How do i make a mountain?

[Anonymous]

Can some one tell me where to start on making my mountain,is starifoam or plaster better or what is easier? Theres a pic on this link of my layout

[chateauricher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Siccmade
Can some one tell me where to start on making my mountain,is starifoam or plaster better or what is easier? Theres a pic on this link of my layout

First off... What pic ? What link ?

Second... What materials are best for building a mountain depend on a number of factors...

the finished size and shape;

the presence of any tunnels;

the presence of any tracks on the mountain slopes;

the materials you are already using (and, therefore, have readily at hand);

the materials you can find and purchase;

your budget; and

your skills.

Don't forget, personal preferences are also a factor.

Thirdly... Which is better and/or easier is a matter of personal preferences. Both foam and plaster have their pros and cons. And, often modellers will combine the two -- using foam as a base, and the plaster for the "skin".

[Anonymous]

i put the link on here but it doesnt work i guess

[selector]

You can also use strips of cardboard glued with hot glue. You can weave them into a mountain shape, or merely bend them over previously laid ones. Or, use chicken wire! Once you have your basic mountain base, including openings in the right places if your track plan calls for them, you can then overlay that form with paper towels dipped in plaster of paris. Let each layer harden thoroughly. Spray each previous layer with water before you add a new layer so that the dry plaster doesn't wick out the new stuff's water before it has a chance to set! When you get the hard shell (it needn't be more than three or four layers thick IF you will never endanger it by crushing it where it is placed), you can paint it with a very light shade of tan and gray, and immediately sprinkle at least two shades of green ground foam. Add a light dusting of the coarse stuff over that to improve the natural look, and let the paint dry. Then spray the ground foam with well-diluted carpenter's glue, adding two drops of dish detergent as well. Let it dry, and add some trees when you can. You'll probably have to poke some holes, and maybe hot glue the trees into them so that they don't fall through.

[tstage]

Siccmade,

Sorry but there is NO link nor pic in your post.

Tom

[jwar]

If you elect to go with alum screen and plaster, heres a tip. Spray perm a tex spray adheasive to the back of the screen and apply a plastic wrap like Saran. After twisting, wrinkeling or whatever you want to do to get your contours in, hot glue or staple it to the frame (I dont use foam) with the plastic wrap on the inside of the hill or mountain. Then dulute water in the plaster to get it about like a milkshake and apply with a stiff paintbrush. The Saran wont let the plaster go throught the screen, is not a messey job, usually two coats will suffice, paint as the above thread state.

Its a tad expensive but if you have the bucks and want a fantastic looking granitte, rocky, or shear cliffs on your mountain, take a look at Bragdons website for Geodesic foam scenery, I put in over twenty square feet and every visitor so far love it, very realistic. If I ever learn how to post pictures, owell huh...

perhaps you might want to try a mock up in the garage, before you build the mountain.
Take care...John

[RMax1]

Newspaper balls and plastercloth work good for me. The shape and size is easy to control.

RMax1

[cwclark]

another way to build mountains is to use sheets of pink or blue insulating foam board (don't use the styrofoam...it's not the same stuff)...you can cut it out and stack (use a latex glue or caulk to hold it together) until a mountain shape is formed and then you can take a kitchen steak knife of hobby knife and scrape out rock formations into the sides of it where ever you please...once it's in place and the rocks are carved, paint the entire thing with latex flat white..once the paint is dry, mix a 20 / 80 solution of black india ink and water in a fine mist spray bottle and lightly spray the solution on the mouintain in random patterns but mainly where you see shadows on the mountain when you look at it in the light...after the india ink dries you'll need to stain, not paint, the earth tone colors on the mountain...( i mix the paint in 50% / 50% - water / paint) I start at the top using a medium 1" or 2" brush with the light colors and as i work my way down the mountain, Ill switch to the darker colors..if you want a southwestern look, then use latex yellow ochre, raw sienna, burnt sienna, and at the bottom portion of the mountain, red iron oxide.....if you're after eastern colors than use whites, grays, and light tans....once it all dries take a small artist's brush and lightly paint the ends of the rock outcrops with full strenght flat white latex paint to highlight the rock tips...its basically all about the shadows, highlights, and the colors of the paint used to make it look like a real mountain....chuck

[nbrodar]

Check out Dave Frary's Realistic Scenery for Model Railroaders.

Currently, I use pink foam board covered with drywall mud for all my scenery. Although, a tad on the slow side, it's lightweight and very controllable. However, the foam board can be expensive.

I have also used woven cardboard strips and crumpled newspaper, covered with plaster soaked paper towels. This is much cheaper and faster, but messier and not as controllable.

My previous layout combined both methods. I used foam board for flat sections, low hills and waterways. For the tall mountains, I used cardboards strips and plaster.

Nick

[ARTHILL]

I use them all and which is best depends on my mood. The pink/blue foam is nice. I keep track of local building sites and get enough from the dumpsters to build everything I need. Tell the forman you are a model railroader and he may well just give you a pick up full of scrap. You don't need big pieces anyway. Foam is nice to plant trees in. I am covering some foam with plaster and putting the paint and ground cover directly on the foam in some places. This expermenting is both fun and it keeps different parts of the railroad from looking all the same.

[tommyr]

Well first you get a molehill & then......[:D][:D] Just kidding. All of the above is good advice, just pick what you feel comfortable with.

[Anonymous]

Boy am I learning a lot on these forums. Haven't started my "Monster" yet. This coming spring though, retiring to West Virginia. Just in my planning stages, about $4,000.00 worth of planning that I've spent so far. Whatever happened to mixing dry wall, the dry bag topping, with plaster in equal amounts, plus latex paint, earth colors depending on the area you're scaling and icy cold water. Painting consistency first over your screen or paper mache. Let it dry and the thicker stuff mixed the same way applied with putty knife, butter knife or whatever to form ledges, boulders, rocks, and different contours. Ceiling tile broken pieces glued and stacked and sealed at tunnel entrances and painted (decorated) to look natural, seems folks who visit you are in awe with a train going in and out of mountain tunnels, those entrances and egress's need look natural and real. I will be trying a lot of the pink or blue stuff, seems a lot better for certain applications. With all this knowledge here I don't have to reinvent the wheel, you reach a certain age and you become teachable again. Thank you guys for all this info! Keep'em Rollin"