Howdy.
I've been reading lots of the comments here that some people cover their final foam board carvings with plaster. I can see where it would bring out a nice texture. The test spots I have tryed though don't seem to stick to the foam very well. I thought I might coat the board with white glue first and after letting it dry, try the plaster on top of that. Has anyone else tryed this or any other method?
Thanks my friends.
If there are no large gaps or holes in the foam, Ground Goop would work. To get the actual formula (It is a homemade product) do a search on the Forums in the search box on the right.
I make mine by mixing brown latex paint with a powered paper-machie material. I mix it to a thick paste and spread it on the foam. It takes a few days to dry.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Indeed, I do remember now the goop method. I've also used the WS plaster cloth alot before but am affraid I will loose a bunch of the detail I've been carving on for weeks. Maybe I will try both and find out.
Thanks again.
The LION has some rocks on his layout. Yes, even subway layouts need some rocks. LION goes out into the field, finds a rock and brings it in and mounts it on his layout. Simple and direct. DONE!
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
When I bonded plaster cloth to pink foam, I mixed my latex paint base color with plaster, adjusted the viscosity [thickness] and painted in on. I don't know if this matters, but I've never had any problems with it letting go.
Another thing I found is that when I'm carving rocks and such in a foam surface, if I coat the carver foam with a thinned version of white paint and plaster, I'm able to stain it to local rock colors as though it were a plaster casting. It works well for me.
Happy Railroading!
Lion. This conversation was not about your rocks. It was about something other than that.
If you want to use rocks on your project go get a dump truck load of them.
Belive it or not, this was a question about modeling. Modeling rocks.
I use Gypsolite. It's gritty, rather than smooth, and I like the resulting texture as a base for "natural" scenery. It sticks to the pink foam quite well. I also like plaster cloth, which I use to smooth the contours when I put blocks of cut foam on the layout to form small hills.
Some pink foam comes with a think plastic coating. Make sure you remove that, as the coating doesn't take glue or plaster as well as the foam beneath it.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I just dabbed Dap wall spackle all over the foam with my finger. It adds just enough roughness to the surface of the foam to make a difference. I did it the same way the guy in this video does it. In fact I did all my rock faces following the instruction on this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1D4KBB_GC4
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
scookam Howdy. I've been reading lots of the comments here that some people cover their final foam board carvings with plaster. I can see where it would bring out a nice texture. The test spots I have tryed though don't seem to stick to the foam very well. I thought I might coat the board with white glue first and after letting it dry, try the plaster on top of that. Has anyone else tryed this or any other method? Thanks my friends.
As has been suggested, I also use a layer of plaster cloth to cover the foam. Let it set up hard, then pour some plaster into a rubber mold (Woodland Scenics makes some nice ones, unless you want to make your own). Let it set up until it just starts to crack if you flex the mold, wet the scenery base, then press the mold against the scenery. Some push pins or t-pins will hold the mold in place until the plaster sets up. Starting at one corner gently peel the mold off. If you use more rocks, fill in the spaces with spackling compound or patching plaster. I use washes made from acrylic paint.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Greetings all,
Here are some ideas about scenery as I learned in my 1/35 scale armor dioramas applies to HO layouts as well, after all a diorama is just that, no matter the scale;
Try this method, as I have posted in the past, mix acrylic caulking, acrylic paint (color of the basic ground work) wood glue and thin with water, this makes a great mixture in which to dip wrapping paper in using a paint roller pan. Use a sheet of wrapping paper larger than an area to be covered with a base of carved blue, white or pink insulation board or using the scraps of the insulation make the geological formations. Dip the paper in the mix until soaked through, then drape the paper over the formations. This paper will adhere to the surface and while still wet, sprinkle on ground cover of your choice. As the mix dries it will stiffen without cracking or shrinking. Work in areas about 18" square so as not to out pace yourself. To add scenery material to the exisitng ground, simply spray a mist of water mixed with windshield wiper fluid (alcohol already mixed!) and add white glue to mix with the spray, apply more scenic material.
