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Clay or industrial plasticine is a modeling material which is mainly used by automotive design studios. It was developed as an industrial version of plasticine or hobby clay.
Industrial plasticine is based on wax and typically contains sulfur, which gives a characteristic smell to most artificial clays. Often, the styled object will be used to create molds. However, largely because sulfur can interfere with some mold-making processes, especially if clay surfaces are unsealed surfaces and platinum-cure RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicone rubber is used, sulfur-free variants are now available; these are usually much lighter than sulfur-containing clays.
Design studios
Before a new car model is launched, a long period of finding the right design takes place. Even today, computer models are not sufficient to evaluate the quality of a design. Therefore 1:4 or even 1:1 models are built to get an impression of the final car. These models are created in clay, and usually consist of a wooden or iron frame which is covered with Styrofoam. Clay is loaded on top of the foam. Modelers then use various tools and slicks to finalise the shape of the car.
Suppliers
There are three main producers of industrial plasticine operating worldwide.
- Eberhard Faber from Germany, which is also known for FIMO.
- Kolb (Franz Kolb Nachfolger, Kolb Technology and Kolb America), the company of the plasticine inventor Franz Kolb.
- Chavant, which was founded by the French chemist Claude Chavant and is now located in New Jersey.