http://www.babylonjs-playground.com/#R35AE#1
See attached playground for proof.
Ok so:
- Clones share the same geometry as their root
- Instances share everything with their root (including material)
- You can call CreateInstance on a clone but in this case all instances will have the initial geometry as root
You can still use clones but you then have to make them unique (kind of de-cloning):
http://www.babylonjs-playground.com/#R35AE#4