Plastic piecepack set (using polymer clay)

["iwigames" <iwigames@...>]

If you are looking to make a plastic piecepack set, consider using polymer clay.
There are several brands - FIMO and Sculpey are probably the best known - and it is 
very easy to work with. I would recommend a mixture of Premo! and Sculpey III for 
best balance of stiffness, durability and ease of working.

Both brands are made by the same company. Premo!, more expensive,  is oriented 
toward artists, Sculpey III more toward casual users. They come in a variety of 
colors.

I haven't made a piecepack set from polymer clay, but I have made other games from 
the material.

In addition to the simple task of rolling it out and cutting out square tiles and circles - 
you can buy square and round cutters in several sizes, there are several ways to get 
the designs on them, depending how "artsy" you want to get -

* For the most basic set, simply apply printed labels to the baked tiles/coins as with 
other materials.

* You can use T-shirt transfers of the designs; this is a little tricky and takes some 
practice but eliminates the possibility of the paper peeling off.

* Decal-type transfers. Several types, e.g. E-Z-Trans.

* For a more handmade look, use canes for the designs. (Canes are a traditional 
method for making repeatable designs in polymer clay.)

* Using cutouts of the designs, you can stencil the designs using acryllic paint or 
other materails (e.g., embossing powder, Pearl-Ex powders, .)

* If you can find (or make) rubber stamps of the sutis and numbers, you can stamp 
the designs into the clay. Coloring the design can be accomplished by several 
methods - ink/paint/powder when you impress the design or backfilling with polymer 
clay after baking (need to rebake).

Anyone interested in using polymer clay for making a piecepack set can email me. 
I'd be more than happy to provide more info and suggest books/Web sites. (If there's 
enough interest, I can post the info.)

--- Irwin