Also the windshield wiper fluid thins out the white glue for track ballast work as well, the blue tint will not show up.
One last thought, as far as plaster it cracks and shrinks as does joint compound but thinning joint compound as with the caulk should be OK. I've treid all sorts of ground texture with my dioramas and the one that works the best is what I desrcibed in the mix, for some reason the caulk doesn't shrink. Try this method in a small area.
The best,
johncpo
Marlon,
Nice rocks!
for the OP,
I have used bamboo skewers to keep Sculptamold in place on vertical surfaces, leaving a bit of the skewer to protrude above the surface. It's length should be less than the planned depth of your plaster. Then slather on the goo around them to dry and be held in place. It should work with plaster, too. I'm guessing you'll be putting plaster on a more horizontal surface? It'll be messy otherwise.
Just be careful about where the pointy ends end up and protect yourself from them by snipping off the extra length if it protrudes underneath. Then you can reuse that shorter, pointy end to push into the foam somewhere else. Repeat as needed and as long as the skewer point lasts.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Brent. The picures you provided are very nice. I love the coloring on these rocks. This is the look I'm after. I have seen most of the video from the series you recommened and went back to look at them again. This method will be perfect. Thank you, Scookam.
mlehman Marlon, Nice rocks! for the OP, I have used bamboo skewers to keep Sculptamold in place on vertical surfaces, leaving a bit of the skewer to protrude above the surface. It's length should be less than the planned depth of your plaster. Then slather on the goo around them to dry and be held in place. It should work with plaster, too. I'm guessing you'll be putting plaster on a more horizontal surface? It'll be messy otherwise. Just be careful about where the pointy ends end up and protect yourself from them by snipping off the extra length if it protrudes underneath. Then you can reuse that shorter, pointy end to push into the foam somewhere else. Repeat as needed and as long as the skewer point lasts.
I, too, use Sculptamold over my foam base, and I've never had a problem with it sticking. I use a palette knife (a very thin, very flexible putty knife) to just kind of gob it on and push it into position, smoothing it slightly if necessary. Perhaps because Sculptamold contains white glue, I've never had a problem with it sticking. You can tint Sculptamold with tempura powder, but I just paint it with household latex (Glidden Nutmeg Brown) when it's dry.
I've made rock faces with Sculptamold, and I've never had a problem with it sticking. I mix it up good and thick (that's another nice thing about Sculptamold, it's not as picky as plaster about how much water you add) and work from the bottom up. I smooth the face with the palette knife, then use the edge of the knife to add vertical and horizontal cracks.
You can find Sculptamold at your local craft store or on line; about $20 for a five pound bag.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
mlehman Marlon, Nice rocks!
Thank you, Mike!
scookam Brent. The picures you provided are very nice. I love the coloring on these rocks. This is the look I'm after. I have seen most of the video from the series you recommened and went back to look at them again. This method will be perfect. Thank you, Scookam.
Thanks Scookam.
I found the video helped me to get going in the right direction.
When it came to painting I was at a complete loss, so I Goolged "how to paint the Rocky Mountains". The first site that came up gave me a list of about thirty colours I would need. I bought about twenty of them at Walmart. I used those $2.00 bottles in the arts and crafts section. I bought a 4 Litre can of Granite Gray latex as I plan on having a lot of rock to paint. After painting the base coat the Granite Gray I dabbed all the other colours on and ran dry brushes over them after the application of each colour. I am happy with what I ended up with.
Another little trick I learned through a change in plans is what I call the "cheater" rock face. I wanted rock in a couple of spots where the clearance between the hill and track was minimal. What I did was cut a thin slice of foam off with a bread knife and caulked it in place. Once painted you couldn't tell it was only a quarter of an inch thick. It was thinner and a lot less messy than doing the rubber rock mold plaster thing. But because it went so much faster than the rubber mold method I must admit a slight loss in satisfaction. It was done before I new it.
Good luck and post pics.