[Railworker6500]

Hi people
I have just finished laying down some track and hooking it up. Now it is time for the scenery. A book i got from a hobby store says to make mountains by forming crumpled up newspaper in a mountain form and cover it in plaster cloth. I started laying some newspaper yesterday. I would like to know how you make yours, and if you did do it my way, were can i buy large amounts of plaster cloth cheeply online.

 

[tworail]

There are two ways to approach the plaster cloth technique - make your own, or buy from the hobby store. The make your own usually is just putting sheets of cloth in a plaster of paris mix. I used that on my first layout and it worked great.

The commercial stuff is usually the same thing that is used to make casts for broken arms and legs. It's also lightweight, so if you are making a module or anything that you need to move around that's a better approach.

I bought a roll (8" x 15 feet) for less than 10 bucks at the hobby store.

 

[spsmoke]

soak paper towels in plaster and lay over screen mesh to whatewver shape you desire

 

[Lorne]

For what it's worth, never tried it myself but I heard this works great and is cheaper than hobbyshop stuff. Get yourself a big bucket of drywall mud. That stuff drys rock hard and you can sculpt it to look like rock.

If you go to a hardware store you can get this stuff in 5L buckets. You should be able to water some of it down to soak papertowels in it. I read this tip in a railroad magazine, so it must work....at least to some degree. Can't hurt to give it a try with a smaller amount.

 

[spsmoke]

plaster of paris is way cheaper than dryall compound. Also drywall compound needs to be applied in very thin layers to prevent cracking & shrinking as it dries. This is also a issue with plaster, but not as severe. I would not recommend drywall mix for hardshell scenery. Probably ok for detail work carving over the hardshel. Many books have been written on this subject so I wont go into it here. Paul(spsmoke0

 

[Lorne]

Hmmm, didn't know that. Makes sense. Can you buy plaster of paris in large quantities like a 5L pail? If so that would be great. Shopuld be cheaper in the larger quantities.

 

[spsmoke]

you can buy it in 50# bags if you want..there are many different ideas on scenery, from lightweight foam to hydrocal, screen mesh to make a basic hardshell, etc. You are only limited by your immagination. The hobby shops carry many specialty items that make it a bit more easy but cost more and many are not any better than something you do on your own without a pre mixed formula in a bottle. Lots of good books out there on scenery techniques...Have fun....Paul(spsmoke)

 

[spsmoke]

BTW, you need to mix plaster with water..the amount of water and temperature will vary the setting time............Paul(spsmoke)

 

[Lorne]

I'm guessing the less water the faster it'll set. But what about the temp? Which will set faster...hot or cold?