Tamiya Putty

[Ranger565]

Hey guys, Is there any reason that Tamiya Putty is nearly impossiable to buy in the USA?? Now I have heard the roomer the Putty will not ship to the Country because it has some kind of unhealty product in the putty, that the USA does NOT want its consumers having. I have to go on Ebay to buy this product now. and 95% of the sellers are NOT from the US. So if anyone can shed some lite on this subject and where it wont cost me 17 USD a tube from a store in the USA.

Or if you can point me to a better product.

Thank you

Ranger565

[Mechamaniac]

Ummm, why Ebay??

eHobbies

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Hobbylinc

[magicsp00n]

I don't know where you're trying to buy it, but I live in Orlando and can think of a few local shops off the top of my head that carry Tamiya putty for under $5.00. What sort of stores are you looking in?

[Ranger565]

Well I am in New Orleans, so its been hard to find here, Also the 3 small Hobby shops I have near me told me they could not get it anymore ands its been over a year since they could get it. dont know. But just tryign to buy localy, guess i will have to order online from now on.

thank you

[Sar]

Which Tamiya putty are you talking about, anyway? As I understand it, they do two-part epoxy, polyester and 'grey' putties... the polyester one is the only one that's remotely expensive enough it might be costing you seventeen dollars. Although from HLJ there it's about thirteen including shipping... probably less if you buy more than one tube at once.

I've only tried the polyester one myself, which is... pretty much the same as other polyester putties I've tried, my local auto-parts shop sells a variety for bodywork filling, I can't imagine the same isn't true of stateside auto shops. Or stores, or whatever you guys call them. ;-) Isn't 'Bondo' something like that?

My two-part-epoxy needs are covered by things like Milliput, MagicSculpt (seems to be the same sort of consistency to the Tamiya epoxy I saw in a video once) or Kneadatite, all of which I gather are available in the states to some degree. For 'grey' putty I use Italeri's above others, but pretty much every modelling company under the sun seems to make one and Revell's 'Plasto' is the only one I'd specifically avoid from the ones I've tried.

Polyester putties give off toxic fumes, and 'grey' putties are often thinned with pretty evil things, but two-part-epoxy putty I think is only bad for you if you're stupid enough to eat it...

[David Hingtgen]

I think some hobby shops get confused by the polyester/epoxy putties---90% of the time they think I'm talking about them when I ask for "Tamiya putty"----I think they presume anybody wanting "normal" putty will just buy the Squadron stuff and will only ask for Tamiya for those more unique products. There's stores I've been to that keep the more expensive stuff on the shelves, but I have to special order the standard gray putty. ::gets out tube::

The normal grey putty is "Tamiya Putty Basic Type" and in smaller text: "Tamiya Modeling Putty for Plastic Models"

PS---anyone tried that light-activated putty? I REALLY want to, as I find putty fumes to be about the worst. (the light-activated putty seems to be along the lines of windshield repair stuff---UV hardens it instead of evaporating solvent)

Edited December 24, 2005 by David Hingtgen

[Kylwell]

Forget Tamiya, go Aves.

[David Hingtgen]

Ahh yes, Apoxie. Never tried it, but have read rave reviews.

[Kylwell]

I've tried a lot of different putties, from Green to Pink to Mr. Dissolved Putty, and Aves will replace 99% of them.

You can polish it to a shine, is close to the same desnity as plastic, smooths nicely, handles well, and scribes like a charm.

Get a sampler pack and give it a go.

Oh, and it comes in a variety of colors including silver.

[MechTech]

Thanks for the info Kylwell. I'm gonna give it a shot. I've been using Millliput for almost 15 years and loved it, but it seems to get nasty in a short shelf life period. It won't fully mix and leaves lumps after a month or two from purchase, probably because it sits a the store for a while due to cost.

[Sar]

I've been using Millliput for almost 15 years and loved it, but it seems to get nasty in a short shelf life period.  It won't fully mix and leaves lumps after a month or two from purchase, probably because it sits a the store for a while due to cost.

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Just as an aside, which Milliput are you using? I seem to remember the box of standard I had years back doing something like that, but I've literally never had any problem with the superfine variety; I think the box I'm just about to finish - got about 6mm left of each stick - I've had for two years or so, it's still absolutely fine...

Also as an aside, actually... does anyone know where I might get hold of Aves putty in the UK? I'm intrigued enough to want to give it a try, but my usual supplier's never heard of it...

[Kylwell]

Unfortunately I don't unles you want to order from Starship Modeler. They regularly ship to the UK and beyond.

[Sar]

unles you want to order from Starship Modeler

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Yeah - it's one of those "I will if I have to" things. I don't mind ordering from abroad, but getting stuff within the country is more convinient. And usually cheaper. ;-)

[Kylwell]

You could try to contact Aves and see if they can tell you of any distributors in the UK. The only folks over the pond that I know use Aves get it from SSM so they're no help.

[MechTech]

I haven't seen the Aves putty anywhere in the UK either and I've been all over. The milliput I use is normally the superfine type. I just bought some a few weeks back, so we'll see how it goes.