General Discussion (Model Railroader)

David:

The other thing you can do is paint an opaque base coat of gray or some other basic rock color over the plaster and let it dry. Then stain the rock wall with a dark color to bring out the crevices and cracks, apply some very thin yellow brown, blue gray, or red-brown washes in blotches to give the rocks some variation in color and finally dry bru***he high spots on the rock face with a light color to give the rocks some snap.

The opaque color first would solve your "different colored plaster" spots neatly.

Thanks again. I will be working on the area today and will try your method. I usually let the plaster dry for a couple of days. theres no rush, its a hobby not a job. Im retired now and can spend as much time as I want on Model RRing.

>sigh< ... digging this FORUM CLINIC out of the din ONCE AGAIN ...

ARTHILL

I was going through old RR mags the other night... the article you want is June 1969 RMC (Am I aloud to name that here)? P43 "Will the real Bill Baron". I reckon this is the best way.

While looking I also founda Sept 92 article on telephone wires (P80)... someone was asking about that recently... and a Feb 80 article on a location receiving corn syrup.

So, if whoever asked those questions is reading this...

Bump!

NOTE: For the latest version of this clinic, see: http://mymemoirs.net/model-trains/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=157

Bump

With the latest crop of scenery questions, time to resurrect this thread ...

Sorry I didn't get back sooner, having too much fun doing a lot of scenery. Your suggstion to soak the existing castings worked, thank you.
In rereading this topic I read that you use masking tape over you cardboard strips. I use screen and the add the plaster soaked towels. It does the same thing and the plaster soaks through a bit and bonds nicely. I had a cheap ( free) supply of screening now I have used it all I will try the masking tape method. Will the plaster bond to the tape or is that not really a concern?

David:

Masking tape can be kind of slippery, making the initial application of the plaster sometimes a problem if the surface is sloped. If you can get the plaster to stay put, bonding to the tape as it hardens has never been an issue.

To solve this problem, paint the plaster with a coat of dirt-colored latex paint. This gives the tape some "tooth" and will help it not slide around while its wet. Another trick is to use two coats, first applying a very thin coat that is almost plaster "paint" and after that sets up, applying a much thicker coat to give the scenery shell strength.

As an interesting aside, applying masking tape to the cardboard strips, then painting the tape dirt brown can, in a pinch, give you some rough layout scenery. It's fast, and it looks a whole lot better than bare benchwork! [swg]

Thanks again I will give the technique a try.

BUMP

Just updated the opening post with the latest link to a new, improved, updated and easy-to-find version of this scenery clinic on my forum at:

http://model-trains-video.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=157

bump

bump