ADC Resin Clay Reviews and Comparisons
Here's my review for 7 popular Resin clays. All of these can be found on etsy. I noticed while browsing the web there is very little info on these available and especially no comparisons. I had zero clue what the differences between Modena and Modena Soft were and the only info on Tamiya was by Tamiya. No one has even touched Freely, let alone talked about it. Many miniature artists also do not want to tell people what clay they are using which is utterly stupid to me. So I have volunteered fix this.
All clay samples were measured to be 1/4 teaspoon to give consistant compairsons when coloring. I have done one colored and one uncolored so you can see how the clay dries in both situations. Kneading time before molding was approx 1 min for each clay so you have an idea how fast they surface dry. Unmolding was done about 5 mins after. All photos were taken in natural light around 5pm. I only photograph in sunlight for accurate color representation.
Everything under the cut because it is picture heavy XD
Grace is soft and stretchy and just a bit tacky to the touch. Upon adding paint it becomes much stickier. It surface dries rather quickly so if you have to do details make it fast. It's got a bit of translucence right off the bat.
Molding: Grace has a lot of boune back so you really have to ram it in there. It's very hard to get right to the edges. Details are not as crisp with a light touch so you have to engrave them deeply.
Unmolding: It sticks slightly to the mold but not too noticible to warrant a mold oil or release. It just perhaps needs longer then the 5 mins I gave it.
Freely is smoother and much more pliable. To me it has a very similar feel to the Modena. When I open the package it appears to be sticking to it a little but in my hands it is not sticky at all. When adding paint it remains smooth and doesn't get sticky either. It's immediately more opaque than the Tamiya, Grace and Cosmos. It appears very bright as well. It has a longer working time than those 3 aswell so it's great if you need more detailing.
Molding: It's very easy to mold, there is no bounce back. Details press in very nicely and stay that way.
Unmolding: It pops right out with ease. No distortion even while still wet.
Tamiya Orchard Master starts off rather firm. It has a slightly yellow tinge to it and is more translucent. It's quite stretchy but doesn't have as much bounceback as grace. It holds the most detail when compared to cosmos and grace. And it has a longer working time. While it gets softer to work with after adding paint, it doesn't become sticky. It is noticible that the clay colors darker then every other clay immediately (it appears I forgot to take a photograph of this stage, derp).
Molding: It's very easy to mold. It's a little fluffier than other clays. I measured with a spoon to be the same as all the others but it still seems to pop out of the mold. So less is more I guess.
Unmolding: Very easy to unmold evidentally as I launched it across the room XD
Cosmos is much much firmer than Grace. It's the firmest out of all of them actually. It feels very bouncy like rubber and yet there is no stretch to it. It feels slightly tacky and is more white in color. It surface dies even faster than Grace. This is also the first clay where I noticed a smell. It smells rather strongly of wet white glue. It definitely requires a stronger hand to knead and yet colors faster than Grace.
Molding: It's got less bounce back than grace and it easier to put into a mold. Though stamped details are just about the same.
Unmolding: It's sticking to the mold. So you either definitely need to use a mold oil or leave it dry in it.
Modena is by far the smoothest and most pliable. It's got a bit of translucence but at the same time it's very white in color. There is no change in feel when paint is added and it's the lightest in color when wet. It has the longest working time out of all the clays and holds the most detail.
Molding: It's really easy to mold, pushes right in with little effort. It's also a bit fluffy like Tamiya so less is more. No bounce back at all.
Unmolding: It falls right out, no effort needed.
Modena soft has that modena smoothness. It's firmer feeling and has an obvious foamy texture. There are no little fibers like you would get with Hearty and it's fully opaque. It is very light in weight and looks crumbly when pulled apart. It would be great for ice creams and breads. It's very dry to the touch even after adding paint but still has a decent working time. It's got a very soft and silky surface. It is noticeably lighter when colored. So you will need more paint than regular Modena. But great for pastels.
Molding: Again easy molding, perfect details, but will not show finger prints. It again is a bit fluffy so less clay is needed.
Unmolding: Pops out like it's nothing at all.
Grace Lightweight is firmer and stretchy. There is a noticable glue smell. It is not as fluffy as Modena but there are no fibers like Hearty clay. It's exactly like grace but lightweight and fully opaque. It colors the lightest out of everything and has by far the shortest working time. It took me the longest to knead in the color and is also the firmest of all the clays. It dried while kneading in the color :/ Would reccommend painting after it's dry.
Molding: While it didn't bounceback like regular grace, it was stil very hard to mold. It is least likely to keep details :/ Partially due to it pretty much drying instantly.
Unmolding: Since it's so dry unmolding is effortless.
I let all clays dry 24 hours at this point.
From left to right: Modena, Grace, Tamiya, Freely, Cosmos, Modena Soft, Grace Lightweight.
As you can see Tamiya dries by far the darkest with Grace Light being the lightest. The Tamiya has dried rather yellow and Modena is a slight cream. Out of the translucent clays Cosmos is the brightest white and mostly opaque. Grace is very much white as well. The surfaces of the Modena clays are very smooth, Freely is also decent. The Modena and Freely clays hold the most details. Modena and Tamiya are slightly flexable and have a bit of squish to them but will not break.
Now to go over shrinkage after drying. Modena and Freely have shrunk very little. While Grace has shrunk the most. Tamiya and Cosmos are in the middle.
I prepared a light wash to see how acrylic paint holds up when thinned, as I am more likely to build up layers for a gradient when I paint. I would like to point out most acrylics in my country are garbage and will not stick to resin clays at all. The paint I used was Padico's Pro's Acrylics. I have had success with Tamiya enamels but cannot thin those into a wash with water.
Modena and Modena soft have the smoothest wash. There isn't much of a fight with the clay on the surface. Grace and Grace Light are streaky and uneven. Tamiya appears streaky going on but dries nice later.Cosmos is the most uneven and takes the longest to dry. Freely is very water resistant. It's a bit uneven but not as bad as cosmos.
I also tried pastel shading because that is what I tend to use with baked goods. The Modenas are the winners again holding the most color and applying the most smooth. The Freely and Grace Lightweight are also decent. The pastel did not want to stick on the Cosmos or Tamiya. The effect on grace is the same as if it was paint. Uneven.
Overall I prefer Modena to everything else. Many people swear by Grace and Cosmos and they're by far the biggest sellers, but they just don't work the way I like them to. They're very popular for fruit deco pieces but I actually tend to prefer Tamiya for more translucent fruit things. That's when I tend to use my Tamiya transparent enamels.
This was my first time trying Cosmos and Freely and I rather like Freely. It's comparable to Modena but Modena is a better price for me. I can buy the white in 60g or 250g but if a shop was ever sold out of that and had Freely, I would definitely substitute it. Modena and Grace also come in color. With mixing your own colors, dark colors can be a pain in the ass so that's a plus for me. I make a lot of Halloween themed pieces so dark colors are a must. I blow through a lot of black.
I did not mind cosmos and I'll be playing with it a little more. Mostly through mixing combinations.
Hopefully all this was helpful. But don't take my preferences as the final word on anything, play around and find what you like. If there's any clay you want to see me try let me know. In the next week or so I'll have lightweight clay review post and a post on mixing different brands. Daiso and Transparent clays will probably get their own posts as well.