I just discovered that Sculptamold does not take liquid pigment in the same way as the Hydrocal castings. I also discovered that the liquid pigment softens the Sculptamold significantly. Any hints as to the best way to get a good blending in the coloring of the two materials?
Richard
First off, if the liquid pigments are softening the Sculptamold, then it's not fully cured yet. If it's cold to the touch, it's still wet. This is about the only drawback to Sculptamold -- it can take quite a while to dry, especially if you have laid it on thick.
So, am I right in thinking that you have some Sculptamold next to castings, perhaps even used to attach them to the layout? I use slightly diluted acrylics to color Sculptamold, and build them up in the same way that ypu do on hydrocal, one thin coat at a time. Because (as you discovered) Sculptamold is non-porous, you actually need to paint it, so a little paint can go a long way. There's really no rule, just add light coats of paint until it looks right. Add highlights by drybrushing and finish with a black wash, which willmute and darken the colors and highlight details.
Don't worry too much about blending. Mother Nature hates uniform colors.
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Yeah, I had this issue myself when I first used Sculptamold. I was staining rock castings at the time and filled in between them with a relatively wide band of Sculptamold. There was a big difference in how they took up the stain that irritated me.
After that, I started to push the rock castings together, so there was no exposed Sculptamold. I still use it as a bonding agent behind/beneath the castings.
I some cases, I just used Sculptamold. Depending on how you finish it, it can look a lot like rock on its own.
Another option is to prime/seal the whole area. This will ensure uniform uptake of paint. This won't work with stains, because they won't be able to absorb at all.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
First, I forgot to mention that this was not done on the actual layout, but on some scraps I had laying around. So far, nothing permanent.
I had thought I had given plenty of time for it to cure, a couple of days, but maybe given to cooler temperatures in the garage (mid-50s) it wasn't enough time. I read that you can shorten the curing time by putting it in a 200 degree oven, but I am not sure I want to do that with my foam structure. Instead, I think I will take a space heater into the garage and try that.
Yeah, it's best to wait until it's fairly dry if you're wanting as much control as possible over the color. It will change how paint is absorbed, but I'm pretty sure simply being dry won't resolve the different adsorption rates between Sculptamold and plaster castings.
That said, I do paint Sculptamold with an acrylic base color when it's not fully dry and achieve decent results. Then again, in most cases my expectation of a base coat is simply to cover the white, nothing fancy, so it works for me. For fancier effects, I usually wait for it to dry first.
I use Sculptamold with a base coat of latex paint and then add washes of acrylics and other latex paints (I get small sample jars at Home Depot for $3 in the color I want). It takes a few coats/washes with varying colors but looks good when done.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
I used Sculptamold over foam to build my 'Pasture Scene". I like it because of the longer 'working time' and the surface it leaves behind when dry. I didn't have any castings to blend in but I did paint the pasture surface with my 'dirt brown' paint then sprinkled on the ground cover.
For the rock face, I just splashed and dribbled on thinned acrylic paint in various shades of brown and black. The result is shown below:
Here is a link to a short "How To" photo essay on my website.
http://www.brvrr.com/Pasture%20Scene.html
Good luck with your project.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
It is beginning to sound like my best option, if I am trying to get a more uniform look to the two materials it to seal them both, then use a paint vs. a stain to cover the sufaces. Thoughts?
Yeah, that's the easiest solutionif the surrounding Sculptamold is supposed to represent rock. In my case, it often represents dirt based on the way I arrange things. This allows you to not sweat the difference.
I was painting some Sculptamold myself last night and he an additional thought. How wet a mix are you making with it? Keep in mind that Sculptamold is not nearly as sensitive to the amount of water you mix in. If you're having problems when it's really wet, try using less water. It makes a stiffer mix, but dries faster and is easier to work as you approach vertical with your scenery.
And, of course, the best thing you can do is just experiment until you find a technique that works for you.
CTValleyRR And, of course, the best thing you can do is just experiment until you find a technique that works for you.
I think I may have found the optimal technique for completing my scenery. My wife has come out of scenery retirement and is going to take care of the rocks and surfaces. She is definitely the creative one. My left brain has pretty much staged a bloodless coup over the right brain.