Mountain construction Methods

[HappyWarrior]

Hi all,

I am currently constructing a layout and am wondering what is the best way, economically, overall, and most realisticly.

Thanks, Happy Warrior

[galaxy]

Cheap way is  wads of newspapers covered with plaster-of-paris coated old bedsheets or paper towels..

You can also use corrugated cardboard strips interwoven to make a base and use the same paper towels or bed sheets over them.

You can use "Hardware cloth" wire mesh or screen material to make a basic shape and cover with said materials.

You can also buy "plaster cloth" used for old fashioned body casts, but that gets expensive.

You can use rigid foam carved to the shapes you want as you base, paint and flock with grond cover and or dirt, or plaster cloth.

There are so many ways...do a community search for "making mountains" or 'mountains and see what threads come up.

Good luck

 

[Johnnny_reb]

There are a few ways to make mountains, most older people like the cardboard strips over wadded up news paper style. But most younger people like form board cut to shape. Either way next drape paper towels dipped in plaster over the while thing. Once dry carve to shape and paint.  Foam mountain YouTube - Rocky Hill Tutorial - Video 1 Look around on Youtube and see what else you can find.

[gregc]

why don't you cut up a few cardboard boxes and try the various approaches - foam, wadded up newspaper, cardboard strips, ... - and see what each entails and which you like best.    i've read that if you have to go out an buy foam sheets, it's expensive.   but this obviously won't be the case if you've a collection of foam from packages.

[cowman]

As mentioned there are several ways to make mountains.  If you have the material, I suggest using foam for the places you will be planting trees.  For larger, more distant hills, where you will put puffball trees or other less distinct trees, the shell method will do fine. 

If you feel plaster is too messy, you can dilute white glue 50:50 and use it instead of the plaster mix.  You can find references to this by searching for glueshell.  Procedures are just the same, just a different medium.

Foam can be carved to look like rock outcroppings.  Plaster rock castings can be attached to either type of base..

If you don't have a scenery book that describes these methods you can go to your local library and see if they have or can get some books for you.

Good luck,

Richard                                                         

[HHPATH56]

I build my large mountains (with tracks in the hollow space below), with reinforced plywood arcs, covered with screen wire. The screening is then covered with Sculptmold or Hydrocal plaster. One can then paint with spray cans of various colors. If the mountains are to be covered with trees, I drill holes for the trunks before spray painting. (No white plaster mess.) Bob Hahn

[Motley]

I used the spray expanding foam you get at Home Depot. Then I used the rubber molds for casting rock faces.

[CTValleyRR]

I have made mountains both by balling up newspapers and covering them with plaster of paris, and by layering 1" foam board wedding cake style and covering it with Sculptamold.  I like the results I achieved with both.

Basically, in this hobby, there usually isn't a "Best" or even a "Better", or "Right" etc.  It's all about tradeoffs and preferences.  What works for you and what doesn't.  Which one costs more, takes more of your time, etc.

In this case, the newspaper / plaster of paris scenery goes in very quickly -- I did my son's 4x8 layout in about 2 hours -- but it's pretty messy.  With foam and Sculptamold, it's easier to control the mess, but it takes a lot longer.

Realism isn't really an issue with the method.  That's more in the skill of the modeler, and that generally improves with practice.

[jalajoie]

This mountain was built with 2" extruded foam covered with a thin layer of plaster and rock molds.

 

[riogrande5761]

I like the card board stips and webbing method.  It requires less material than some methods.

I used a glue gun to attach the strips and make a webbing and lay down plaster cloth over it.

[Phoebe Vet]

I use large pieces of scrap packing foam, newspaper, and plaster cloth.

[bogp40]

riogrande5761

I like the card board stips and webbing method.  It requires less material than some methods.

I used a glue gun to attach the strips and make a webbing and lay down plaster cloth over it.

As mentioned above, there are quite a few methods to construct a hill or mountain. I will use all the various methods but do perfer the cardboard strip, especially for the very large hills/ mountains that are on a large club layout.  Small lumps, bumps, cuts and other detail are much better done w/ cut foam. I find that wire screening doesn't work for me on anything large expanse, does better for fill-ins on small areas between track etc when layout construction is open grid (cookie cutter or spline). The screen is stapled to the ply subroadbed or spline. It is difficult not to have all those wires poking up through the finish scenery.  The weight of the sculpamold/ plaster causes sag witch requires the contour shapes to be held up with under laying temp supports.

If doing the stacked foam (wedding cake style), you don't need to use full large pieces for the bottom layers on larger footprints. This is just a waste of foam. Just build up the layers using narrower sections around the base perimeter leaving the inside hollow. As you extend upward, then cap w/ full sheet that is cut to contour.  Many times the susequent layer can be cut to fit before actually placing, position piece and under scribe the lowered shape, lift off and cut away from the layout. Keep fitting and shaping to desired effect. This cutting aside from the layout works great if you use a hot wire as you have much better control and the mess can be confined to a seperate work area. I will do this over a cardboard box or trash can. This puts most of the mess in one spot and not over the layout. Save all those excess pieces as they can be used later. Layers can be glued by latex caulk, carpenters glue, "low" temp hot glue or my favorite (tile mastic) applied w/ a notched/ serrated putty knife. You need to experiment with what will work for you. Arthill as many others use foam method and have some remarkable results.

The cardboard strips are simple to position from ply base or subroadbed up to against backdrops. For hills running up against a backdrop, draw the hill shape on the backdrop and connect the contour from the base up to your line. Stapling the strips on ply, pine or spline and the cross joints done with hot glue.

Remaining strips to be done once lower scenery contour beyond portal is decided. The rock cut is Cripplebush rubber rock hot glued to a subase of ply that was precut to desired shape.

[BATMAN]

Something else I have been experimenting with, and having great success with, is cutting very thin slices of foam with a bread knife or a pruning saw. I then mount them on to plaster cloth or even the flat suface of foam to build it up slightly.  It essentially works like a rock mold casting would. If you cut it thin enough it will follow contours well. Also unlike rock molds, no two are ever the same. If you need a rock out cropping just cut off a slice.

 

                                                                Brent