Here's my first try at a rice bale. I think the results are great, but it was a little labor intensive- at least for the first one; now I know what to expect for the next six (I don't think I'll make anymore than that unless I can think of a new technique.)
It starts as a small log of Sculpey. I roughly carve out the straw along the sides, chop up the ends and carefully push in grooves around the circumference where the bale wire will rest. Bake.
I then tie up the bale wire/rope and spot glue the knots to hold it together. Paint. Done!
A note on the rope: To make scale rope, I took a long length of sewing thread (4-5 feet), then folded it once on itself. The folded end, I wrapped around a fixed nail (to act as a third hand). Then I started winding the opposite end until I was satisfied with the look. Holding the rope taught, I applied a frugal amount of superglue up and down the rope, then I took a tissue and wiped the rope up and down- not to wipe off excess glue, but to evenly distribute the glue and help it saturate into the rope to help hold it all together.
Once it's dry (shouldn't take more than a few minutes), the rope is ready to use! The superglue gives it a nice rigidity-to-flexibility balance helping it to hold its shape and making it very easy to work with.
Now, of course, you could take three pieces of thread and actually braid it for a more authentic look, but all I was using it for was to wrap rice bales.
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