Grampys - your scene is a ripper!
Dave H Your post makes for interesting reading
When using stains you can start over by giving the whole thing a coat of artists gesso [assuming you've used water-based paints] The gesso is ideal for accepting stains.
Mike
Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0
Many people use stains, I used to. But I found it was harder to control the coloring and different pours or types of plaster accepted the stain differently.
Currently I paint the rocks with a base color of the rocks, since I am modeling the SE Pennsylvania they tend to be a darker grey. I buy cheap flat latex wall paint and then color it with craft paints, the type you can get at a craft store on sale for 50 cents a bottle. Then I use the paint to create some variation in the color of the rock to represent strata. When that dries I use washes of thinned craft paint to bring out the details.
Recently I have seen other modelers in the area use a technique recommended by the scenery company Bragdon, painting the rocks black and dry brushing the color you want over the black. The modelers who have tried that method have had very good results.
The good thing about coloring over a base coat vs. staining is with a base coat, if you don't like how it turned out, you just paint a new base coat and start over.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Trainman,
May I add.......
- Even though I was "warned", one of the few major "wish I could do over " mistakes I made on the last layout was to paint the rocks too dark. Paint tends to darken as it dries, and I should have gone significantly lighter. To paraphrase Emeril (the chef), "you can always darken, but you can't (easily) lighten".
- Typically I add color to my plaster so a chip or crack will not show bright white. As you already did your plaster, you might want to cover it all with a light brown wash (diluted latex would work) first to color up the hard to get to places.
- I have traveled the US quite a bit and brought home rock samples from many places. It is absolutely amazing to me as to all the different colors of rock and soil around the country. And, as brought out so magnificently at the Grand Canyon, the addition or absence of sunlight creates so many different shades. My point is, if you are doing a specific area get some samples from there and color accordingly. If its you are going "generic", then just pick whatever colors you like and mute and blend them together.
- Having said the above, sometimes duplicating nature's colors on our layouts just doesn't look "right". My guess is it has to do with the lighting and scope of the area's size as compared to the real thing.
For what its worth!
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
To all: Thanks so much for all the great info. I think that I'll be using the Burnt sienna, Burnt umber, Black, Raw sienna, Raw umber. That's the colors that I was thinking about using on my tunnel and mountains. After reading the good info provided by all of you. I'm set to start coloring. This is my first 4x8 layout, and I'm trying a lot of different things. I wish that I had more room, because I want to do so much more.
Thanks, Trainman Model Railroading is Fun.
The plaster castings on my layout were colored with washes of Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber, Raw Umber and Black.
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
Hi Trainman: Here's some gray rocks. Hydrocal Lite from WS rubber molds, multiple washes of 70% alcohol/India ink, thinned with water, med brown latex paint, more washes of alcohol/ink, final dry brush with light gray paint.
Mark:
I don't know how I'd reproduce it by computer--not that it's complex, it really isn't. It's basically a folded double 'dogbone' on about two different levels, but I really wouldn't know how to show it on computer. I'm just not that knowledgeable about doing it. If it helps--and I'm kind of embarrassed to say so, it just kind of grew like 'Topsy' after I had a general idea of where I wanted it to go. And I will admit that it got into its final shape with a lot of trial and error.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Tom, when can we see your trackplan? Your layout has many "scenes" such as this.
Trainman:
I use Sculptamold for my own rock castings representing the granite/basalt of the northern Sierra Nevada mountains of California, and like you, I like working with it. However I found through trial and error, that unlike Plaster of Paris, or Hydrocal, the Sculptamold does not take staining well unless you stain it while it's still drying. So, depending on the area of the country you're modeling and the type of rock you want to represent, you'll need to actually 'paint' the Sculptamold. I strongly recommend getting a can or so of tan latex spray paint for your base coat, and spray it on lightly enough to 'cover' the Sculptamold, but not so thick that it clogs the rock 'face.'
For my Sierra Buttes on my own MR, which represent a gray granite/basaltic upthrust, I first lightly sprayed the rocks with the tan latex, and then after, gave it another light coat of latex flat gray. After that, I used Bragdon powders applied with a Q-tip to bring out various color highlights. As I said, the final color you use will depend on the type of rock you're trying to duplicate. I'd look at photos of the rocks and formations from the particular area and go with appropriate colors.
I don't know if this will help, but here's a photo of the Buttes in progress: The highlights are done with Bragdon powders applied with a Q-tip.
You need to get yourself a book on modeling scenery, like Dave Frary's How to Build Realistic Model Railroad Scenery put out by Kalmbach. If your budget can stand it, there are some good videos out there so you can see the "masters" at work.
Mark
Thin washes of thinned universal tinting colors is an effective way to color plaster. Common colors used are burnt sienna, burnt umber, black, raw sienna and raw umber.
Use photographs of real scenery to emulate, not other modelers' work. Rocks are different colors depending on location. Be careful not to over darken. Better to build up the color rather than start out too dark.
Here is a real-world example of rock cliffs, location south of White Pass, Alaska.
There are more rock photos at the "Where am I" thread in the general discussion subforum.
Trainman
If you're not modelling a specific location I'd suggest you experiment somewhere with loads of different colours e.g. black, brown, green, blue, red and even purple. Wash the colours on thinly, starting with a thin wash of say black mixed with brown and let it run into the crevices. Wet the rocks before dribbling it on. Keep your paints thin and therefore transparent. Use the whitness of the sculptamold to lighten them by keeping them transparent and thin.
The fact is depending on the type of rock you can get away with pretty much any colour if you use the paint thinly. It's when paint is caked on that you can get problems. In my English chalk cutting I used black, blue, purple and green, with a few whiter highlights added as a final touch. There's a bit of yellow thrown in there too I think.
Maybe this pic of the rock cutting on my US layout will show what I mean.
You can always rub chalks over the surface when the paint is dry. They help kill any sheen too.
Hoping this helps.
I am building a mountain tunnel,and have made a lot of rock forms from Sculptamold. I am now adding the rocks to the mountain tunnel. I am using a thin layer of Sculptamold over the tunnel, and for holding the rock on the tunnel. It works really nice, and looks good. My question is the coloring for the mountain tunnel and the rocks. What I have been thinking about is to use the Tan latex as a base for the tunnel and then use some green ground cover to cover the tunnel, but i think that i need some other colors as well. I also don't know what colors to use for the rock. Thinking about some sort of gray color for the rocks.
Any ideas that would help me. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Trainman11 Model Railroading is Fun