A New "Miracle Material" For Scenery

[Anonymous]

Maybe everyone but me knows about this but here goes: Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler.

This product looks and feels like old-fashioned plastic wood, but is way better. It is water soluble. It is easily sculptured. It doesn't dry too fast to be usable. It sands really easily. It holds all kinds of paint.

I just complete a small hill with the basic form roughed in with pink insulation board. I then smoothed on the wood filler to get the next level of detail. And then I added the final surface by smoothing the surface with a damp paint brush (1" or so wide), and then finishing up any small trouble spots with a wet finger. As the material dries, you can use the damp finger technique to remove any streaks and give the appearance of raw dirt.

I have also used wood filler successfully over plaster cloth and to fill the tiny cracks between a building and its foundation.

[xx(]Cautions: If you put it on too thick (1/2" or more), it will crack as it dries and may require a couple of days to dry thoroughly. If you add too much water, it will loose its strength, so use it straight from the jar and limit water applications to brushing the surface. It is not suitable for casting, or detailed usage like a crved brick wall. I've had limited success using it to build highways.

I like this material way better than hydrocal, plaster, or paper mache. Give it a try. You'll find it near spakling compound, plaster, and such in Home Depot, Lowe's, or other home improvement stores.[:)]

[pbjwilson]

Hi Don. Alot of painting products are great for modeling. I'm a painter by trade and use alot of paint products on my own layout. Here's a few I really like. ...
Caulk - great adhesive, stays flexible, dries fast. I use it all the time for glueing down lichen and foliage clusters. Adheres extruded foam board fast.
Clear wallpaper adhesive - dilute and use just as you would elmers glue. I like the border adhesive which is basically elmers glue but even less expensive.
Durabond - mix with water, not quite as strong as plaster , slower dry time. Mix it with latex paint and you get a stucco type material.
Texture paint additives - Add to paint, comes in differant size ttextures.
Modern Masters dead flat varnish. Makes any surface dead flat.

[der5997]

Great to hear about new ways of doing things. Thanks for the tip.
Here's what I've found recently

Under your table saw is an almost inexhaustable supply of wood filler laying around for the price of the lumber you just sawed [:-^]

It takes a bit of sifting this sawdust to get the grade required for the project at hand, but t he only other cost is the water soluble glue of your choice, and the time it takes to dry out after the diluted glue has been mixed with the sawdust. I use a 50 - 50 dilution and white glue. I'm going to try to find the border adhesive, and compare costs. The sawdust has a nice texture that makes a flat area of foam board into a field, even before dusting on ground foam.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by pbjwilson

Hi Don. Alot of painting products are great for modeling. I'm a painter by trade and use alot of paint products on my own layout. Here's a few I really like. ...
Caulk - great adhesive, stays flexible, dries fast. I use it all the time for glueing down lichen and foliage clusters. Adheres extruded foam board fast.
Clear wallpaper adhesive - dilute and use just as you would elmers glue. I like the border adhesive which is basically elmers glue but even less expensive.
Durabond - mix with water, not quite as strong as plaster , slower dry time. Mix it with latex paint and you get a stucco type material.
Texture paint additives - Add to paint, comes in differant size ttextures.
Modern Masters dead flat varnish. Makes any surface dead flat.

Thanks for all the tips. I was especially interested in the Modern Master varnish. When I think of varnish, I think of something pretty thick. . . will this stuff cover details, say like the mortar joints in a brick wall?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by der5997

Great to hear about new ways of doing things. Thanks for the tip.
Here's what I've found recently

Under your table saw is an almost inexhaustable supply of wood filler laying around for the price of the lumber you just sawed [:-^]

It takes a bit of sifting this sawdust to get the grade required for the project at hand, but t he only other cost is the water soluble glue of your choice, and the time it takes to dry out after the diluted glue has been mixed with the sawdust. I use a 50 - 50 dilution and white glue. I'm going to try to find the border adhesive, and compare costs. The sawdust has a nice texture that makes a flat area of foam board into a field, even before dusting on ground foam.

I'm picturing myself mixing water, white glue, and sawdust and all I see is a mess. How do you mix it? What kind of consistency do you work for? Does it come out thick like putty or more like catsup?