I was at a show almost 2 years ago and I saw some rock faces made with the Bragdon molds and foam. I had to touch them to see if they were real. I bought a mold and a small set of the chemicals for the foam, but I'm not up to that point on my layout yet so I can't say how it will turn out. The mold looks very good. It's large and it has a lot of detail.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I have used Bragdons Geodesic products for three years and I have no complaints whatso ever, a very QUALITY product.
I went in with another modeler on the cost of the molds, we decided on what type of scenery we wanted, then called Joel to find out what other molds went with the one we wanted. Were sure glad we did this as no one yet has noticed the repeats, nor can they find the seams.
In my openion the key to buying a mold, If it can be turned four ways and look good , buy it. Some can be only one or are two directional only. What Im getting at is two or three molds really work great, unless your just planning a small area. My canyon is approx 2 1/2 high by 14 feet long. Between both layout we have uses some molds fifteen times and no noticable wear.
The down side, YEP there is a bad downside, is that everone will come in and touch your layout. Some will walk up and stare at it (is obvious its hot glued to the layout at the end) and stick there damn finger into, acting surprised it isnt rock cracking the thin tapered edge of the casting.
Another plus to this system is you remove the casting out of the mold before its application, this way you can see what its going to look like, and move it around to different areas to get the best effect from it. Feel free to email me when or if you decide to do it, have a few pointers. instruction are very good and a must to follow, you might consider getting the tape also to watch. ...
foreground rock is a woodland scenic mold with Bragdons Geiodesic products.
This area hides my Helix. and is totally Bragdons Geodesic scenery....John
MisterBeasley wrote: I was at a show almost 2 years ago and I saw some rock faces made with the Bragdon molds and foam. I had to touch them to see if they were real. I bought a mold and a small set of the chemicals for the foam, but I'm not up to that point on my layout yet so I can't say how it will turn out. The mold looks very good. It's large and it has a lot of detail. I left some satin and foam in my garage last winter and lost the product, so now I keep it in the house so it wont go bad, turned a milky color. John
I left some satin and foam in my garage last winter and lost the product, so now I keep it in the house so it wont go bad, turned a milky color. John
Bragdon Enterprises molds are great. You have a lot of working time after they start to set. You can rehead the foam rock with a hairdryer for reshaping. I bent them for rock lining inside a tunnel. The molds are easy to remove because they are more flexible. Joel recomends that you start with molds that do not have a lot of undercuts when working with the foam. A little bit of foam goes a long way. I have tried different thicknesses for the foam rock and find that it is easier to shape when left quite thin ( 1/4" or less ). The molds seem to get easier to used with multiple uses. It's like conditioning a good cast iron skillet.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
gear-jammer wrote: Bragdon Enterprises molds are great. You have a lot of working time after they start to set. You can rehead the foam rock with a hairdryer for reshaping. I bent them for rock lining inside a tunnel. The molds are easy to remove because they are more flexible. Joel recomends that you start with molds that do not have a lot of undercuts when working with the foam. A little bit of foam goes a long way. I have tried different thicknesses for the foam rock and find that it is easier to shape when left quite thin ( 1/4" or less ). The molds seem to get easier to used with multiple uses. It's like conditioning a good cast iron skillet. Sue
You said foam. Is this not molds for plaster? Am I missing something here?
Bragdon makes both molds and foam. I believe the molds will work with either foam or plaster. The foam product is very nice, and produces a very light, thin rock face which can be shaped to your scenery for a while after you remove it from the mold. Eventually, it will harden up to a solid shell. The foam itself can be a bit pricey if you're doing a lot of rock. I've heard that you can buy the same chemicals in bulk from other suppliers.
For others who have used Bragdon foam - did you use it just for the rock faces, or did you also do the sub-shell as shown in the video? To me, it looked like the sub-shell could be anything else (pink foam, for example, or even a corrugated cardboard mesh. That would greatly reduce the amount of foam you'd have to use.
I just looked at Bragdons web page and saw this text:
May be used with Geodesic Foam resins, plaster or Hydrocal
So I think that is the answer to my question
Late to the party on this thread (only by 8 years... LOL), but being a big fan of the Bragdon rock molds, I've got an article online with Joel Bragdon here:
http://www.raildig.com/raildig-guest/joel-bragdon-enterprises/
Whether you use the geodesic process of conventional gypsum, Bragdon molds are a great choice!
John Cubbin
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Hello everyone, I am also interested in Bragdon rock molds. I just talked with Joel on the phone and have decided on a couple molds for myself. I am debating on trying the resin for making the molds. How is process easy or difficult? Can anyone give some feedback on this ?
Mark
There is a learning curve, and it's more complicated than Hydrocal. I think my kit came with a VHS tape. (Yes, this is an old thread.) I ended up swapping e-mails with Joel and he straightened out what I was doing wrong. One step involves cleaning with trisodium phosphate, and he let me know that you need to read the label and get real TSP, not the "substitute" stuff they market.
I did finally get my rock faces in place, and they really look good. I've got another scene planned for them.
Very informative, have seen them demonstrated, yet not use the 'foam". It's great to have some other options for rock cuts/ faces and outcroppings. After many years of using the WS molds, you tend be be able to recognize many of the "same" commonly used ones. Don't forget another favorite, Cripplebush rubber rock. They are rather fantastic and love to work w/ them.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Somebody else was asking about this, so I took a couple of new photos:
The foam takes coloring very well. Joel suggests using thin washes, and applying multiple layers of different shades. I just followed the directions and these rock faces came out exactly as I'd hoped.
My Bragdon mold is quite large, about a foot square. I was able to do the entire scene with only two castings.
I couldn't be more enthusiastic about Joel's resin/foam method. I had NEVER done any scenicking before I built two North Cascade mountain ranges (17' long and 2' high). They came out fantastically. Good enough that I (a pretty much rank beginner) was asked to give a clinic at our local NMRA group's clinic night.
There is a small learning curve and you will break or crack things a bit until you get the removal from the mold time down pat, but you can still use these little mistakes as you would with plaster, to use as small rocks, talus, etc.
His beginner's kit is a good deal. I didn't use the window screen/resin/foam hardshell though. I used traditional cardboard lattice and plaster cloth. I can still do a minimal amount of reheating/reshaping with it.
I didn NOT use the spray enamel paint method in my molds. I cast using the satin and foam and then painted them over with Kilz latex primer before gesso and the color washes. This is a fantastic product. You probably can order these materials cheaper in bulk (if you know what to ask for) but then as a well known modeler 'round here says, "But then you don't get Joel". He's absolutely right. Joel, when he's not off at a train show, etc. is extremely helpful on the phone and via email.
Jim
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.