remained stable since september, when I got it. But despite how intrincatedly was attached the thread into the many intercrossed straps of scotch tape, it managed to slip out and fall into the figures below. My homemade Silky anteater falled off of the shelf, fortunately, despite being made of brittle SuperSculpey, the tiny tail and nails were unbroken.

My question is if SuperSculpey change position with heath, how to avoid this without making bases, if it wil turn stable again once weather are colder again...
At the moment I had to put the bustard supported by the tail against the wall of the shelf.

Well, mos materials move with changing temperatures, so probably that is why many birds are made with a base

One exception is many of Safari's WOW birds, they all have the same sort of "sausage-feet" ( I took a picture a while ago, but can't find it now )
....perhaps Safari found out that this shape of feet keep stable ?

I don't have any experience regarding this subject. So, I hope you can find some good tips from some of the Artists on forum.
Maybe this topic makes more sense on homemade figures thread... I can move it.

As you want! :) Thanks to both :)

I don't really know if super sculpey changes due to warm or cold weather. But almost all materials do and since it concerns very thin areas I can imagine that the small effects can cause the stability of a sculpture to change. Unfortunately, I have no idea if it will 'change back' as the temperature changes.

I understand that you don't like bases for your sculptures. An alternative that I have seen around is using magnets. You can implement a (strong) magnet in a base and a small magnet in the leg, or maybe a metal based wire will suffice if the other magnet is strong enough, in such a way that you won't see it on the outside. This way you can have a figure without a base, but you can magnetize it to a base to be sure it doesn't fall over.

I have had better results over time with Cernit clay. Also, if you can do any sort of wire structure beneath the clay it can help stabilize it.

I use Super sculpey firm clay and have never experienced a model react to hot or cold weather before. Can you post pictures of the damage? Do you put wire in your bird’s legs?

Hello, it passed months since it happened, now the cold time started, and with the cold time the figures remained stable again. They fallen every time while it was hot.

In my bird figures, I use wire for the legs, but the toes are just made from modelling paste. So probably are just the toes what deformate during summer.

Pardofelis wrote:

Hello, it passed months since it happened, now the cold time started, and with the cold time the figures remained stable again. They fallen every time while it was hot.

In my bird figures, I use wire for the legs, but the toes are just made from modelling paste. So probably are just the toes what deformate during summer.

Yeah I saw you posted this a while ago - so do you mean your toes are made from a different modelling clay? I usually strengthen the legs by applying epoxy glue around the top of the legs where they meet the body (you can paint over this glue). I notice you leave the wire bare on most of the leg (I do this too on tiny birds) so you could apply some glue where the wire turns to clay again on the feet? This should help hold the feet in place. The glue I use is a two part epoxy glue and dries clear and rock solid.

Hello, Harriet

SUSANNE wrote:

Hello, Harriet

Hello Susanne!! It’s been a while but I’m going to try and stay a bit more active here again

Hi Harriet!! Thank you so so much again for all you help and it's great to see you on the forum!

Bonnie wrote:

Hi Harriet!! Thank you so so much again for all you help and it's great to see you on the forum!

Hi! You helped in getting me back here, so thank you

HKHollinstone wrote:

Pardofelis wrote:

Hello, it passed months since it happened, now the cold time started, and with the cold time the figures remained stable again. They fallen every time while it was hot.

In my bird figures, I use wire for the legs, but the toes are just made from modelling paste. So probably are just the toes what deformate during summer.

Yeah I saw you posted this a while ago - so do you mean your toes are made from a different modelling clay?  I usually strengthen the legs by applying epoxy glue around the top of the legs where they meet the body (you can paint over this glue).  I notice you leave the wire bare on most of the leg (I do this too on tiny birds) so you could apply some glue where the wire turns to clay again on the feet?  This should help hold the feet in place.  The glue I use is a two part epoxy glue and dries clear and rock solid.

Thanks! No, not a different clay, but the leg is just wire and the toes are made of same paste than the body, so, SuperSculpey. The glue is a good idea for stabilish toes but I can't use it while baking and hardening figures, otherwise they would stick to the surface. I only can use the glue once dried and hard, but it must be done with extreme care because if the drop don't got totally flat against surface, it will be enough for make the figure unstable. Using the glue in the body-leg meeting is of course no problem. I use these wires for medium-sized birds (such as the maleo that fell down many times), tiny birds are just too tiny for make a recognizable leg from wire, so I just add two more or less birdfoot-shaped SuperSculpey structures.
I guess it's all just a matter of the reason why big brands never do birds without a base, except those with short and sturdly legs, and most brands do disproportionately sturdy legs on the birds, such as the ostrich-legged flamingo from Safari LTD.

Pardofelis wrote:

HKHollinstone wrote:

Pardofelis wrote:

Hello, it passed months since it happened, now the cold time started, and with the cold time the figures remained stable again. They fallen every time while it was hot.

In my bird figures, I use wire for the legs, but the toes are just made from modelling paste. So probably are just the toes what deformate during summer.

Yeah I saw you posted this a while ago - so do you mean your toes are made from a different modelling clay?  I usually strengthen the legs by applying epoxy glue around the top of the legs where they meet the body (you can paint over this glue).  I notice you leave the wire bare on most of the leg (I do this too on tiny birds) so you could apply some glue where the wire turns to clay again on the feet?  This should help hold the feet in place.  The glue I use is a two part epoxy glue and dries clear and rock solid.

Thanks! No, not a different clay, but the leg is just wire and the toes are made of same paste than the body, so, SuperSculpey. The glue is a good idea for stabilish toes but I can't use it while baking and hardening figures, otherwise they would stick to the surface. I only can use the glue once dried and hard, but it must be done with extreme care because if the drop don't got totally flat against surface, it will be enough for make the figure unstable. Using the glue in the body-leg meeting is of course no problem. I use these wires for medium-sized birds (such as the maleo that fell down many times), tiny birds are just too tiny for make a recognizable leg from wire, so I just add two more or less birdfoot-shaped SuperSculpey structures.
I guess it's all just a matter of the reason why big brands never do birds without a base, except those with short and sturdly legs, and most brands do disproportionately sturdy legs on the birds, such as the ostrich-legged flamingo from Safari LTD.

Yes you’d use the glue after you’ve baked your sculptures not before for sure. Another thing you could do, which I sometimes do, is bake the legs/feet and body separately and attach them afterward with this glue. It is tricky to nearly impossible making birds without bases unless you’re doing them in a large scale! I haven’t made many without bases! A shoebill in 1:10 is the smallest I’ve done without a base.