Some projects require additions of some sort. If they are accessories that are not directly attached to the pony, this step can wait until the end. If you are going to do things like add horns, wings, tails, clothing, or other items to the pony, this needs to happen right after prepping the bait.

Materials needed:

• Sculpting medium
• Sculpting tools
• Something to protect the surface of your working area
• Water
• Oil (optional)
• Disposable gloves (optional)
• Wire or wire mesh (optional)

There are any number of sculpting mediums out on the market. Some are very good, but in my experience, most of them just plain suck.

• Plasticene or other modeling clay-This stuff never dries/cures, so is completely and utterly useless for our purposes. Save it for claymation videos on YouTube or something.
• Crayola Model Magic-Words cannot describe how terrible this stuff is. About the only pro it has is that it is very light once dry. It is extremely difficult to properly smooth together, often cracks during the drying process, and has huge shrinkage problems. This means that as it dries, it gets smaller and smaller. In the case of a pony, whatever you're sculpting obviously needs to be in some sort of scale with the pony, so something with shrinkage issues is horrible, especially as it can take weeks or months for it to finally reach its final size. My experience with it was in very arid Utah, so in areas where it's humid, it will probably take even longer to finish shrinking, making it less likely you'll even discover the problem until it's too late. Avoid at all costs!
• Polymer clay (Sculpey, Fimo, Premo, etc)-These are compounds that once had their place simply because of availability. Though the different brands and compounds have slightly different compositions, they all have the same problems to some extent. The main two problems involve putting pieces together and brittleness. If you sculpt pieces separately, no matter how much you blend the edges together, it does not adhere to itself in the middle, making the connection very fragile even after baking. They also are brittle, a property that increases with additional baking or age. Many people do not seem to consider the longevity of their work on customs, but if this is a concern for you, avoid it. I've been using it since I was a little kid, but after trying some alternatives, I will not go back. The exception to this is Bake and Bend Sculpey. There are projects where a part might be required to be flexible. In these cases, Bake and Bend Sculpey is my medium of choice. Pet Peeve: A brand of polymer clay is Sculpey. You sculpt with it. There is no such thing as Sculpty.

  If, despite my warnings, you decide to use a polymer clay anyway, there are a few things to keep in mind. The magnet covers present in G3s available from 2003 to the first half of 2007 will melt in the oven and need to be removed before baking. Some people over the years have advocated boiling the pony as an alternative. Testing by AeraCura in July 2007 has revealed that only a thin top layer of the polymer clay is cured by boiling, however. Many people have also reported problems with crumbling after boiling. If you must use polymer clay, bake it, don't boil it. At least that way it will get cured properly. Finally, if you have pet birds, do not bake clay in your house. While baking, it lets off a rather strong odor. While some, myself included, rather like the scent, the fact that there is so much of it going into the air indicates there are chemical fumes being produced. It's not worth risking the possibility of respiratory problems or even death in your birds to use this. Borrow a neighbor's oven or get a small toaster oven you can use outside.

• Epoxy clays-There are also some two-part epoxy clays on the market, most notably Apoxie Sculpt and Apoxie Clay from Aves Studio. With these, you mix equal parts of each of the two types provided to you. A chemical reaction is formed between the two parts that eventually causes the clay to cure. No baking is required but there is a limited working time depending on the product and the age of it. Epoxy clays are very durable and experience little to no shrinkage. They take to sanding and carving very well and stick to most surfaces without a problem. This includes cured bits of itself and a very strong bond can be formed between parts with relatively small surface area. Chun-li is a good example of this. The spikes on her bracelets did not have much surface contact, but despite some rather rough handling and me holding the pony using them, only two or three came loose and needed to be glued back on. I have only used Apoxie Sculpt myself, but people have reported equally good results with similar products used for things such as Warhammer figures. Apoxie Clay, according to the manufacturer, is slightly less sturdy, but holds detail better.

  It's possible to become sensitive to the chemicals in epoxy clays, so some people prefer to use gloves when mixing them, and sometimes even when sculpting with them. This also helps to keep your hands clean, as they tend to be very sticky when first mixed. Depending on your application, it might be wise to wait 15-30 minutes to let it set up a bit. It becomes stiffer and less sticky as it cures, which holds detail better, but does not adhere to other surfaces as well. It does not adhere to water, which can be used to help smooth parts together or to keep your hands relatively clean. This works well for most people, but I'm kind of messy and overenthusiastic and find I end up with a muddy mess if I use water to protect my hands. After reading an article which, alas, I don't have the link to, I tried the suggestion of using oil on my hands instead, which I find works very nicely. The article suggested lanolin, but as I didn't have any at the time I read it, I used emu oil. I have since tried lanolin and much prefer the emu oil, which is less sticky, rubs into the skin better, and seems to last a bit longer. Most people don't just have this lying around the house, however, and it is expensive, so I'd encourage experimentation with different types of natural oils. If you find something that works well, please email me and I'll add it to the list!

  Because of the stickiness of epoxy clays at first, combined with the use of water, things can get rather messy. You should protect the surface you're working on. I use the Glad Press 'n' Seal plastic wrap stuff. With pressure, it adheres pretty well to the surface beneath it, but can be removed easily with no damage done (it seems to work through some sort of suction). It does have little bumps all over it to create the seal, however, so if you need to be sure there is no sort of texture on a piece that is going to touch your work area while curing, don't use this as it will leave impressions in the cured clay.

Once you're ready to sculpt, the sky is the limit! Use your tools to help you. These can include official sculpting sets from art stores or even just things you have around the house that will do what you need, such as using a tiny brush to smooth out seams in close quarters or a pen cap to make a certain texture. Use your imagination! When sculpting relatively thin pieces that are parallel to the surface of the pony, no additional supports are generally needed. If you're doing things like horns, wings, or tails, there needs to be a support or the addition will be very prone to break. Wire works for things like horns and wider surfaces like wings do well with wire mesh to form a base. Whatever you use, part of the support should be anchored inside the body with glue, additional clay, or both.

Once you're done sculpting, it's time to paint.